Angela McGlowan – United States Congress

Angela McGlowan hails from the State of Mississippi and is running for the 1st Congressional District of North Mississippi.

A black conservative woman, Tea Party supporter and Tea Party spokesperson and a Tea Party favorite,  who is a Mississippi native.

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Another gutsy woman!  “No deer in the headlights”!

Ms. McGlowan is a passionate speaker and a very remarkable woman who speaks her mind and is not afraid of the “establishment”!

A “breath of fresh air”,  one of the many  “new faces” of women running for political office for the very first time and she fully understands how the bureaucratic system of Washington D.C. works.

“Small business woman, motivational speaker, former political analyst,  who is multifaceted  and a best selling author of “Bamboozled”:  How Americans Are Being Exploited by the Lies of the Liberal Agenda.”   

She will face off against her two male opponents in the  Primary on June 1, the winner will go on to face the “Blue Dog Democrat” in November!

“In a recent “straw poll” by the Tea movement  held April 3-4, 2010, Angela garnered 70% over her two opponents,  who received a  20% and a 10% .”

We are living during “Historic Times” and if Ms. McGlowan wins her Primary and the election in November, this will be a first for the People of Mississippi and the State of Mississippi at the U.S. level! 

We wish Ms. McGlowan, the best!

For more information about Angela McGlowan and her campaign:

http://www.mcglowanforcongress.com/

Christine O’Donnell-United States Senate

This is a companion piece to “A woman’s place is in the House..and in the Senate” posted by our own Betty Jean and contributed by Steve Maloney.

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You Tube is a marvelous invention!

It gives the American People the opportunity to experience almost anyone and anything up close and personal.

Please take sometime to watch this video of Christine O’Donnell, who is running for the U.S. Senate for Delaware and her most passionate speech! 

Christine O’Donnell is just one of many women, who are running for political office, who have the will and the stamina to persevere in the political arena even against “overwhelming odds”!

This is a historical time in the history of our nation and anything is possible! 

This is the perfect time to replace the incumbents with more women in the House and the Senate and maybe, just maybe, someday, a woman will indeed be President and Commander in Chief !

If women want more of a voice in our government, the answer is to support women, who are not afraid of the “Lord’s of the Backroom”!  (Love her tag, it fits like a glove!)

“Kick the bums to the curb” in the Mid Term elections in November and beyond!

We need “fresh new faces and Patriots” to replace all incumbents!

For more about Christine O’Donnell or to help her campaign:

http://christine2010.com/meet-christine/

The Diana Lynn Harris Disappearance

Diana Lynn Harris was 27 years old at the time of her disappearance from the Big Pine Key, Florida in 1981.

Her daughter Christine Hill was 10years old at the time of her mother’s disappearance.

This is Christine Hill’s 30 year journey of her search for any information to the disappearance of her mother, Diana Lynn Harris. 

 

Diana Lynn Harris                   

My mother, Diana Lynn Harris, 27, disappeared from Big Pine Key, Florida, in October 1981.  I was ten years old at the time.  My brother and I were in Michigan, visiting our father.  After our mother’s disappearance, our grandmother raised us.

When I turned 17, I returned to Florida to begin my personal investigation of Mom’s disappearance.  I’ve been at it ever since.  Information I’ve recently uncovered leads me to suspect that my mother may have become a threat to an ongoing, major drug operation and that she might not have been the only person to lose her life for that reason.

I recently ran names connected to Mom’s disappearance through a search engine.  When I ran the name “Mark Ripin” – an ex-convict, who was questioned in regard to my mom’s case — I landed on the Real Crimes web site.  My heart dropped into my shoes when I discovered that Mark Ripin was also questioned as a possible suspect in the “Tom Stump Missing Persons Case,” and that several other individuals linked to my mother’s case are also linked to Tom Stump’s case.

On the web site I learned that Tom Stump disappeared from Sugarloaf Key, Florida, in 1995.  Like my mom, his body was never found.  At the time of his disappearance, Tom was married to Mark Ripin’s ex-wife, Bernie Ripin/Stump.  A few days prior to vanishing, Tom was telling people that he suspected Bernie of having an affair with radio talk show host Bill Becker. As soon as she was legally able to do so, Bernie married Becker.

I recognized some of the names on the web site and on the message board as people my mom knew back in 1981.  Mark Ripin, the ex-con; Mark’s then-wife Bernie; and their attorney friend, Mitchell Denker, were part of a tight knit group of friends who partied together — and some of whom actually lived together — during that time period.  My mom was introduced to that group by a new boyfriend, Gary Vincente Argenzio, who, I’ve now found out, was another ex-convict and a close friend of Mark Ripin.  Mark Ripen was then, and still is, a close friend of Bernie’s fourth and current husband, Bill Becker, who was Bernie’s live-in boyfriend in 1980 and again began living with her after Tom Stump vanished in 1995.

In October 1981, Mom phoned a friend in Michigan from a hot tub at attorney Mitchell Denker’s “party house” on Big Pine Key and told her that a big drug drop-off was scheduled and she was afraid the phone might be tapped.  She also mentioned guard dogs. That’s the last anybody ever heard from her.  I’ve since been told by someone in law enforcement that certain police officers attended functions at that party house and that some lost their jobs because of the activities there. 

My grandmother filed missing person’s reports in both Michigan and Monroe County, Florida.  Nobody at the party house reported Mom missing.

One week after Mom vanished, Gary Argenzio stole a boat that belonged to a man named Robert Thompson.  Mitchell Denker told me that Gary also stole two motorcycles from him and possibly a gun.  Mark Ripin has since told me that he and Denker owned a boat together, and Denker once allowed Gary to take this boat out and Gary ran it with no oil and blew the motor.  Is that why Gary took Robert Thompson’s boat instead of Denker’s?

Another vehicle that was missing was a car that belonged to Mom’s friend Donna.   Donna thought it was taken by a man named “Mark” who lived on No Name Key, which is where Mark Ripin and his wife Bernie lived at that time.  However, she also added that she believed that man was Mitchell Denker’s cousin, who worked at Denker’s law office.  It’s possible she may have confused Mark Ripin with Mitchell Denker’s cousin, Michael Gilbert, who died of a drug overdose in the ‘80s.  Which one was it?

After Argenzio ran off to Mexico, Denker allegedly found Donna’s car on a side road.  He has stated that he believes Gary Argenzio took the car, perhaps to transport Mom’s body, and claims to have checked it for forensic evidence and found none.  Denker is an attorney, not a forensic expert.  Why didn’t he turn the car over to the authorities for a professional work-up?

Detective Richard Conrady and Detective Lynn McNeil of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department were originally the lead detectives in Mom’s case.  In June 1995, when Mom’s case was being re-investigated as a possible homicide, Detective Phil Harrold questioned Mitchell Denker.  Denker told Detective Harrold that Mom was murdered and suggested that she speak with Argenzio’s friend Mark Ripin.  Ripin told him he believed Argenzio killed Mom and dumped her body in the ocean.

In July 1982, Gary Argenzio was arrested in Mexico, but he wasn’t charged with Mom’s murder.  Instead, (under the name “Gary Vincento”), he was charged and found guilty of stealing Robert Thompson’s boat.  Mitchell Denker’s cousin, Michael Gilbert, a member of Denker’s law firm, defended Gary Argenzio pro bono.  Argenzio was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. 

In May 1990, I contacted Mitchell Denker by phone, and he informed me that he’d sold the party house in 1984.  He said he was going to Turkey on business for two weeks and to call him when he got back.  When I called him again, he acted like he’d never before talked to me.

In 1992, Gary Argenzio was convicted of another felony.  Five days later, he died in his Broward County home in Dania, Florida, allegedly of pneumonia. 

But I wasn’t going to give up.  Approximately January 1995, I again contacted Mitchell Denker.  This time he told me that he thought Gary Argenzio might have buried my mother in Denker’s back yard.  As a result of Denker’s new statement, I was able to convince the Sheriff’s Department to reactivate my mother’s case.  When questioned in June 1995 by Detective Harrald, Denker said it would have been impossible to bury a body in his yard because of the guard dogs and the coral.  Detective Harrald told me the yard had been cemented over so it could not be searched or dug up.

Mitchell Denker asked Harrold if his original statement from 1981 still existed.  When Det. Harrold assured him it did not, Denker and Mark Ripin informed him that Argenzio had admitted to smashing Mom’s head into the wall of Denker’s house.  Both men stated that they saw the hole in the wall with blood spatters, but Denker described the hole as being in his bedroom and Ripin described it as being by the back door.  Detective Lynn McNeil, who investigated the case in 1981, recalled no such damage.  She also told me that she and Det. Conrady had checked the woods in the yard for any evidence and had found none.  How could the back yard have had woods on it, when Denker said it was solid coral?

In July 1995 – at approximately the same time my mother’s case was reactivated – Tom Stump disappeared from his home on Sugarloaf Key.  The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department was investigating both the Stump case and Mom’s case simultaneously and was interrogating Mark Ripin in regard to both missing persons cases.  Yet apparently nobody found anything the slightest bit suspicious about the fact that the same man was linked to both cases.

In the summer of 2003, Mitchell Denker was convicted of two felonies —  Transporting Monetary Instruments and perjury.  He was sentenced to five months in prison and disbarred in the state of Florida.  This proof that Denker was as much of a crook as Mark Ripin and Gary Argenzio caused me to start wondering if all three men might have been involved in my mother’s disappearance.  I immediately requested that Detective James Norman of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department provide me with reports from their 1981 and 1995 investigations.  Det. Norman informed me that the files from 1981 did not exist.  I was not surprised to hear this, because my Grandma had been trying to get those files for years and had been told they didn’t exist.  I was stunned, however, to be told now that former Sheriff William Freeman had deliberately destroyed all case files from the years 1981-1983 and some from 1984.  Det. Norman said he couldn’t say why for sure, but had heard a rumor about a big drug bust called the “Big Pine 29” that occurred on Big Pine Key during that time period.  Mitchell Denker was the defense attorney for one of the suspected drug smugglers. 

I contacted Sheriff Richard Roth to ask him about Mom’s files.  Sheriff Roth told me that, in 1981, he was a detective and remembers this incident.  He said it wasn’t an uncommon thing back then for the Sheriff to get rid of old case files.  However, when Mom’s files were destroyed they were not old at all!  My Grandma was still communicating with detectives about the case.

But I did receive the reports from the 1995 investigation, which is how I got the names to run through the search engine.  When Mark Ripin’s name took me to the Tom Stump case, I posted a question on the message board, asking if anyone had heard of  “Mitchell Denker.”

Someone responded by quoting a post by Mark Ripin in which he cryptically asked:  “What’s the connection? Manny the shark hunter, Mitchell Denker, the lawyer?” (I’ve since found out that Manilito “Manny” Pluig, a shark hunter who swims with the sharks, was hired by Bernie Ripin/Stump/Becker to aid in the search for Tom.  The answer to Ripin’s question could well be:  “Both men swim with the sharks,” one literally, one figuratively.) 

Someone else posted a quote from Bernie’s deposition in which she admitted to living in Mitchell Denker’s house.  Since Bernie was married to Mark Ripin at that time, that would seem to suggest that they both were on the premises when Mom vanished.  Bernie has since told me she knew my mom and my mom showed her photos of my brother and me.  Yet, Bernie didn’t bother to report Mom missing, even though Bernie’s own husband said he saw a hole in the wall that was made by Mom’s head.

Another thing I find bewildering is that, when requestioned by police in 1995, Mitchell Denker — a practicing attorney who should know the law — stated that in his opinion there was more than enough evidence to indict Gary Argenzio for my mom’s murder, but the Sheriff’s Department hadn’t seemed interested in pursuing it.  He specifically cited Mom’s disappearance and missing body and Argenzio’s flight with Robert Thompson’s boat.  Yet, back in 1982, when Argenzio was tried for stealing that boat, Mitchell Denker’s cousin, a member of his own law firm, defended Argenzio for free, and nobody even mentioned my missing mother.  In fact, Mark Ripin testified in Argenzio’s behalf.

My mom was a wonderful mother, and I loved her dearly, but she led a difficult life.  After an abusive marriage that ended in divorced, she witnessed her brother shoot himself in the mouth.  She attempted to self-medicate by smoking marijuana, but that did little to erase the gristly vision.  She relocated to Florida in an effort to escape that awful memory, and continued to smoke marijuana.  But she never used hard drugs until she met Gary Argenzio, and I doubt that she had any idea what she was getting into when she started her association with that group of people.

I had my mother for only ten years, but I thank God for every one of them.  I have beautiful memories of my life with her. She worked hard, cooked wonderful food, and was never too busy to play with my brother and me.  She was a very affectionate mother and, no matter how tired she was or how weighed down by worries, she gave us unstinting love and attention.

My mom was my world.  For 25 years I’ve been trying to find out what happened to her, and I will not stop until I get an answer that makes sense.

Christine Hill (Diana Harris’s daughter) 

“I Am A Legal Immigrant”

In the Chicago Tribune’s Opinion dated May 2, 2010, titled: “Frustration of a legal immigrant – I am a legal immigrant” written by Steinar Andersen

I am a legal immigrant. I walked the walk pursuing the American dream.

I came to this country legally. I learned to speak English (and slang so that I could fit in) because I wanted to excel in this country. I graduated from high school in Carpentersville. I served in the U. S. Marine Corps for almost seven years.

And I worked hard to gain my citizenship. I went through the process of standing in long Immigration and Naturalization Service lines, only to learn the federal agency had lost my file. I endured the insufferable malaise shown by U.S. government workers on the other side of the counter.

But in 1983, when I raised my hand during my citizenship ceremony in San Diego, I felt a rush of pride for accomplishing something that’s rare in the world. Gaining citizenship in this country is like hitting the lottery. Today, I proudly display my citizenship certificate in my home because I earned it through a process dictated by this country’s rule of law and I abided by that process as difficult as it was.

And then came the first immigration amnesty in 1986 and millions of illegal immigrants were given legal status, despite breaking the law.

My hard work was cheapened by their sheer numbers. Sure, some of them had worked hard. But they didn’t follow the rules and were given the same thing I had labored for years to gain.

I am frustrated the media does not carry the stories of immigrants like me. Yes, some illegal immigrants are taken advantage of by some employers and by some of the American populace (all one has to do is look at who is trimming the bushes and mowing the lawns).

It has been said that it’s impossible to deport 12 million illegal Immigrants. However, if a guest-worker program was in place and laws holding employers accountable for hiring illegal immigrants were enforced, then illegal immigrants would be forced to gain guest-worker status.

Amnesty? Sure, if they go through the guest-worker program first.

And why not institute a national ID card?

As for what Arizona just did out of pure frustration with the federal government, I cannot blame the lawmakers there. I worked in Arizona for more than a year and saw firsthand the uphill battle Arizona residents are going through.

I am not bigoted. I am not racist. I am tired being led astray by a media hellbent on demonizing hardworking Americans who only ask for one thing: a clear, definable immigration policy with no loopholes.

I am from Norway. I will be celebrating Syttende Mai in a couple of weeks, where I will be waving my Norwegian flag from the sidelines of the parade route in Park Ridge and singing the Norwegian national anthem in Norwegian. And then I will go home with my family, speaking English, pinching myself that I am an American and lucky to be so.

And I will keep praying that one day the voices of legal immigrants will be heard as loud as those who may be hardworking, good people, but who broke the law coming here.

Steinar Andersen is an IT director for a logistics company and lives in Huntley.

Please checkout the inspiring comments to Mr. Andersen’s piece.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-perspec-0502-immigrant-20100502,0,2603120,full.story

Thanks to the Chicago Tribune for allowing Mr. Andersen to tell his story and thank you Mr. Andersen for renewing our faith in the knowledge that there are citizens such as yourself and those who commented to your post, who believed in the merits of achieving their citizenship through years of dedication. 

This right as a citizen of the United States of America is an “earned right” and it is a “proud privilege” to call yourself an American!

We have laws in place that should have been enforced long ago, to stop illegals who traffick in drugs and human contraband crossing our borders for the explicit purpose to commit crimes and demand “entitlements” that have not been earned.

If our politicians in Congress and this Administration cannot enforce our “Laws of the Land” then it is time to replace our lawmakers with those who can and will do the job of enforcing our LAWS!

The task that the State of Arizona has taken is a monumental task that should  never have come to fruition at the State level.   

This task should have been undertaken at the Federal level and Americans throughout this Country have acknowledged this fact and majority are 100% in support of the State of Arizona and it’s New Immigration Law.

“Voter Impose” each and every U.S. politician in the House and the Senate, Democrats and Republicans alike and replace them starting this November in the Mid Term elections with Patriots, who are not afraid to do their jobs for the American People!

U.N. Elects Iran On Commission To Women’s Rights?

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“U.N. Elects Iran On Commission To Women’s Rights?”  –  You have got to be kidding! 

Since when did Iran become the champions for “Women’s Rights”?  The women in Iran are being persecuted!

According to Anne Bayefsky who wrote the article “Since When Is Iran a Champion For Women’s Rights?” on Fox News online dated April, 29, 2010.

In an effort to prevent Iran’s election to the Commission, the National Iranian American Council reported prior to the meeting: “in the past year, Iran…has charged women who were seeking equality in the social sphere…with threatening national security…Its prison guards have beaten, tortured, sexually assaulted and raped female and male civil rights protesters…In universities…the government is now banning women from key areas of study. Childcare centers are being shut down to hamper women’s ability to work…Women’s publications that addressed gender equality have been shut down. The regime is attempting to erase decades of struggle and progress.”

Iran originally wanted a seat at the U.N. Human Rights Council and failed to be accepted because of their far from “stellar records” which would have embarrassed the Council, so Iran was given a seat at the Commission on the Status of Women.   

Once again, women are to be “stripped of their rights” and “used and abused” at the hands of their tormentors!

Iran was elected by acclamation. It was one of only two candidates for two slots allocated to the Asian regional bloc – in other words, a fixed slate and a done deal.

What is the Commission on the Status of Women all about?

The Commission on the Status of Women was established in 1946 with the usual stated lofty goals. CSW was charged with “promoting women’s rights” and making “recommendations on urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women’s rights.” The forty-five member states meet annually at U.N. headquarters in New York, boasts the U.N. website, to “identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.”

Since it’s inception in 1946, what exactly has the Commission accomplished?

For years the CSW has only ever adopted one resolution naming any country for violating women’s rights — you guessed it – Palestinian women’s rights allegedly violated by Israel. The Commission is “gravely concerned” about Israeli violations of Palestinian rights. The right to life of Palestinian women and girls subject to honor killings, coerced into becoming suicide bombers or child soldiers at the hands of non-Israelis somehow has never made it on to their radar screen. And the same is true of the rights of women and girls violated by any other specific state on earth but Israel.

Let’s face it, the U.N. and it’s so-called “illustrious board” could give a “flying fig” about “Women’s Rights”!

This is another example of just one more U.N. body created to do one thing and now doing the opposite, for which American taxpayers foot 22% of the bill. And it will continue unless those with their hands on the spigot in Congress finally decide to turn off the tap.

Notice Ms. Bayefsky’s words ” And it will continue unless those with their hands on the spigot in Congress finally decide to turn off the tap.”

The United Nations an organization that have been criticized by many over an extensive period of time and We the American People/Taxpayers are housing them in the United States and paying for their upkeep!

You can read the entire article of Ms. Bayefsky:

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/04/29/anne-bayefsky-iran-united-nations-commission-status-women-congress/

In the following article written by Mr. Abrams:

“Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes,” said the respected cleric, Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi.

You may also want to read Joseph Abrams article also on Fox News online:

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/04/29/elects-iran-commission-womens-rights/

Larry King “I Agree That Sarah Palin Should Pose For Playboy”

http://townhall.com/blog/g/bf592bd7-d88f-4709-9e62-4ee140e8e4bc

A piece posted by Greg Hengler in Townhall Blogs on April 21, 2010 titled “Larry King thinks Sarah Palin should Pose for Playboy”.

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King has crossed the line and joined the ranks of the “buffoon” Letterman!

King was interviewing Sarah Silverman and goading her into making any “outrageous statement” that “popped into her head ” about Sarah Palin and out came the Sarah Palin pose for Playboy comment and King agreed!

More sexist comments of the many that is continually directed at former Governor Sarah Palin.

The Hollywood crowd along with the rest of their political cronies just can’t resist the urge to “demean and humiliate” Sarah Palin’s person!

I am disgusted by these personalities who are the “dregs of soceity” who find nothing wrong with demeaning women and using them as “sexual objectification” for  HIGHER RATINGS!

Bertha Lewis Former CEO of ACORN is Back!

Bertha Lewis Former CEO of ACORN is Back with a vengeance!

She was speaking at the Winter Conference of the Young Democrat Socialist on March 25, 2010.

Her primary job these days is to attack Conservatives and in particular the Tea Party Movement which she referred to in her speech as a “bowl movement” as the chuckles rippled throughout this group!

“Ripping off the mask of racism” , “circling the wagon, the Internment of World War II,  the era of  Jim Crow and Segregation and the Tea Party Movement were coming for the group”!

Her vitrol for The Tea Party Movement is quite evident and her agenda was to incite this group!

Mayor Charged With 5 New Domestic Charges

White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley walks past protesters into the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains today. He’s accused of assaulting his wife. (Photos by Matthew Brown/The Journal News)

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Update: April 1, 2010

Prosecutors brought 5 new domestic charges against Mayor Adam Bradley of White Plains, New York in the alleged slamming of his wife, Fumiko Bradley’s hand in a door.

In addition to the original misdemeanor assault charge, Bradley faces two additional counts of misdemeanor assault, a misdemeanor charge of attempted assault and two counts of harassment, a violation.

The new charges stem in part from a Jan 11. incident in which Bradley threw hot tea on his wife, Fumiko Bradley, prosecutors said.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20100401/NEWS02/4010405

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From a political standpoint.

News Copy, New York: Adam Bradley  Posted by Bob Fois on Thursday, April 1, 2010  “News Copy, New York, Politics, Policy and the Business of Government” 

“Democrats Continue Dodging Domestic Violence Questions In White Plains: Paulin Silent”

A human being is innocent until proven guilty, so perhaps many Democrats and a few Republicans (and two Conservative leaders) are reserving comment until the trial against White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley on domestic violence charges is finished.

The Journal News reported today that five new domestic violence charges against Bradley were filed yesterday.

“Bradley was greeted by a crowd of 20 protesters as he arrived at the Westchester County Courthouse this morning.  Notably absent was Bradley’s wife, who on Feb. 28 told police that the mayor closed the door on her hand. Her signed statement included other instances of abuse and led to Bradley’s arrest that day on the third-degree assault charge. Her absence was in contrast to Bradley’s earlier court appearances when she accompanied him to show support.”

Last week, I had to listen to at least one local Conservative Party leader question Fumiko Bradley’s sanity — and another is taking Bradley’s side in this private family matter.

I can understand Democrats reserving comment.  I can appreciate some Republicans asking that Bradley not be tried by protesters or on blogs.  That level is caution is reasonable, as much as Bradley’s personal situation is deconstructing the political fabric in White Plains by the day.

But to go after his wife, to take Mayor Bradley’s side, and to aggressively question a woman’s sanity — rather than wait for the court’s decision — is vile bias and political manipulation at its worst.  It is as corrupt as what the Democrats are doing.  It’s worse than what Democrats and Republicans alike have done in Albany, looking the other way when women have been victims of sexual abuse and violence by State lawmakers.

This blind eye to domestic violence among the political set has to end.

If they want to look the other way like the political world is a private country club, maybe some of these supposed “leaders” need a lesson in how bad some of their political contemporaries have been in the past.

Maybe collectively the political leaders still pretending there isn’t a problem need shock treatment to finally wake up.

Fumiko Bradley has accused her husband Adam Bradley of domestic violence.  Both the husband and wife deserve their day in court.  Ms. Bradley doesn’t deserve to be demeaned by political leaders; whether these leaders are Republican, Democrat or Conservative.

It’s particularly understood that some attorneys and anyone associated with their law practice have to do their jobs.  Adam Bradley is innocent until proven guilty.  These lawyers and their associates have a professional responsibility to defend Mr. Bradley.

But Fumiko Bradley struck me at least as scared last fall — and she strikes many observers with her retreat on a claim against her husband as scared in the classic way victims of domestic violence backtrack.

Why don’t some women involved in the political process in all the major and minor political parties (that coincidently endorsed Bradley) understand this basic psychological concept?  Or is the underlying problem a level of emotional denial that is also sadly typical of the way domestic violence is hidden, generation after generation?

Finally, what terrible message do we send to wives and children who are victims of domestic violence when a woman leading a political party chooses to go on the attack against a woman claiming to be a victim of verbal, psychological and physical abuse at the hands of her husband?

We betray women with that kind of attitude and woeful words.

It’s almost enough to suggest that the District Attorney should additionally question all the political leaders involved with Bradley’s long list of endorsements, to see if there has been additional corruption on the local judicial level — or particularly in terms of key appointments involved in law enforcement in White Plains.

There is no telling how much else is being hidden in White Plains.

To be fair, NOW did show up.

NOW-NYS President Marcia Pappas, President of NOW NYS explained, “It is common for victims of domestic violence to retract their stories in fear of retribution. But fear of retribution thwarts justice. We must give domestic violence victims the power they need to stand up to their abusers. Fumi Bradley is obviously afraid of consequences that could come from continuing the criminal charges against her husband.”

Pappas is “urging the District Attorney to pursue the charges against Adam Bradley.” She says that “if he is allowed sweep this situation under the rug, Ms. Bradley will be in greater danger.” Pappas continued: “We want Fumi Bradley to know that she has the community behind her, and that we support her in every way. Her safety is paramount.”

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore has shown up.  County Judge Susan Capeci has shown up.  Many Democrats have started to speak up, as have Republicans and the local community has begun to see another side of Adam Bradley that is at least questionable.

Gannett columnist Phil Reisman acknowledged the White Plains Mayor’s demons.

P.S. — New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin is making herself irrelevant by remaining silent …

Mayor Faces Domestic Abuse Charges

White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley leaves the Westchester County courthouse on March 5, 2010. (Matthew Brown/ The Journal News)

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I am in disbelief as to how many reports of Mayor Adam Bradley of White Plains, New York  were but small snippets of the entire story of the domestic violence committed against his wife, Fumiko Bradley.

Leave it up to some in the media to spin the story to make the real victims look insignificant and allegedly making the entire incident up!

This is not the case with LoHud. Com (New York’s Lower Hudson Valley mobile news  –  Powered By You and The Journal News) is to be commended for doing an excellent job of reporting the facts!

Tomorrow, April 1, 2010  at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard at the White Plains, New York Courthouse at 9:30AM,  Mayor Adam Bradley faces the court with charges of third-degree assault and a charge of a misdemeanor crime for allegedly slamming his wife’s finger in a door. 

The women of NOW- NYS, President Marcia Pappas and Betty Jean Kling and the women of  The Majority United RIDS will be at the White Plains Courthouse along with many other advocates to protest Bradley in the domestic assault case.  Mayor Bradley has been asked to step down from his position and the organizations are seeking justice from the courts and Judge Susan Capeci for the victim Fumiko Bradley, the wife of the Mayor of White Plains.

Mrs. Bradley like Hiram Monserrat’s girlfriend, like Gov. David Patterson’s aide David Johnson’s lady friend and a long list of victims of politicians have recanted their stories and dropped their charges against their domestic abusers.

The county’s District Attorney’s office is still proceeding with the case.

The victims are being bullied and harassed and face the ever constant threat to their lives and/or their children’s lives and/or the threat of no financial support for their children.

There is always so much more to the story than what meets the eye.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20100324/NEWS02/3240364/1018/E-mails-from-White-Plains-mayor-s-wife-detail-abuse

These incidents have turned into a travesty for all victims of domestic abuse.

It is bad enough that the victims must rely heavily upon the court system and hope that the courts and the judges who officiate,  protect and defend the rights of the victims.

Lately, with all of these high profile cases, there seems to be a 50/50 chance that the victims who seek justice may never see their rights protected against the domestic abusers.  

With these types of odds it is reprehensible and in many cases “deadly”!

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In another report from a political view written in “News Copy New York Politics, Policy and the Business of Government”  article posted by Bob Fois on Wednesday, March 24, 2010

“White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley Assault Charges Thicken: Democrats And Republicans Tested On Domestic Violence Claims”

A man is innocent until proven guilt but White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley appears to be in a lot of trouble for domestic violence charges.

The Journal News in Westchester reported on new details surrounding assault charges against the former New York State Assemblyman by his wife Fumiko.

Several e-mails mention a questionable relationship between the mayor and the family’s au pair. In one instance, Bradley tells his wife he was going to shower with the au pair and opens the door while she is showering, according to the e-mails. Soon after, Bradley and the au pair are watching television on the same bed together, and Bradley told his wife to “stay away.”

I had the opportunity to meet Fumiko a handful of times this past year during the campaign of Republican Bob Hyland against Democrat County Legislator Bill Ryan.

My own impression of this situation can be supported by a dozen others.  Looking back, I know realize that she seemed like a scared woman who was subtly reaching out for help, amazingly friendly to Republicans at times when something just didn’t seem right.

Fumiko Bradley stated in the e-mails: “I know you did this to all of your ex. I know you made it look like their issues. I know this makes your stress go away. This is your fun game. I do not want to be one of them. So I gave up. Our relationship is too toxic for me. Not honest at all. I want to get my life back!”

She also wrote that Bradley has characterized her as a mean and angry person to his family, City Hall workers and others in the public, though she reiterates that she is fearful in the marriage and doesn’t want him to hurt her.

We all knew the stories about Adam Bradley’s alleged domestic violence with his first wife, his alleged drug use and what at first glance has always seemed like a power-hungry approach to everyone — in BOTH parties.

Something did not seem right about the Bradley campaign, the ruthless cross-endorsements by Republicans and Conservatives, the seemingly blind eye turned by certain leaders and officials.

Democrats should be ashamed of themselves but so should some Republican leaders who looked the other way when this mother of a child was in trouble.  Repeat: Republicans endorsed Adam Bradley last year. 

As News Copy as reported extensively on for over five years, Albany is ridden with this kind of domestic violence and sexual violence against women.

When are the women in the Democratic Party going to speak up?

But this wretched kind of secrecy has been going on for decades in chauvenistic political circles.

I personally believe these years politicos hiding their domestic violence is one of the reasons the late Carl Vergari as Westchester County District Attorney initiated planning for the formation of a domestic violence bureau in the 1970s and 1980s.  It culminated in the work of Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro to expand the scope of that bureau to include sex crimes.

… And now Adam Bradley is working the system to escape scrutiny, playing a game of denial.

The Journal News had done extended coverage on domestic violence in light of the charges against Bradley on February 28:

Recent Cases Show Women Still Protecting Their Abusers

Former State Senator Hiram Monserrate, Governor David Paterson’s aide David Johnson, Sheldon Silver’s former aide Michael Boxley …

… Are the powers-that-be in New York State waiting for a woman to be murdered before they realize that the laws protecting women need to be given some teeth?

Meanwhile, Adam Bradley and his allies in both parties continue to walk around like cocks of the walk.

Male chauvenist pigs who need a reality check on their world view, if the charges against Mr. Bradley are true.  It doesn’t matter how much judicial/legal, monetary or political power Bradley, Inc. wants to wield in White Plains.

The voters will decide when the next election for mayor comes around.  This is beyond partisan battles, by the way, though few Democrats are admitting Bradley may have a problem.

Assault Case Blurs Bradley’s Future

“This will play out in the long-run rather than the short-run,” said Liz Shollenberger, the city’s Democratic Party chairwoman. “I think that being someone who’s been known in the community for decades can only help him.”

Not everyone is as forgiving. County Legislator William Ryan, D-White Plains, said Bradley should seriously weigh stepping down.

“The jobs are hard enough to do. You can’t afford to have any major distractions in your life and hope to be successful,” said Ryan, who has considered a run for mayor in the past. “Beyond tough, I don’t think it’s possible to do.”

If former Westchester County Board Chairman Bill Ryan is smelling the coffee, this should be a wake up call for fellow Democrats.

“I’ve known Adam for many, many years — of great character, wonderful family person,” Common Councilman Dennis Power said. “We’re hoping these matters can be brought to some type of a positive conclusion.”

White Plains Republican Party Chairman Brian Maloney, who cross-endorsed Bradley last year, defended Bradley when anonymous online critics pronounced the Democrat guilty without a fair trial.

“They’re not engaged in fair politics,” Maloney said. “They’re engaged in gutter politics to destroy a man and his family.”

But Maloney’s own honesty had been called to question last year when he endorsed Democrats Bradley and White Plains Councilman Tom Roche, bypassing Republican Lenny Lolis and damaging Republicans in the county seat.

White Plains would be one of the few places in Westchester where Rob Astorino would not get a majority of the vote in the county executive’s race..  Maloney would be accused by Republicans close to then White Plains Mayor Joe Delfino of cultivating support for Bradley in exchange for legal patronage — a charge never substantiated.

Now Maloney and the GOP have a chance to regain control of White Plains.

One wonders how they’re going to do it going to bat for a cocky Democrat accused of domestic violence.

Tea Party In Searchlight, Nevada Thousands Attend

Searchlight, Nevada hometown to Senator Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate was the setting for a successful kick-off for the Tea Party Express and the Tea Party Patriots who travelled from all over the country to support it’s 42 city tour that will end in Washington D.C. on April 15, tax day deadline.

The organizers of the event estimated that 10,000 participants were expected to attend the event in Searchlight. 

The local media guessed that the attendance was around 7,000-8,000 participants that were gathered in this tiny town of a 1,000 residents. 

What was not taken into account was the thousands of people who tried to make their way to the event that was turned away at the roadblocks after this tiny little town was filled to capacity.  The estimates could have very well been 12,000 or more!

Sarah Palin was the guest speaker who drew the Tea Party Patriots to this sleepy little town, approximately 60 miles outside of Las Vegas.

Former governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin did not disappoint her fellow Tea Party Patriots. 

” She told them Reid, fighting for re-election, is “gambling away our future.” “Someone needs to tell him, this is not a crapshoot,” Palin said.

“We’re not going to sit down and shut up. Thank you for standing up,” Palin said.

“Some of you are registered Republicans. Some of you are …what we used to call Reagan Democrats,” Palin said. “And some of you are like so many of my friends and my family, including my own husband, just independent, not registered in any party. Just true, blue-blooded Americans.”

Her speech thrilled the crowds of everyday Americans from all walks of life, Nevadans and those who travelled from across this great country, not just to be inspired by Sarah Palin,  but to join in an effort to take our beloved country back!

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Reported on 8 News Now article and video written in it’s entirety by AP

Thousands Gathered in Searchlight for Tea Party Rally

Posted: // Mar 27, 2010 2:03 PM CDT Updated: // Mar 28, 2010 9:06 PM CDT

Video Gallery

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Thousands Gather in Searchlight for Tea Party Rally 3:36

Sarah Palin Speaks at Tea Party Rally 1:01

A Estimated 8,000 People Packed Searchlight For Saturdays Rally 0:25

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SEARCHLIGHT, NEV.  — Sarah Palin told thousands of tea party activists assembled in the dusty Nevada desert Saturday that Sen. Harry Reid will have to explain his votes when he comes back to his hometown to campaign.

The wind whipped U.S. flags behind the former Alaska governor as she stood on a makeshift stage, holding a microphone and her notes as she spoke to the cheering crowd. She told them Reid, fighting for re-election, is “gambling away our future.” “Someone needs to tell him, this is not a crapshoot,” Palin said.

About 7,000 people streamed into tiny Searchlight, a former mining town 60 miles south of Las Vegas, bringing American flags, “Don’t Tread on Me” signs and outspoken anger toward Reid, President Barack Obama and the health care overhaul.

Palin told them the big-government, big-debt spending spree of the Senate majority leader, Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is over.

“You’re fired!” Palin said.

A string of polls has shown Reid is vulnerable in politically moderate Nevada after pushing Obama’s agenda in Congress. His standing has also been hurt by Nevada’s double-digit unemployment and record foreclosure and bankruptcy rates.

The Searchlight native responded with sarcasm to the large crowd gathered in the hardscrabble town of about 1,000 he grew up in.

“I’m happy so many people came to see my hometown of Searchlight and spend their out-of-state money, especially in these tough economic times,” Reid said Saturday in a statement released through his Senate campaign. “This election will be decided by Nevadans, not people from other states who parachuted in for one day to have a tea party.”

Traffic on a highway leading into the town was backed up more than two miles Saturday afternoon as people gathered for the rally, which kicks off a 42-city bus tour that ends in Washington on April 15, tax day.

Cars and RVs filled the dusty area where the rally was held, as people set up lawn chairs and braced against the stiff wind whipping up dust clouds and blowing dozens of flags straight out.

The rally that’s been called a conservative Woodstock takes place just days after the historic health care vote that ushered in near-universal medical coverage and divided Congress and the nation. The vote was followed by reports of threats and vandalism aimed at some Washington lawmakers, mostly Democrats who supported the new law.

Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, appeared after spending Friday and Saturday morning campaigning for Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who led the 2008 ticket.

Now a Fox News analyst and potential 2012 presidential candidate, Palin faced criticism after posting a map on her Facebook page that had circles and cross hairs over 20 Democratic districts. She also sent a tweet saying, “Don’t Retreat, Instead -RELOAD!”

She said Saturday she wasn’t inciting violence, just trying to inspire people to get involved.

“We’re not going to sit down and shut up. Thank you for standing up,” Palin said.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department sent dozens of uniformed and plainclothes officers to patrol the crowd. Officer Jay Rivera said there was a report of a fistfight in the morning, but when police responded, they found nothing. He said there had been no arrests.

“So far it’s nice and peaceful,” Rivera said.

The tea party movement is a far-flung coalition of conservative groups angered by Washington spending, rising taxes and the growth and reach of government. It takes its name from the Boston Tea Party in 1773, when colonists dumped tea off English ships to protest what they considered unfair taxation by the British crown.

“Some of you are registered Republicans. Some of you are …what we used to call Reagan Democrats,” Palin said. “And some of you are like so many of my friends and my family, including my own husband, just independent, not registered in any party. Just true, blue-blooded Americans.”

Some people milling around at the rally wore old-fashioned costumes and carried drums, lending to a festival-like atmosphere.

Organizers had said up to 10,000 people might come; around 1 p.m., police estimated the crowd was about 7,000.

Leonard Grimes, a 70-year-old retired logger, said the nation is drifting toward socialism, and he’s not convinced Obama is eligible to be president.

“I’d like him to prove he’s an American citizen,” said Grimes, a registered independent who is originally from Michigan but now lives in Golden Valley, Ariz.

He called the health care bill “a joke, just another way to enslave the American public.”

Ketha Verzani, 60, said she came to the rally from her home in Las Vegas “to stand with those who want to clean house.”

The Republican opposes the health care bill and worries Americans are losing their rights, including parental rights and gun rights.

“It seems like every day more and more of our rights are being taken away,” Verzani said, sporting a Palin 2012 button to show support for the former Alaska governor who “doesn’t beat around the bush.”

Reid supporters set up a hospitality tent Saturday in the parking lot of a Searchlight casino, about a mile from the tea party rally. The Senate leader planned to spend part of the day at a new shooting range in Las Vegas with National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.

Luis Salvador, 55, an unemployed fire sprinkler fitter, drove down from Las Vegas to support Reid, who he said has done a lot for the state and doesn’t deserve the protest brought to his hometown.

“You don’t come to a man’s house and start creating a ruckus,” said Salvador, a registered independent. He and several others taped signs saying “Nevada Needs Harry Reid” to the side of a truck near the highway that runs through town.

Another Reid supporter, Judy Hill, 62, said she doesn’t understand the hatred of Reid. The longtime Democrat from Searchlight, said she thinks people just don’t know the man she calls a friend.

“They listen to the rhetoric. I think he’s very misunderstood and under-appreciated,” she said.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)