Archive for April 19th, 2007
Mary Winkler Found Guilty of Voluntary Manslaughter
April 19th, 2007
Mary Winkler, the wife of preacher Matthew Winkler, has been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter instead of the first degree murder charge the prosecution wanted.
Her sentence will be between three and six years. This is a lot more optimistic than the 60 years she was facing and if they give time off for good behavior she could be out sooner.
Justice was served.
Posted in 
Is Anyone Listening
April 19th, 2007
There has been nothing from Congress close to a comprehensive bill dealing with Immigration but it does appear the public is leaning heavily in one direction.
Patrick Hynes of Ankle Biting Pundits details the latest poll from USA Today:
While Congress and the White House remain divided over what to do with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the USA, a new poll shows the American public appears to have reached a consensus on the question.
A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken last weekend found that 78% of respondents feel people now in the country illegally should be given a chance at citizenship.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who is drafting legislation to grant illegal immigrants an opportunity to stay in the USA, said: “As with so many issues, the American people are ahead of Washington on immigration reform. They know that only a plan that offers a path to earned citizenship will fix our broken system.â€
Disagreements about the fate of the nation’s illegal residents were a major factor in the deadlock that kept Congress from enacting an immigration bill last year, despite the support of key Democratic and Republican leaders, as well as President Bush. The president and members of his Cabinet, including Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, have said it would be prohibitively expensive to deport all the nation’s illegal residents.
But many conservatives strongly oppose to putting illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship. “You’d be rewarding them for breaking our laws,†said Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif.
Perhaps we could all agree it is time for Congress and the White House to come to consensus on this issue. Not a quick fix, but enforceable law.
Huh?
April 19th, 2007
Okay, now I really don’t know what to say!
Berlin’s polar bear cub Knut receives death threat
By Madeline Chambers
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s celebrity polar bear cub Knut has received an anonymous death threat, causing alarm at Berlin Zoo on Thursday and prompting heightened security.
Top-selling Bild newspaper said the zoo had received a hand-written fax from a suspected animal hater with the words: “Knut is dead! Thursday midday.”
Truly, I am at a loss for words.
Story here.
No Room for Debate
April 19th, 2007
Via Drudge:
TOP DEM LEADER PROCLAIMS: ‘WAR IS LOST’
How does the leader of the United States Senate make this proclamation in good conscience while we are at war? It is understandable that there are divisions and various opinions as to the state of affairs in Iraq but for any politician to make such a statement is disturbing to say the least.
Okay Mr. Reid, if the United States has lost then the terrorists have won. How pathetic that you, for political posturing, would turn your back on the men and women who fight for your freedom. There will be those who will say he is simply speaking his mind however, his words translate to defeat for our troops.
It is unthinkable that honest debate has been sidelined and a high ranking Senator would give comfort to the enemy..make no mistake that is what statements like this do.
Mr. Reid did not offer an opinion nor leave room for discussion, he made a definitive remark.
I trust that even with our differences of opinion Americans would understand the difference.
Maliki Says Iraq To Control Whole Nation By End of Year
April 19th, 2007
From this news report we read that Maliki of Iraq says Iraq will control all of Iraq’s security by the end of the year.
Iraq plans to take security control of all its provinces from foreign forces before the end of the year, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a speech read out by a senior official on Wednesday.
Maliki is under growing pressure from powerful anti-American Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to set a timetable for the withdrawal of 146,000 U.S. troops from Iraq.
In a speech delivered on his behalf by National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie at a ceremony marking the handover of southern Maysan province from British forces to Iraqi control, Maliki said three provinces in the autonomous Kurdistan region would follow next.
“Maysan … will be followed by the three Kurdistan provinces, a month from now,” Maliki said.
“After that Kerbala and Wasit (provinces). Then it will be province by province until we achieve (this transfer) before the end of the year.”
Maliki has repeatedly said U.S. troops would leave Iraq only when Iraqi forces were ready to take over security.
Sounds good to me if he can make good on his promises.
Captain Ed is Live Blogging the Gonzales Hearings
April 19th, 2007
Captain Ed is live-blogging the Gonzales hearings here. Go over and read if you haven’t had the chance to watch.
It’s important to remember that firing US Attorneys is not a crime. They can be fired for any reason including no reason. It should not be an impeachable offense unless someone finds out the DoJ was trying to cover-up something and I haven’t heard that accusation yet.
The Kitchen’s Warming Up For Rep. Jefferson
April 19th, 2007
“NEW ORLEANS — An aide to U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, a congressman who allegedly stashed $90,000 in bribe money in his freezer, has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in Virginia investigating Jefferson’s African business dealings.
This would be the second time the grand jury has asked Stephanie Butler, Jefferson’s district manager, to appear. She was among six of Jefferson’s staff members subpoenaed in March 2006 by the grand jury. She could not be reached for comment Wednesday
Check out the rest at Macsmind.
No One Knows What Goes On Behind Closed Doors
April 19th, 2007
In a deliberate effort to not talk about the Virginia Tech murders because everyone else is covering that story I want to bring your attention to Mary Winkler, wife of the killed minister Matthew Winkler.
Mary Winkler has admitted pulling the trigger on the shotgun that killed her husband, but she seems to have some pretty compelling testimony.
Mary Winkler said she just wanted to talk to him when she went into their bedroom at the church parsonage, but she was terrified. He was physically and sexually abusive, she said.
That day, she just wanted to stop him from being so mean, she said.
After the gun fired, she ran from the house, she said. “I thought Matthew would be mad at me, and I didn’t know what he would do to me.”
Earlier Wednesday, Mary Winkler testified her husband punched and kicked her, forced her to have sex she considered unnatural and refused to grant her a divorce.
The defense showed the jury a pair of white platform-heel shoes and a wig she said her husband wanted her to wear during sex.
Mary Winkler, 33, talked quietly, her eyes downcast as she described their sex life. She said her husband wanted her to look at pornography before sex, and photos she identified as coming from her husband’s computer were entered as evidence.
She testified that he once kicked her in the face, and hit her, pushed her down and hit her with a belt. Shortly after they were married, “he just got me down and told me that I was his wife and we were family now, and he just screamed and hollered,” she testified.
“I just wanted out,” she said.
The defense has said Mary Winkler intended to hold her husband at gunpoint only to force him to talk about the incident involving their 1-year-old daughter, Breanna, and that the shooting was accidental. She testified that her husband had put his hand over Breanna’s nose and mouth to make the baby stop crying.
Several witnesses for the prosecution said they never saw any sign that Matthew Winkler was abusive. The couple’s 9-year-old daughter, Patricia, testified that she had a good father and she never saw him mistreat her mother.
If her story is true, this woman lived through hell with her preacher husband.
No one, including their nine-year old daughter knows what went on between the two of them in private.
Like the Andrea Yates case a few years ago, there seem to be extenuating circumstances that would put a reasonable doubt into the minds of the jurors.
If she is found guilty of anything I hope it’s not murder, but involuntary manslaughter. To me, it seems she’s done her time in prison.
The Knife Cuts Both Ways
April 19th, 2007
From Roll Call is this blurb:
FBI Ups Heat on Doolittle
Attorney: Wife Target of Raid By Rachel Van Dongen and Susan Davis
Roll Call Staff
Wednesday, April 18; 7:48 pmThe FBI raided the Virginia home of Rep. John Doolittle and his wife on Friday, though the Congressman’s lawyer contended the raid was focused on Julie Doolittle’s fundraising records rather than any of the California Republican lawmaker’s own activities.
I don’t know what kind of fundraising records Mrs. Doolittle had, or if she is actually the target of the raid, but if it turns out Congressman Doolittle has done something illegal I call for his resignation from Congress and the full power of the law to be brought upon him.
Thanks NASA
April 19th, 2007
If you follow the link in this post at Common Sense and Wonder I promise you will not be disappointed.
If you appreciate Astronomy..don’t miss it.
~J~ adds: I uploaded this photo of Aurora over Alaska because it didn’t have a copyright on it, and wanted you to get a sense of what’s in store if you visit the site.
Aurora Over Alaska
Credit: Joshua Strang, USAF, Wikipedia
Explanation: Higher than the highest mountain, higher than the highest airplane, lies the realm of the aurora. Aurora rarely reach below 60 kilometers, and can range up to 1000 kilometers. Aurora light results from solar shockwave causing energetic electrons and protons to striking molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere. Frequently, when viewed from space, a complete aurora will appear as a circle around one of the Earth’s magnetic poles. The above digitally enhanced photograph was taken in 2005 January shows a spectacular aurora borealis above the frozen landscape of Bear Lake, Alaska, USA. The above image was voted Wikipedia Commons Picture of the Year for 2006.
From Tonto’s Comment:
An Eskimo Legend
Northern Lights – are believed to be the torches held in the hands of Spirits seeking the souls of those who have just died, to lead them over the abyss terminating the edge of the world. A narrow pathway leads across it to the land of brightness and plenty, where disease and pain are no more, and where food of all kinds is already in abundance. To this place none but the dead and the Raven can go. When the Spirits wish to communicate with the people of the Earth, they make a whistling noise, and the Earth people answer only in a whispering tone.
The Eskimo say that they are able to call the Aurora and converse with it. They send messages to the dead through these Spirits.
