Thank god it is over.

Yesterday, for anyone just waking from a coma, a new era was realized. Out with the fat, old bastard of company-related government thought processes and in with a fresh new way of thinking.


Barak Obama, 44th President of the United States was sworn in, and former President George W. Bush thankfully boarded 'Executive 1' and flew back to Texas. Too bad he didn't move to Florida with Jeb. I can already see the affects from the drop in the IQ when he landed...


In his speech at Midland, the former president stated that he was happy to be back in Texas, and that he left Washington with the same values that he took to Washington 8 years ago. Well, you won't get an argument out of me. The ex-Texas Governor showed those values many many times, allowing big business a strangle hold on Texas Economics for many years, he showed us those values in the very suspicious election results from Florida four years ago, and he continues to show us those values today by finally getting to cash in all of those stocks from Halliburton that have been gaining 300% since he took Office. He might want to unload those quickly, as President Obama is trying to form a 16 month plan to get our kids home from the invasion Bush started.

I have high hopes for the new President, as does the world. Whether he is favorable to the plight of the ex-Offender is high on my opinion list, but as long as he does what he stated he will do for this nation, I will be happy no matter how long he is in office. I am hoping for 8 years, but the republicans still control Ca, Tx, and FL.. so we will probably see another hanging chad event soon.

Yesterday was a momentous occasion. Not only has a little bit more of the bigotry and hatred been pulled from the society of America, but I think now we might actually have a chance at making things happen as a country again.

UN says we've been bad.. What are they gonna do, spank us?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/19/mexican.execution.violation/index.html

From CNN.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A United Nations court has found that the United States violated an international treaty and the court's own order when a Mexican national was executed last year in a Texas prison.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a ruling Monday in an unusual case that pitted President Bush against his home state in a dispute over federal authority, local sovereignty and foreign treaties. Mexico had filed a formal complaint against U.S. state and federal officials

"The United States of America has breached the obligation incumbent upon it" to stop the execution, the ICJ announced in a unanimous opinion.

-- So What else is NEW? We violate our own people all the time, why not a few Mexican Nationals?

Jose Ernesto Medellin's death by lethal injection in August followed a 15-year legal dispute after his conviction for two brutal slayings.

At issue was whether Texas and other states had to give in to a demand by the president that the prisoner be allowed new hearings and resentencing. Bush made that request reluctantly after the international court in 2004 concluded that Medellin and about 50 other Mexicans on various states' death rows were improperly denied access to their consulate upon arrest, a violation of a treaty signed by the United States decades ago.

Their home countries could have provided legal and other assistance to the men had they been notified, the court said.

In a separate judgment, the ICJ declined Mexico's demand that the United States provide guarantees against executing other foreign inmates in the future.

The U.S. Supreme Court last March ruled for Texas, allowing the Medellin execution to proceed.

Efforts stalled in Congress last summer over legislation that would have given foreign death row inmates like Medellin a new hearing before any punishment could be carried out.

State Department officials have said the international ruling will not help other foreign inmates in U.S. prisons, because federal officials cannot force states to comply. Administration officials also said that the president did all he could to force state compliance and that Congress now needs to intervene with specific legislation.

-- BullShit! I CALL BULL SHIT. The legislature passed Megan's law, they passed Jessica's law, and they passed the ADAM WALSH ACT and forced states to go along by mandating they pass 'state' authored laws.. This is horse shit. Again, the government denying responsibility for their actions.

Medellin was 18 when he participated in the June 1993 gang rape and murder of two Harris County girls: Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16. He was convicted of the crimes and sentenced to death.

The prisoner's lawyers argued that Mexican consular officials were never able to meet with the man until after his conviction.

Only Oklahoma has commuted a capital inmate's sentence to life in prison in response to the international judgment. Days after Medellin died by lethal injection, Texas executed Honduran native Heliberto Chi Acheituno, who also said his treaty rights were violated.

The ICJ in 2004 ordered the United States to provide "review and reconsideration" of the sentences and convictions of the Mexican prisoners. That world court again in July mandated that the United States do everything within its federal authority to stop Medellin's execution until his case could be further reviewed by American courts.

Based in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICJ resolves disputes between nations over treaty obligations. The 15-judge panel is the principal judicial organization of the United Nations, laying out rights of people detained in other nations.

The Supreme Court appeal turned on what role each branch of government plays to give force to international treaty obligations. After the ICJ ruling, the United States pulled out of that international court's jurisdiction in matters arising from the Vienna Convention.

In allowing the Medellin execution to proceed, the Supreme Court majority noted congressional "inaction" on the issue, efforts that had "not progressed beyond the bare introduction of a bill in the four years since the ICJ ruling."

--

I am not saying what this asshat did was right, nor do I say that the end should have been any different , he raped and KILLED two young girls. For the murder, he got what should have been given. What I take exception to is the sheer bullshit being spewed from the State Department.

The real problem here is though, there is nothing that the UN can do about it. If they threaten sanctions, we'll threaten to either not pay our dues, or be a little 'late' like we did a few years ago, and not a single one of them will say another word.

Yes We Can.. Lie to the people

UPDATE-- I was absolutely incorrect. Anonymous pointed out that you CAN find the topics, if you know where to look. Do not attempt to search the topics on the first page, you have to go to the link Anon provided. I need to spend a bit more time searching and less getting angry. I take responsibility for flying off the handle...


Prez-elect Obama's transition team created a Citizen's Book at change.gov.. Seems they wanted to hear about what problems the president should hear about and look at fixing. I have been following several regarding the re-vamping of SO laws and regs. Last told, I saw 110 or so regarding the registry, re-vamping the laws, repealing AWA. Funny, but since they closed the ability to allow topics today, ALL of the requests for more just and less illegal laws, they were ALL deleted.

Funny..

Yes, We can.. oppress over 600 thousand American citizens...

Way to Go Obama, you have just proven that politicians truly are the lowest, most lying group of individuals on the planet. With this as an example of how you promote 'change' I guess we can look forward to many more years of business as usual politics...

Great Job.. You ..

Legislative Bills to contact your reps about.

Some of the little gems Texas wants to saddle SO's with. Call your reps today!

HB 22.

Online identifiers. http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Search/DocViewer.aspx?K2DocKey=odbc%3a%2f%2fTLO%2fTLO.dbo.vwCurrBillDocs%2f81%2fR%2fH%2fB%2f00022%2f1%2fB%40TloCurrBillDocs&QueryText=sex+offender&HighlightType=1

HB 79

Forced Punitive Taxation for being registered

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Search/DocViewer.aspx?K2DocKey=odbc%3a%2f%2fTLO%2fTLO.dbo.vwCurrBillDocs%2f81%2fR%2fH%2fB%2f00079%2f1%2fB%40TloCurrBillDocs&QueryText=sex+offender&HighlightType=1

HB 322

Restricting access to family members

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Search/DocViewer.aspx?K2DocKey=odbc%3a%2f%2fTLO%2fTLO.dbo.vwCurrBillDocs%2f81%2fR%2fH%2fB%2f00322%2f1%2fB%40TloCurrBillDocs&QueryText=sex+offender&HighlightType=1

HB 460

Putting Sex Offender's Children at risk

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Search/DocViewer.aspx?K2DocKey=odbc%3a%2f%2fTLO%2fTLO.dbo.vwCurrBillDocs%2f81%2fR%2fH%2fB%2f00460%2f1%2fB%40TloCurrBillDocs&QueryText=sex+offender&HighlightType=1

"Victim" angry about SO deal...But read the WHOLE story, won't you?

I want everyone to read this carefully. pay attention to information about the victim and the "sex offender".

SACRAMENTO, CA - An Elk Grove man convicted of his second sex offense avoided prison Thursday under a plea bargain that one victim told the judge is a "gross injustice to my family and the community."

Raymond Ralph Evans, 40, was an offender convicted on child pornography charges in 2001 who flew under the radar as he ran a mascot business employing teenagers and catering to children's parties and advertisers. Last July, Elk Grove police investigating a stalking allegation say they found a large amount of child pornography at his home. By the time their investigation was over, charges of rape, burglary and other charges were added to the list.

Over the past few months, however, the Sacramento County District Attorney's office dropped many of the more serious charges and agreed to a plea bargain where Evans avoids prison time and only serves one year in county jail. The 39-year-old woman who says she was the minor depicted in the child pornography testified and expressed anger at the sentencing hearing.

"The message you are sending to other predators is 'do the crime, not do the time. We will release you and wait for it to happen again, maybe crossing our fingers it won't'," Kimberly P. told the court. "I have known Mr. Evans more than 24 years and in those 24 years I have known a violent, predatory, addicted man. He is a predator of the worst kind."

The victim is an ex-wife of Evans who says she was the victim of spousal abuse and violence at his hands, as well as the victim of the child pornography he allegedly produced.

In the plea bargain, Evans pleaded no contest to a felony stalking charge and a misdemeanor charge of working with children while being a registered sex offender. Under the plea deal, Sacramento Superior Court Judge John P. Winn suspended a three-year state prison term but imposed a county jail term of 365 days. Evans will get credit for the past six months he's spent in county jail since his July 2008 arrest.

Among several other felony charges dismissed were two counts of rape and one count each of burglary and possession of child pornography with priors. Misdemeanors of violating a protective order and secretly photographing or videotaping people in a state of undress were also dropped.

Assistant District Attorney Stan Alancaster told News10 after the hearing the rape counts were dropped because the victim, a business associate of Evans according to the arrest warrant, wouldn't cooperate. Alancaster refused to comment or answer questions about why the other charges were dropped or why he agreed to no state prison time.

The victim who testified says she wasn't kept informed about what was happening in the case until she learned of the plea bargain. She said with the child pornography and priors cases involving Evans, she was always willing to testify.

"When you walk into somebody's home and you confiscate photographs of a minor child, and that minor child says, 'Yes, that's me,' how can you dispute that?" she told News10 afterward. "I have been a victim countless times. I have told them every single time I would testify."

After she testified Thursday, Winn told her, "I sympathize with your situation. I'm in a difficult position of trying to come up with a fair disposition. This was a case that was negotiated at length." Attorney Hayes Gable represented Evans.

"The only lesson learned is if you hold out long enough, pay enough lawyers, you, too, can walk out with charges dropped," the victim testified in court.

Since 2001, Evans has been required to register as a sex offender but because the charge was a misdemeanor his name does not appear on the public Megan's Law Web site. Elk Grove police said because Evans used a different first name in his mascot business, they were unaware he was the same man listed on their sex offender registration.

With this latest misdemeanor offense, Evans will remain off Megan's Law.

"I'm scared for the children of the community wherever he ends up. It'll probably be Elk Grove but those parents have no way of knowing when he gets out. They have no way of knowing the crimes that he's committed. So yeah, it does scare me," said the victim.

Ok, now that you have read this, notice anything weird. They say that he is 40, and that he had pictures of children? This 'Victim' is angry because of the plea deal.. But notice her age? She was 15 at the time of the pictures, and is 39 now. Meaning he was 16 years old!!!

Good Gravy folks, if you are gonna lie about someone, atleast make it a bit hazier. Seems that She is his ex-Wife, she was in them, and has had full disclosure to these pictures for 19 years! She allowed them to be taken, and only NOW when they are divorcing does she claim victim's status. I hope this bitch dies in a fiery hell of a trailer fire.. I really do.

Yeah, dude had another sex offense that was a misdemeanor, but this is absolutely the biggest bunch of bullshit there is. And this news page, they should be made to issue a statement saying they apologize for being fucking idiots.

http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=53033&catid=2

Yeah, and the standard idiot fuck-ups screaming in comments" How can this 40 year old get away with harming children",. etc etc etc.. It seems that not only are theses folks well below the average IQ, but they also cannot add the answers together as presented in the story and come up with the correct conclusion that intelligent people would...

From CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts renewed his call for higher judicial pay on Wednesday, warning of long-term damage to the fabric of the courts.
Chief Justice John Roberts says federal judges were denied cost-of-living allowances.

Chief Justice John Roberts says federal judges were denied cost-of-living allowances.

In his annual year-end report, Roberts noted judges' salaries have declined over the past two decades when measured against inflation, causing many judges to leave the bench for more lucrative jobs in the private sector.

Roberts, 53, and other judges have said a crisis in the administration of justice could result if the bench cannot attract "judges who are the best of the best."

"I must renew the judiciary's modest petition: Simply provide cost-of-living increases that have been unfairly denied," wrote Roberts. "We have done our part -- it is long past time for Congress to do its."

The last time judges received a substantial pay increase was 1991, but they have received periodic increases designed to keep pace with inflation.

The chief justice noted his colleagues again were denied a cost-of-living allowance this year. Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, insisted the increase be included in the auto bailout legislation considered in December, but it was dropped after some lawmakers objected.

Roberts complained that every federal employee, including all members of Congress, received a cost-of-living allowance this year, except for judges. Lawmakers' cost-of-living allowance increase was 2.8 percent, or $4,700. Congressional salaries are roughly on par with those of district court judges.

House and Senate committees earlier this year approved a 30-percent pay increase for the federal judiciary, but Congress as a whole has not acted on the proposal.

Some members of Congress are cool to the idea of higher pay for federal judges, who are among the highest paid federal employees. They also enjoy lifetime job security, and can retire at 65 with full salary after 15 years on the job.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the judges were "rightfully dismayed that they were not even accorded a cost-of-living adjustment this year."

"I share their disappointment and will continue working to enact the needed legislation to provide that adjustment," he said.

Leahy lamented that his own bill on judicial compensation, which he said would have made up for the lack of cost-of-living allowances in previous years, failed to pass the House or the Senate, even though both Judiciary Committees reported the bill out.

"As the economic crisis has deepened, it will be harder to enact this measure, but these adjustments are no less important," he said.

Higher pay has long been a crusade for Roberts and his predecessor, William Rehnquist. Recent year-end reports have contained more pointed criticism of congressional inaction, but Roberts' comments this year were relatively muted. As chief justice, he has administrative oversight over the entire federal court system. He is also the highest paid federal judge.

"The legal issues in today's global, technology-driven economy are increasingly complex, and judges must respond with wisdom and skill acquired from study, reflection, and experience," said Roberts. "The government must attract and retain the finest legal minds, including accomplished lawyers who are already in high demand, to join the bench as a lifelong calling."

Roberts proudly noted belt tightening in the federal courts, which submitted a budget calling for no new spending. The third branch of government only makes up two-tenths of one percent of the $3 trillion annual U.S. budget. He called that "miniscule."

The moment that we see the Sup. Court actually delve out some just opinions, then I am all for the pay raise. Until then, you're just gonna have to make do with you 200K a year.. Pathetic..

Happy New Year to all

I can only hope that this year justice will be allowed, and the moniker that resides in the lives of over 600,000 people becomes less punitive. I doubt that this will happen, the hate groups will see to it, but I have my hope.

Take Care, S.O.