Open Thread ... Monday

Thanks for spending part of your day on the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. (As always, if you've seen an interesting story elsewhere, feel free to share the link below.)

Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. I read the OT, but if you need to contact me directly, my email is jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks, and have a great day!

Thanks again, and have a great Monday!

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV for the above photo!

Comments

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Good morning, Mr. Abbott and my fellow Costellos. Another delightful Monday is upon us.

Criminality meets bankrupcy; criminality wins! The lede:

Mark Poveromo feels ripped off twice over. A judge ordered him to repay money he collected from a builder convicted of stealing from him — and told him to kick in the thief's attorney fees and court costs, too.

Charles Dickens wrote in Oliver Twist "If the law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble, "the law is a ass—a idiot." This is why we needed bankrupcy reform.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

As this Daily Mail story teaches, picking your buds is more important than picking your nose. The headline sums it up as Girl, 19, tortured for 13 hours after being wrongly accused of stealing phone. It wasn't Gitmo or Abu Ghraib or extraordinary rendition...it was the victim's "friends."

Now I've got Bette Midler stuck singing in my head.

[Searching]

Good Morning Keith.. sorry about the bette midler thing.. LOL

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Good morning, Searching! Bette's not bad. I've had Bob Dylan stuck in my head before...now THAT is bad! (Love the songs, can't hardly bear to listen to the singer.) "NoBODy...FEELS any PAAAAIN"...

Noooooooo....now Bob is stuck! ;-)

I'm looking for another story to distract me, so all is not lost. And I'm waiting for Golfer to give us this weekend's big golf news.

[Searching]

I am trying to figure out why my 401K has gone from -15.71 to a -5.32% in a matter of a couple of days

[Searching]

Well, I guess it is headed the right direction anyway.. LOL

[The_Golfer]

Good morning Keith, Search, and all to follow.

Weekend news - 6 hours to play the morning session of the tournament. Suppose to have been 4 person teams. 2 guys did not show up. So we could hit 2 shots each per shot. So we played 36 holes to everyone else's 18. We should be a good shape for a splitting point. By that, they take the scores, total number of teams, do a split based off that and give prizes at each level. Oh, the 2 of us shot 10 under, pretty good if you ask me. We were exhausted when we got done, but played pretty good.

Daughter blew off the parade on Saturday. She was sick, running a fever, and I did not want to put up with the drama anyway.

The US won the Ryder Cup!!!!

The US has found a captain and a new 2 mainstay. Boo Weekley and JB Holmes. 2 good old boys. Not the stuck-up prim an proper Phil and Tigger. Need mudders to win the Ryder.

[JUNGLE JIM]

Good morning CSKC. Keith, thanks for the kind words and the photo. I really like the red sky. Good work!

Another LEO in Washington state is shot to death, and the story has a twist...
Forest Service officer's killer was violating probation. The man who authorities say shot and killed a U.S. Forest Service officer and a Sequim-area man on Saturday had been wanted by the state for missing a meeting with his probation officer.

Shawn Roe, a 36-year-old who once ran a tree-trimming company, was killed Saturday night in a shootout with Clallam County sheriff's deputies, said State Patrol spokeswoman Krista Hedstrom. Roe had three handguns on him when he was killed and other firearms inside a truck he allegedly had stolen from a man found shot to death hours before, Hedstrom said.

Roe's former neighbors in Shelton said he met his now ex-wife, Mary Catherine White, on a ski trip. The two married in 1998 on the front lawn of their house. They have a young daughter.

White filed for divorce in July 2006. Two months later, she carried a gun to her teaching job at Nisqually Middle School in Lacey, saying she needed it as protection from her husband, according to The Olympian newspaper. She had a domestic-violence protection order against him and told deputies that she had carried the gun for about a month, the newspaper reported. The school district placed her on administrative leave because it is against state law to take a firearm to a school campus, the Olympian reported. White eventually resigned.

[The_Golfer]

James - can you put the Amber Alert back up, they had the kids photos on Channel 9 last night or this morning.

And this mother has done this several times before and she still has unsupervised visits? From what I saw this morning, this is at least the 3rd or 4th time.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Tokin' a joint may get you prison time but sniffing free money gets you portfolio growth. Wall Street smells "bailout." A $1 Trillion bailout, and not a single person will be saved from losing their home or paying exorbitant rates.

[The_Golfer]

Keith - the Dems are pushing hard to make that part of the package. That is saving homes.

[Searching]

I dont think these people ought to be able to keep their houses.. I am sick of bailing out people. They took more than they should, and I am sick and tired of them getting bailed out.

Nobody bails me out.. I keep working and working and paying and paying. They should have stayed within their means. I dont care what these people are claiming.. they knew what could happen.

[Searching]

OH, and shame on those lenders for being so greedy.

[The_Golfer]

Search - I agree, but if they do take the houses, the economy, what little is left, would go into complete freefall.

And the Republications would have caused yet another Great Depression.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Golfer, I'm awaiting the results. I noticed the first few hundred billion didn't address citizens/homeowners, and golden parachutes would appear to protect the perps from any "situations" faced by many taxpayers.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Good morning, Golfer and Jungle Jim!

[Searching]

I heard a guy talking the other day and he was saying that this only effects 3% of homeloans. That 97% of home loans are being paid. .. How could that be?
Does anyone have the stats on what percentage of homeloans are in danger of foreclosure.

And I thought a lot of the bailouts had to do with insurance losses on disasters.

[JUNGLE JIM]

That (effing) cat had it coming...
UPDATE: KILLER ESCAPE CLAWS! It's a loophole that might just prove big enough to swing a cat through.

A Manhattan jury begins deliberations today in a bizarre fatal "self-defense" cat-bludgeoning case, which at first might seem to be open-and-shut.

The defendant - Joseph Petcka, 37, an out-of-work actor and retired Minor League pitcher - weighed 210 pounds and delivered the fatal kicks while wearing steel-toed Harley Davidson motorcycle boots.

"Buster's Law" makes it a felony to injure or kill a companion animal in a cruel manner and for "no justifiable purpose" - three words that could get Petcka off the hook, providing jurors believe Norman had it coming, no matter how excessive the response, or how much rage and jealousy prosecutors say fueled it.

[The_Golfer]

Morning Jungle!!

[James Hart]

Good morning, everybody!

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Good morning, Mr. Hart! If it weren't a Monday, it would be a grand and glorious day. As it is, I'll settle for grand.

[JUNGLE JIM]

Good morning everybody, again.

M.O.T.Y. ALERT!
Cops: Woman charged with drunken driving left kids behind. Toni Keatley, 51, of 29 Panorama Dr., Huntington, was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with drunken driving and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting after she crashed into a car and drove away -- leaving her children, who had jumped out seeking help.

Bonus. Mugshot!

[JUNGLE JIM]

How about a Walnut or McGee day? They're close to Grand.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

I can deal with that, JJ. I'd go as far as supporting a Main or Oak day, too, Punster!

[James Hart]

Keith: Thanks for sending that shot of downtown -- I'm using it with today's OT.

[JUNGLE JIM]

Ha! The PUNisher strikes again.

Meanwhile, don't look for the state of New Hampshire to execute anybody soon...
2 rare capital trials conducted in New Hampshire. One capital murder trial is under way and another is about to start in New Hampshire, a state that last executed someone in 1939, has no one on death row and has no death chamber.

The first trial began Sept. 8 and involves John "Jay" Brooks, a millionaire businessman accused of orchestrating the 2005 kidnapping and murder of someone whom Brooks believed had stolen from him.

In the other case, jury selection was to begin Monday in the trial of Michael "Stix" Addison, who is charged with fatally shooting a Manchester police officer in 2006.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

James, that was taken in July of '05. The building is enclosed, but I'm not sure they'd finished to the point yet where the presses were being installed. Taken from the same spot as the one a couple of months ago.

I love that building. I think it's absolutely magnificent. I'm only sorry they took my tax dollars as well as my paper purchase quarters.

[JUNGLE JIM]

I thought happy campers were a good thing...
These campers got a little too happy. The conservation officer involved in an early morning search and rescue mission for a pair of Massachusetts men lost in the woods of Derry yesterday is recommending the state bill the men for services rendered.

Dane Izzo and Michael Castiello, both of East Boston, were found yesterday at 3 a.m., about 150 yards from the Hidden Valley RV Park camp site they had left a few hours earlier after deciding to go for a midnight walk.

[You're a Mean Drunk R2D2™]

Good Morning everyone!

How goes it today? I'm finally back at the grindstone after a week off... My email is slowly getting caught up though. hehe.

[Searching]

hey, one of my powerball tickets is worth $100.. how bout that? LOL

[James Hart]

Morning, R2. I'm glad you're back!

Searching: What are you going to do with it?

[JoeJoe]

Good Morning All-

Searching- I heard a couple of morning DJ's discussing many stories about how people that have won the lottery end up having bad things happen to them. BE CAREFULE who you tell about your winnings and make certain to not spend it all at once!

[JUNGLE JIM]

Keeping "it" in the family, but not in their pants...
Dad, son get time for crimes. The father was a retired Charleston firefighter, his son a supervisor for Charleston County detectives.

The father was arrested in 2006 and again this year on charges of molesting girls decades ago. Last year, the son was arrested on Peeping Tom charges after complaints from a woman who lived in his neighborhood.

Now, the father is in state prison while the son is on probation after two fallen members of the public safety ranks pleaded guilty to criminal charges this summer.

Dos mugshotos.

[James Hart]

Searching: I would hate for you to have any bad luck from your lottery winnings. If you want, you can send the ticket to me. I will take care of everything ...

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Howdy, R2 and JoeJoe.

Looks like I'll have to stop calling Jungle Jim "JJ". Too much confusion, I can't get no relief. (Thank you, Bob Dylan.)

[Searching]

I think I am going to pay a painter to finish off the work that has to be done in my kitchen.. which.. by the way.. looks freaking awesome.. just needs the new shelves painted and little lipstick and rouge.

Everything I said I wanted done and hubby started with.. that wont work.. we were able to do. I even have the room I wanted to hang my pots and pans. That'll clear up some cabinet space!

[Searching]

I think the whole bad luck thing only works if you win the big one! LOL

[JoeJoe]

I hope everybody had a great weekend. I have a feeling that it will be quite some time before we will be able to look forward to Sundays in the fall and Chiefs football. At least the Ryder cup was entertaining. I am certain that the BBC will have a field day with some of the antice from the crowd and the US Golfers.

[JoeJoe]

Glad the kitchen is coming along!

[JUNGLE JIM]

JIM works just as well. JoeJoe is more than welcome to "JJ".

Just check "Yes" or "No"...
Man proposes; girlfriend stabs him.

Awsome blushing bride mugshot!

[Jellybean]

There's more info about the boy who was kidnapped and forced to drive to Kirksville.

[The_Golfer]

Morning James and all who have come since I last was here.

Only ones I saw over the weekend with any antics was Boo and Holmes. Boo cranked up the crowd.

Just some good ol' boys....
Singer and show....

[James Hart]

Searching, it'll probably be really nice to have that kitchen all done up for the fall, so you'll be able to fix some nice dinners on cold days.

Jellybean: Thanks for the headsup, friend!

[The_Golfer]

JellyBean - that is a pretty bad sketch.

[JoeJoe]

Joe is fine with me! I wasn't thinking when I posted under JoeJoe the first time...I'd hate to take away JJ's easy abbreviation!

Keith-great picture!

[You're a Mean Drunk R2D2™]

Word to the wise... Don't play the flute outside this ladies apartment... It's a Stabbin'!

[JoeJoe]

Golfer-I din't think the antics were bad, but the Brits are likely to. I loved Boo, he will now be THE crowd favorite at every event he plays in. I read somewhere that a fan dressed in a white sheet jumped out in front of Lee Westwood and said, "Boo!" The fan was ejected, but he/she will always have that story to tell! You could also hear a little heckling from the crowd after the Europeans hit a poor shot. Nothing too major, but the Brits will complain.

[You're a Mean Drunk R2D2™]

Also, Train Surfing may be hazardous to your health.

(includes video of train surfers)

[Keith G. in P.V.]

JJim and JJoe...that should keep ME confused! Howdy, JJellybean.

Thanks, JJoe. I was lucky, downtown very early on what would later be a stormy morning. That's the AT&T building on the left between 14th & Truman Rd., Oak and Locust, with the south loop running east/west below grade between it and the Star.

[Searching]

I really need it to be done by Saturday.. apples are in and I need to get to canning some applesauce and applebutter.. otherwise.. what oh, what will I do when I want some apple butter porkchops?