Ok. Enough is enough. How many dead baby bunnies did YOU find in YOUR yard this weekend?
We found 2. Ewwww....
How many bees flew into YOUR Car window today?
I had 3. AAAAaaahhhh!!!!
And did YOU scream bloody murder when a lightning bolt cracked practically outside your window last night? Freaked me OUT. Sounded like a gunshot.
Thankfully, the ants that decided the cat puke in our front window was tasty (ewwwww) have decided to not come back as their relatives have met their maker. But only after Corinne stuck her hand in the bug spray repeatedly while I shrieked at her and had to wash her hands over and over (while she said "I wash! I WASH!").
At least I am happy that most of the veggies are growing. We also planted some beans and carrots this weekend, so we're anxious to see how those will do.
--
Patrick and Justin had an awesome Daddy/Son day on Saturday, at a Cub Scout outing. Archery, wall climbing, hiking, etcetera. They had a blast. And we hit the zoo yesterday, on another GORGEOUS day. Corinne absolutely loved EVERY SINGLE ANIMAL we saw and cried every time she had to say bye bye. Much inserting of the pacifier happened yesterday.
Oh, and a registered sex offender moved into our neighborhood recently. Lovely... But maybe this will be a wake-up call to some of the parents that let their kids run wild. And it's not the guys that are registered offenders that freak me out (although it IS icky to know he's there): it's the guys (and women) that haven't been caught yet. THOSE are the ones that scare the crap out of me... You just never know...
SO! On that note, let me tell you to go check your state's website for registered sex offenders (and other fun crimes) to see where your neighbors stand. It might surprise you (but hopefully, not). I think this will serve as an explanation for why my children will be walked home from school till they're out of college.
Posts
10 comments:
Ugh, nature! I wish it would just go away already!! ; )
Listen to this, go to about 11:30:
http://theparson.net/media/Beware_the_Mob.m3u
I want to direct you to one issue on my blog, but I also encourage you to read more of my blog.
http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/2007/03/yellow-journalism-in-augusta-georgia.html
and
http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-thoughts-sex-offender-law-issues.html
One last note. Why are child sex offenders placed on the public registry? And when in jail/prison, placed in the same place as the adult offenders? Doesn't this just seem wrong to you? As for the registry, it would seem to me like that is an open invitation for a predator to use to seek their next victim. Doesn't make sense to me. I personally think ALL sex offenders below 18 should be removed from the registry and also young offenders should be segregated from adult offenders to prevent further abuse.
LINKS
* http://www.nacdl.org/sl_docs.nsf/issues/sexoffender_attachments/$FILE/sexOffenderPolicy.pdf
* http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/ (Educational Sex Offender Blog)
* http://sexoffenderinfo.pbwiki.com (Educational Sex Offender Wiki)
* http://on-murders.blogspot.com/ (Blog about sex offender murders)
* http://on-suicides-deaths.blogspot.com/ (Blog about sex offender suicides)
* http://politically-sparked.blogspot.com/ (Blog about sex offender vigilantism)
* http://www.badcopnews.com (Why aren't these in the media?)
ISSUES
* I do not believe in registries period, but if the sex offender laws are kept, why discriminate? I DEMAND WE HAVE A CRIMINAL HISTORY REGISTRY, SO I KNOW IF YOU ARE A MURDERER, GANG MEMBER, DRUG DEALER/USER, DRUNK, THIEF! IT'S MY RIGHT! Why won't this fly? Because then the senator, mayor, governor, president, celebrities or you may be on a publicly accessible registry to face the same shame and harassment. But why not? Why discriminate?
* When will people ever realize no matter how tough on crime, all the zero tolerance, all the registries in the world will not prevent a murderer from murdering, a thief from stealing, a dealer from dealing, a user from using, a rapist from raping....accusations on any sex crime, child abuse, or domestic violence will literally nail your butt to the wall! No DNA has to be present, No violence has to be present..... HEARSAY ALONE IS LITERALLY NAILING THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO THE WALL BECAUSE THESE LAWS ARE BIASED.
* Living is already almost impossible for "sex offenders", and the more and more laws that are passed daily, eventually they are going to explode, and it won't be a pretty sight. You must be realistic when making laws, these draconian laws make it impossible for anyone to live ANY type of life. Everyone is for treatment and punishing those violent offenders who are making other sex offenders lives hell, but like I said, we must be realistic.
* For all the people being charged with Child p**nography, is the law checking the computers to make sure they are not infected with a virus? Many people are ignorant when it comes to computers, and if they click on some attachment in an email, their machine can become infected with a virus, trojan, spyware, adaware program which stores child p**n on their machine. Are these so called "experts" checking this? Or ignoring this possibility?
* The issue with sex offenders Internet email addresses, IM names, etc being collected, this is another "feel good" law that will not stop crime. If someone wanted to commit a new crime, they'd create a new email address and commit the crime. This is stupid and won't work. It is just another waste of the taxpayers money.
* Think!! Come up with solutions, not "feel good" laws, which make it harder and harder for sex offenders to get on with their lives.
* "Buffer Zones" are a false sense of security!
* "Buffer Zones" are banishing people from their town, state, and possibly the country!
* "Buffer Zones" create homelessness, which costs society lost productivity, individual dignity, and creates additional problems for enforcing any accurate registry!
* "Buffer Zones" do nothing, except banish! It could be 50 miles and if someone wanted to re-offend, they'd just get in a car and drive!
* It should be MANDATORY that anyone in prison get therapy, and out of prison, if needed. Therapy does work. If you just lock them up without therapy, when they get out, they will be worse off. Therapy teaches people how to not act out and help, regardless of what the general public thinks. Just ask a therpist.
* We need to STOP this hysteria and get sex offenders the help they need.
* You can pass all the laws you want but without therapy this "mob" mentality will not solve anything!
* I am sick of politicians using children to get their laws passed! Who would want to vote against anything that is "for the children"?
* "Stranger Danger" is a smoke screen & hype! Most child sexual offenses occur by someone the child knows, like a family member or close friend!
* These laws are being passed by politicians using sex offenders as scape goats, for votes!
* Registries do NOT protect anyone or prevent crimes!
* Registries are punishing sex offenders as well as their families and children, and opening them up to vigilantism. DON'T THE FAMILIES AND CHILDREN OF sex OFFENDERS COUNT? They are suppose to be "for the children", right?
* Registries are NOT being updated in a timely fashion, so the public is getting false information! How is this helping the public or protecting them when they cannot rely on them?
* Registries are putting families and children of sex offenders in a public position to be socially outcast and discriminated against with regard to employment, housing, schooling, etc!
* About 90% of the people on the registry are NOT violent offenders that these laws were ment for in the first place!
* These laws cost millions, if not billions to enforce, and they cause prison over-population, which is already a problem, especially in California, and taxpayers pay for all this.
* GPS does not prevent sexual crimes! Another false sense of security which cost tons of money! Plus the offenders are supposed to pay for this, which will make them eventually go homeless. MAKE THE TAX PAYERS WHO WANT THESE LAWS PAY FOR THEM!
* These laws cause sex offenders to go underground and into hiding, due to the strict nature of the laws! How is this protecting anyone?
* These laws are all about money for law enforcement and votes for politicians. Prison is a business! Politicians are salaried and want to get elected/re-elected! Law enforcement get paid for people in jails, prisons or on the registry!
* These laws blatantly disregard the United States constitutional rights of all citizens! (i.e. ex-post facto, due process & others)
* These laws are cruel and unusual punishment! A sex offender cannot go to a fast food restaurant which has a playground! Why? They have just as much of a right as you to get a burger! Plus they cannot go anywhere kids congregate. (i.e. Amusement parks, Movie theaters, the list is endless)
* Sex offenders can go to church, but must leave immediately afterwards. If a sex offender owns a business and someone decides to put a church or school next door, they have to now sell their business and move. This is not right, move the church or school, the sex offender was there first!
* These laws continue to punish people even after a sentence has been served, and they are trying to get on with their lives! (i.e. ex-post facto)
* These laws are driven by fear-mongering, opportunistic politicians and will do nothing to actually protect children!
* There are over one million women and children whose lives are inter-twined with a sex offender in the United States. They should matter too!
* Follow the money trail, these laws are conveyor-belt laws to benefit law enforcement! They get paid for the number of people in jail, prison or on the registry!
* They are currently a one-size-fits all for sex offenders! Not all sex offenders are violent offenders that these laws are supposed to be for anyway!
* They are modern day witch hunts and a scarlett letter!
* If sex Offenders are re-offending, why do the registries grow each day? Because new people are being added daily for stuff like "public urination", "mooning", "concensual sex", "young children playing 'Doctor'" and various other minor offenses that we need not worry about. We need to worry about violent offenders!
* Now they are trying to make it a law that a sex offender, if they have kids, cannot "take a picture" of anyone under 18. This is totally stupid! Can't even take Christmas pictures, birthday pictures, etc!
* Also, because a sex offender owns a business in town, many people are trying to get the business shut down! The sex offender had the business for awhile. If you don't like it, MOVE!!!!
Holy Cow! zman! got a little carried away! Wow. I am the mother of a survivor of molestation...and I think that the laws (and personally escorting your children to school through college) are just fine.
I think nature kind of is icky too...
Tracey thanks for your thoughtful comment :)
Nature can most definitely be icky.
My teenagers are all in high school and STILL either take a school bus or I give them a ride.
I am with you on the sex offenders the scariest part is the ones who haven't been caught yet. I check that sight often. You can never be too prepared for what's out there.
Two dead bunnies and a lightning bolt? Whoa. Looks like fun in your backyard. I only have weeds.
Mike
http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com/
PS. I’ve started a photoblog at http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com/mike_leonen
Appreciate a visit and comments.
2 dead bunnies? Oh how sad!
Glad to hear the daddy/son event went well and you got through the trip to the zoo!
I've looked at one of those registries before and couldn't believe the ones that lived close to elementary schools - I thought that wasn't allowed.
Yikes all the way around! Dead bunnies, bees, ants . . . at least the daddy/son event and the zoo were up lifting.
There are 22 registered sex offenders in my zip code, I just found out. I remember when I was Hannah's age (7) and I would go tromping about our neighborhood by myself. And at 10 I was going to the mall with just a friend and no adult. Holy Camoley ~ what was my mom thinking?!
No dead bunnies, but we recently found a dead mouse under the table at a restaurant recently. Does that count?
I posted a link to the sex offenders registry quite a while ago, but it bears repeating esp. since school will be out soon and more kids will be out and about. Actually one local site listed the actual offense (legal desc), date it occurred, age of victim, which was very helpful. Unfortunately, the link is no longer active, but it provided enough info to discern that the registered sex offender in our neighborhood was 18 at the time (1972) and his girlfriend (consensual but illegal at the time was 17). I don't condone that, but that's a very different scenario than, say, the 53 year old who seeks out young kids.
I do disagree with the previous commenter, though. I don't really care whether my next door neighbor ripped off a TV (unless it was mine). I do, however, care whether he lured a young kid into his home and committed an unspeakable crime. (As for other crimes, while there may not be a registry, a google search of the news will generally reveal criminal arrests, etc. that are reported in the local newspaper.)
Ellebee, I agree that more information regarding the nature of the sexual offense should be required (as in the 18 year old with his 17 yr girlfriend). But I think that those offenders are the minority rather than the majority, and although it may be EXTREMELY Unfair to lump them all together as sexual offenders, it is the only way that is being done now. And KNOWING that someone has a history is better than the way it used to be, which was blind faith that your neighbors didn't have previous criminal histories. I think it should be the offender's choice as to whether the whole story is posted or if it is paraphrased into "aggravated sexual assault aged 13-16" which, I'm sorry, is a major offense no matter HOW old the offender was at the time.
zman, I've been trying to figure out how to respond to your comments. I think I can only say that you are obviously on the opposite side of the spectrum as I am. While I feel pity for those who are wrongly accused and convicted and pity for those who are convicted of a minor offense but are lumped with the really bad guys, I feel more sorrow for the millions of children that are hurt year after year. THEY should be our focus, not the conditions within which the offenders live while they are serving their sentences.
YES they need therapy! Of course!! And so do the victims!! And their parents, and the community!! But the money isn't there!! If we want things to change, we need to approve the tax changes, donate our time and money to the causes we feel strongly about, and provide truly loving, permament care for the children of abuse. We need to change the system that is in play for the children, so that they don't continue the cycle in another generation. Stop it EARLY. So that another child doesn't suffer.
I think I will post this as an updated thread, because I really want this to be understood.
Post a Comment