"The Global Consciousness Project, also known as the EGG Project, is an international multidisciplinary collaboration of scientists, engineers, artists and others continuously collecting data from a global network of physical random number generators located in 65 host sites worldwide. The archive contains over 10 years of random data in parallel sequences of synchronized 200-bit trials every second."
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, July 2, 2021
Ironic, isn’t it, how nature has a way of meting out its own justice?
Seth Bishop (LEFT B&W), age 18, younger brother of Amy Bishop Anderson; Seth Anderson, son of Amy Bishop Anderson, 20.
FormerUniversity of Alabama at Huntsville killer Assistant Professor Amy Bishop Anderson— whose son Seth was named after her younger brother, whom also Braintree, Massachusetts authorities believe she killed December 1986 when she was then 21-years-old — himself became a fatal shooting victim Monday, 20 April 2021, in Huntsville.
Huntsville Police issued a public statement that same day, that reckless murder charges had been filed against 18-year old Vincent Harmon, after a shooting victim with life-threatening injuries was admitted to Huntsville Hospital emergency services around 8PM Monday, 20 April 2021, and later died.
Harmon Vincent, age 18, shot & killed Seth Anderson, 20, son of convicted UAH killer Amy Bishop Anderson, in Huntsville, Alabama.
Authorities had not initially named the victim because the next of kin had not yet been notified, but Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, November 19, 2018
Almost everyone who has worked in sales has heard the mantras “the customer is always right,” and “the customer is your most important person.”
And as anyone who has worked in healthcare can attest, neither of those statements are true.
For example, consider the patient who, arriving at the ED (Emergency Department) said to the physician, “My doc says my sugar is high so he gave me this medicine for diabetes.”
Naturally, the physician asked, “Do you take it?”
The patient replied saying, “No, ’cause I don’t have diabetes, just high sugar.”
And then, another Physician who explained to the patient’s mother her child’s diagnosis and therapeutic interventions saying, “She has a concussion, she needs to rest in bed in a quiet dark room until she is better.”
The mother then asked, “Can she go to the fair?”
Conventional wisdom often monikered as “common sense,” sometimes follows the pithy axiom that “common sense isn’t so common anymore.”
For years, I’ve maintained that the customer is NOT “always right,” nor are they the “most important person” in any business.
Instead, the most important person in any business are the employees.
Some CEOs have gotten a bad rap, often justifiably, because while seeking to return corporate profit and shareholder return, they’ve cut resources and employees. Like the abusive Pharaoh of the Exodus account in the Old Testament, they demand to “make more bricks with less hay.” Of course, we know how that story ended – not well.
So naturally, it delighted me to read some time ago that Sir Richard Branson, a renown entrepreneur and philanthropist, has similarly long held that thought and said, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, October 6, 2016
Reunion of Quantrill’s Raiders, circa 1924, Oak Grove, Missouri. The first official reunion occurred in 1898, more than 30 years after Quantrill’s death and the end of the Civil War. The circled figure is Jesse James. Image from the Jackson County Historical Society and the Truman Library.
The 1901 reunion of Quantrill’s Raiders in Blue Springs, MO. Note the tag in the upper LEFT corner of the image. Sim Whitsett was at this reunion and is probably in this picture. Also in the picture is Frank James (center front, named). The first picture of the Quantrill veterans (Sim Whitsett was in attendance) was taken at the 1900 reunion. The picture is of a parade of the attendees on horseback. The 1901 is the first group photo in which the faces of individuals can be (barely) distinguished.
In response to a post expressing justifiable criticism of terrorism at home and abroad, it occurred to me that terrorism itself is nothing new… not even in the United States. So, I thought to share a brief overview of it, which appears as follows.
—/—
You forgot all about the War Between the States.
The Southern rebellion, of course, was often comprised of loosely associated rag-tag bands of incompetents and criminals, which thrived and often deserted formal association with the Confederate Army, and ransacked their way throughout the countryside.
John Singleton Mosby, image from his memoir. His note reads: “This picture is a copy of the one taken in Richmond in January 1863: The uniform is the one I wore on March 8th 1863 on the night of General Staughton’s capture. John S Mosby”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, February 5, 2015
It’s NOT mere “courtesy,” IT’S THE LAW!
I was run off the road while riding my 10-speed bicycle.
It happened in a residential part of town, very near home, and upon one of the widest roads in town…
Capable of 4 lanes of 2-way traffic, with parallel parking along both sides, the road also ran adjacent the football stadium & high school.
I loved to ride my bicycle, and would do so almost daily, for at least five miles. And that was long before the song “Bicycle” by Queen was popularized. In fact, it was upon a “road bike” much like the ones seen in the video below.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Another criminal scumbag has cost the taxpayers of Alabama untold tens of thousands of dollars.
Yeah.
Sho’ nuff!
That mofo be a dumbass, f’sho!
Chaunce Martel Williams, aged 28, driver of the vehicle seen here, sustained life-threatening injuries after he attempted to elude police, and led them on a chase of some distance. His two passengers are hospitalized in serious, but not life-threatening condition.
Here’s what the whelp did, according to local news reports.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, June 26, 2014
Howard Baker, 18 years United States Senator from Tennessee, Republican Majority Leader, widely respected by Democrats & Republicans as “the quintessential mediator, negotiator and moderator,” Chief of Staff to President Ronald Reagan, Ambassador to Japan under President George W. Bush, and award-winning Photographer has died aged 88 in his Huntsville, Tennessee home of complications from a stroke Saturday, 21 June 2014.
He said of his photographic hobby that it “may be the only place where I can reasonably aspire to perfection.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, September 3, 2013
I’ve decided to take a different track with this entry.
I choose to grocery shop at Kroger.
I don’t grocery shop at Wal-Mart. I don’t grocery shop at Publix. I don’t grocery shop at Winn-Dixie. For the most part, I don’t regularly grocery shop at local Mom & Pop grocery stores, though on occasion, I have. On occasion, I do shop at Aldi. I don’t shop at Sav-a-Lot. On rare occasion, I have shopped at various local ethnic grocery markets for specialty items. But on the whole, I do the exceeding majority of my grocery shopping at Kroger.
I have grocery shopped at Kroger for well over 10 years. In the Tennessee city where I’ve resided for the past year, there is Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, August 16, 2013
Just remember…
The thing is already dead.
However, the question is: How did it do that if it was dead?
Answer: Nerves – the same way a chicken runs around after it’s head is chopped off.
Chemicals are how muscles move. It’s how our heart pumps. Chemicals move into and out of cells. In the heart, those chemicals are primarily sodium & potassium, with calcium playing a supporting role.
Energy (in the form of electrical potential) is created, released, and stored by the movement of elemental sodium, potassium & calcium into and out of cells.
Throughout the city there are narrow streets, many (if not most) of which need widening and repaving. Interstate 24, which leads into the city, is in sore need of widening. Because of the twisting, winding route it takes as it leads into, through and around the city and it’s numerous mountains and hills, it can be treacherous. When any slowdown for any reason occurs, traffic can be backed up for 15-20 miles, or more. When wrecks occur on that route, they’re often fatal, and create even longer delays. The only other major route into the city is US Highway 72. There is no bypass. If there are problems on either of those two routes, significant delays can take hours. (See a Google Map of the area.)
Because of industrial waste released by area manufacturing, in 1969, Chattanooga had the filthiest air in the nation. The Tennessee River which serves as a boundary for the area was equally polluted. For many years, troubles GALORE plagued the city, including economic inequality, poor race relations, deteriorating economic infrastructure, rapid population decline, and departure of industry.
Recognizing that the city and area residents were suffering a slow suicide, officials and interested citizens embarked upon a plan to revitalize the area, including cleaning up industrial waste, reinvigorating the economy with employment opportunity, and looking forward, rather than backward.
EPB (Electric Power Board), one of the public utilities in the area, came upon an idea to infuse their power grid with Fiber Optic cable to enable better response times, to pinpoint areas of concern, and to re-route electricity during power outages when lines were downed by trees or severe weather. They faced stiff opposition in the form of legal fights by Comcast (principally), yet were successful in overcoming. In turn, they sold High Speed fiber optic Internet Connectivity to area residents at a significantly reduced cost in comparison to the Wall-Street-traded Comcast. They also provide better service.
While the area’s renaissance is by no means complete, it has advanced with enormously significant strides.
—
Obama to visit uneven Chattanooga area recovery
published Saturday, July 27th, 2013
Mike Pare, Deputy Business Editor, Chattanooga Times Free Press; MPare@ TimesFreePress.com phone: (423) 757-6318
When President Barack Obama flies into Chattanooga on Tuesday to tout new economic initiatives, he’ll see a city recognized in a national study as a metro area emerging from the recession as an “economic frontrunner.”
Area Development, a national business magazine covering site selection and relocation, ranked metro Chattanooga at No. 86 — in the top quarter — among 380 metro areas examined for the study titled “Leading Locations for 2013.”
While in Chattanooga Obama is expected to unveil new ways to spur the nation’s sluggish economic recovery.
At the Amazon distribution center at Enterprise South industrial park, the president will see a growing, state-of-the-art distribution facility with 1,800 full-time jobs created since 2011. The Chattanooga facility, along with Read the rest of this entry »
When I first heard about the dust-up over food mogul Paula Deen saying the n-word, my first reaction was “Um … OK.”I considered it just that – a dust-up. Big deal.But when it was reported that her extremely popular cooking show was being dropped from the Food Network, my thoughts changed to: “This is a big deal.”I’m guilty of spending the occasional Saturday morning in front of the tube with my wife, watching Paula whip up some Southern comfort food.When I heard she’d used the n-word at some point in her life, I wondered how I’d view her the next time she was on TV, concocting something you could almost taste through the screen and telling us “This is so good, y’all.”
This writing isn’t a defense of Paula Deen. She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself. And those businesses that are dropping association with her are just that – businesses. They have to consider the bottom line, which can be greatly affected by blows to their image. They essentially have been left with no choice.
I began to see the hypocrisy of expecting white people to adhere to a standard that I was not upholding myself.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, June 9, 2013
I reiterate:
1.) The only good Nazi, is a dead Nazi.
2.) Once a Nazi, always a Nazi.
—
Exclusive: U.S. finds long-lost diary of top Nazi leader, Hitler aide
By John Shiffman
Sun Jun 9, 2013; 7:59pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The government has recovered 400 pages from the long-lost diary of Alfred Rosenberg, a confidant of Adolf Hitler who played a central role in the extermination of millions of Jews and others during World War Two.
A preliminary U.S. government assessment reviewed by Reuters asserts the diary could offer new insight into meetings Rosenberg had with Hitler and other top Nazi leaders, including Heinrich Himmler and Herman Goering. It also includes details about the German occupation of the Soviet Union, including plans for mass killings of Jews and other Eastern Europeans.
“The documentation is of considerable importance for the study of the Nazi era, including the history of the Holocaust,” according to the assessment, prepared by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. “A cursory content analysis indicates that the material sheds new light on a number of important issues relating to the Third Reich’s policy. The diary will be Read the rest of this entry »
“Multiple times since being in office he has gotten emails from women (who may not even be real) inviting him to explore, also sending pictures of themselves.”
What strikes me as particularly curious is the fact that apparently neither Senator McGill nor his wife Heather made any remarks or comments of any type, kind or variety when he alleged that it first occurred, nor did he alert authorities when a suspicious knock came at his door in the dead of night.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, May 3, 2013
Among defense contractors, QinetiQ North America (QQ/) is known for spy-world connections and an eye- popping product line. Its contributions to national security include secret satellites, drones, and software used by U.S. special forces in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
Former CIA Director George Tenet was a director of the company from 2006 to 2008 and former Pentagon spy chief Stephen Cambone headed a major division. Its U.K. parent was created as a spinoff of a government weapons laboratory that inspired Q’s lab in Ian Fleming’s James Bond thrillers, a connection QinetiQ (pronounced kin-EH-tic) still touts.
QinetiQ’s espionage expertise didn’t keep Chinese cyber- spies from outwitting the company. In a three-year operation, hackers linked to China’s military infiltrated QinetiQ’s computers and compromised most if not all of the company’s research. At one point, they logged into the company’s network by taking advantage of a security flaw identified months earlier and never fixed.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, February 22, 2013
Realistically, what does that mean for you, your loved ones or friends if – God forbid – they’re hospitalized at Huntsville Hospital?
It means that when you, your loved ones’ or friends’ are a patient in the hospital, you or they could get an infection, or some other serious bug or problem while being treated for something else entirely different. And by so doing, it could make your stay more unpleasant, and in fact, could increase the risk of complications of your treatment – up to, and including your death – was well as increase the length of your stay, among other factors.
What does that mean for the Hospital?
Because insurance companies and Medicare/Medicaid have STOPPED paying for the treatment of preventable problems that are a direct result of hospitalization, it means that Huntsville Hospital will be stuck with the bill (the costs of treating their own mistakes upon you while you’re there)… and will try to pass the cost along to you to recoup the cost of the loss, which is a DIRECT result of their own sloppiness.
Huntsville Hospital has essentially become a monopolistic monstrosity of an enterprise, gobbling up numerous hospitals in the North Alabama region, including BOTH hospitals in Decatur, the only hospital in Athens, the only hospital in Red Bay, Helen Keller Hospital in Tuscumbia area of the Shoals, and the only hospital in Lawrence county.
Meanwhile, Huntsville hospital has fought tooth-and-nail to keep other hospitals OUT of competition in the Huntsville market, and spent untold millions of dollars in a protracted legal battle against Crestwood Hospital – and continues to spend millions to prevent Crestwood Hospital from offering services that would benefit the entire city and county.
The commentary of Mr. Burr Ingram – Huntsville Hospital’s official mouthpiece – which is contained in this article is entirely and wholly unwarranted, and weasel-like.
Not only that, but Huntsville Hospital is NOT a Nursing Magnet Hospital.
There are many things Huntsville Hospital is not.
And sadly, quality is one of them.
—
Watchdog Report: Consumer Reports gives both hospitals in Huntsville low safety ratings
Published: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 9:06 AM Updated: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 9:30 AM
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Consumer Reportsmagazine ranked the two hospitals in Huntsville as the least safe in Alabama. But the magazine’s list of hospitals is far from complete.
“We were kind of perplexed at some of what it reported,” said Burr Ingram, spokesman at Huntsville Hospital. “When you think about it, it’s fashionable for everyone to rate hospitals. And Consumer Reports is the latest to use public data that is available.
“But at times, it’s difficult to know how these ratings come about.”
Huntsville Hospital, The Huntsville Times
The magazine’s August edition lists scores in four safety categories. Both Huntsville Hospital and Crestwood Medical Center received low marks for poor communication with patients and for high rates of infection. Both received mediocre marks for high rates of re-admission and unnecessary scans.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Finally!
Little by little, in some regard, Alabama is moving into the 21st century.
—
House committee approves bill that would legalize home brewing of beer
By Mike Cason | mcason@al.com
February 20, 2013 at 5:35 PM
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — The House Economic Development and Tourism Committee today approved a bill that would allow those 21 and older to make home brewed beer, wine, mead and cider for personal use.
The bill, by Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Huntsville, would limit the total production to 15 gallons every three months.
The committee approved the bill after a public hearing, putting it in position for consideration by the House of Representatives.
Several home brewing enthusiasts spoke in favor of the bill.
Jason Sledd of Huntsville told the committee he took up home brewing as a hobby last year.
“At the time, I had no idea what I was doing was illegal in the state of Alabama,” Sledd said.
Sledd said he learned home brewing was illegal after joining a home brewers club.
Rep. Berry Forte, D-Eufaula, said he was opposed to the use of alcohol because of what it had done to some family members. He asked Sledd whether he brewed beer in front of his children.
Sledd said he did, and said he was teaching them the responsible way to use alcohol.
“They will have years of experience of seeing an adult drink alcohol and not being intoxicated,” Sledd said.
If a person driving drunk kills someone, nowadays, they’re charged with murder – even though they did not plan, or intend upon killing someone (the element of premeditation, or forethought).
But why isn’t Huntsville Hospital charged with murder? (It’s kinda’ difficult to charge a corporation with murder, but it’s quite possible that the officers can be indicted or charged.)
And why aren’t those directly responsible (those in the Recovery Room who were responsible for Gracie’s care) charged with Murder?
It’s painfully obvious some things MUST change in Alabama regarding healthcare.
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Four years ago, Gracie knew a few dozen words and had just learned to walk backwards. But Gracie had a little trouble breathing at night. Doctors said it would only get worse, so they decided to remove her tonsils.
The surgery lasted less than 15 minutes.
In the recovery room at Huntsville Hospital, Gracie was standing on her bed calling for her mother. “We were told she was having difficulty coming out of anesthesia,” said her father Randy Smith. Nurses said the girl needed to rest to recover. In the recovery room, the family says, she was allowed to stop breathing for more than 10 minutes.
Dan Aldridge, attorney for the Smiths, said Gracie “was not connected to the customary monitoring equipment that sounds an alarm if vital signs reach a dangerous zone.” He said the nurses, three of them, were in the recovery room. At one point, her mother voiced concern. “I was told, ‘Mom, now don’t wake her up, if we get her up, we will never calm her down,” said Dee Dee Smith. “My response was she was not breathing.”
Dee Dee said one of the nurses touched the girl’s foot. It was cold. Aldridge said “code” was called. Medical staff poured into the room. Gracie would spend the next 18 hours in a coma. When Dee Dee finally got to hold her girl again, the girl’s eyes were open but Read the rest of this entry »
Madison County corrections officers escort UAH shooter Amy Bishop to a courtroom for her plea hearing on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011. (The Huntsville Times/Glenn Baeske)
Court documents filed by Amy Bishop‘s lawyer say she objects to a decision by Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey to decline to prosecute her in the killing of 18-year-old Seth Bishop.
Attorney Larry Tipton says Bishop wants to prove at trial that she had a “loving and caring relationship” with her brother and that the shooting was accidental.
David Traub, a spokesman for the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said this morning that the filing was “legally meaningless.”
Roy Miller and Robert Tuten, who helped defend Bishop in her Alabama criminal case, said they thought it was highly unlikely that Alabama would ever release Bishop to face charges in Massachusetts.
FILE – This Feb. 13, 2010, file booking photo provided by the Huntsville, Ala., Police Department shows college professor Amy Bishop, charged with capital murder in the Feb. 12, 2010 shooting deaths of three faculty members at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Bishop pleaded guilty to capital murder charges in an agreement that will send to her prison for the rest of her life and make her ineligible for the death penalty. A judge scheduled jury selection for Monday, Sept. 24, 2012, as a trial is still required under Alabama law because Bishop admitted to a capital charge of murder. (AP Photo/Huntsville Police Department, File)
BOSTON (AP) — A former Alabama professor convicted of fatally shooting three colleagues won’t face a Massachusetts murder trial in the 1986 death of her brother after prosecutors withdrew their indictment.
The announcement Friday by the Norfolk district attorney follows Amy Bishop’s sentencing this week to life in prison without parole for the killings at the University of Alabama-Huntsville in February 2010.
In a statement, Michael Morrissey said the life sentence his office would have pursued in the killing of 18-year-old Seth Bishop was identical to the punishment she received after her guilty plea in Alabama, so there was no need to move forward.
‘‘We will not move to have her returned to Massachusetts,’’ Morrissey said. ‘‘The penalty we would seek for a first degree murder conviction is already in place.’’
The office withdrew the indictment ‘‘without prejudice,’’ meaning Morrissey could reinstate it if something went wrong in the Alabama sentence, though he said he considered that unlikely.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
AP Exclusive: Philadelphia man target of GermanNazi war crimesprobe; will fight extradition
By Associated Press, Published: September 23, 2012
BERLIN — Germany has launched a war crimes investigation against an 87-year-old Philadelphia man it accuses of serving as an SS guard at the Auschwitz death camp, The Associated Press has learned, following years of failed U.S. Justice Department efforts to have the man stripped of his American citizenship and deported.
Johann “Hans” Breyer, a retired toolmaker, admits he was a guard at Auschwitz during World War II, but told the AP he was stationed outside the facility and had nothing to do with the wholesale slaughter of some 1.5 million Jews and others behind the gates.
The special German office that investigates Nazi war crimes has recommended that prosecutors charge him with accessory to murder and extradite him to Germany for trial on suspicion of involvement in the killing of at least 344,000 Jews at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in occupied Poland.
The AP also has obtained documents that raise doubts about Breyer’s testimony about the timing of his departure from Auschwitz.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Perhaps it was the Almighty calling him, eh?
I can hear the dialogue now:
“Roy… don’t run again, son. You’ve already embarrassed Me enough, and shown what an idiot you are. So do me a favor, go back home, and go fishing in the lake, instead.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
The reader should understand: The cost of trying capital cases – cases in which the penalty is, or may be death – are EXCEEDINGLY more expensive than any other case, simply because of the numerous levels of mandatory appeals. Thus, by pleading guilty, and spending the rest her natural life behind bars – without the possibility of parole, and being given humane healthcare – the District Attorney, Amy Bishop and her defense attorneys have saved Madison County, Huntsville, and the State of Alabama many MILLIONS of tax dollars.
That is true, even given that she may live perhaps another 40 years – though that is highly unlikely, simply because incarceration exacts a physical toll upon a person’s life, shortening it by many years. Estimating a cost of $20,000/year (which includes the total cost of employees to guard & manage the system, cost of operations, etc.), and supposing she lives another 40 years (which is less likely, than not) the total flat-line cost would be $800,000.
A 2004 report entitled “State Prison Expenditures, 2001” by James B. Stephan, Statistician for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, of the Department of Justice, found that the cost of food and medical expenses, food service & utilities cost per prisoner in Alabama was $1776. Alabama’s Average Annual Operating Cost per prisoner was $8128 – THE lowest of 50 states. Other components of cost – employee cost, salaries, wages, benefits, supplies, maintenance, contractual services, and other aspects of facility operation, etc. – account for nearly 96% of all operating costs. According to the report, of all states, Alabama has the HIGHEST per-prisoner cost of utilities as a percentage of operating expenditure, at 5.7%. Perhaps it’s time to rethink solar, wind and other sources of renewable energy?
Amy Bishop, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder involving two or more people and three counts of attempted murder. She had earlier pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Amy Bishop pleads guilty to murder and attempted murder in Madison County.
Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty against the Harvard-educated Bishop and it was not immediately clear if they would drop the penalty as part of the plea deal. Sentencing will be after arguments are heard at a hearing on Sept. 24.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Alabama‘s prison system will again be pushed to the taxpayers’ breaking point by stupidity such as this sentence. It is extreme – even with the increased severity of punishment required for habitual offenders.
Realistically, “Three Strikes and you’re out” only applies in baseball games. But someone thought it sounded cool, and morphed it into a law in California. Subsequently, California’s prison population has exploded because that state adopted that law. They’ve now seriously modified it. It may be time to rethink sentencing guidelines in Alabama. But the likelihood of that happening is practically negligible.
Thanks to our legislature, this man will now burden every honest Alabama taxpayer.
That’s not to say he and others like him should not be punished, but rather acknowledges the failure of a pop-culture-driven bumper sticker slogan to effectively remedy, ameliorate or mitigate criminality. In essence, there is little or nothing done to correct, and much done to punish. Oddly, every state has a “Department of Corrections,” rather than a ‘Department of Punishments.’ There’s a reason for that, and it’s because there is a two-fold purpose (to punish and correct), with the higher one being correction.
Yet standing in stark contrast is the as-yet-untried, and officially indefinitely delayed case of Amy Bishop, the Harvard PhD-educated biology professor who went on a shooting rampage and killed three, and wounded three other colleagues at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). Even though she has a track record of mental instability, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Why, why, WHY!?!
There’s nothing better to do with precious financial resources – especially in tough economic times?
Pay lawyers instead of using that same money to care for and treat patients, improve outcomes, and increase patient & staff satisfaction?
And what does that say about your concern for patients? Yeah… that’s right – you love wasting money on a court fight rather than using that money to heal people.
This problem exists precisely because of a Certificate of Need law in Alabama that specifically prohibits anyone from thinking about building, expanding or creating a healthcare treatment facility without first going to court.
I will say this, however – even with the CON law & board in place, there is no requirement for hospitals to sue each other over the matter. And yet, they do.
It’s time to eliminate the CON law and CON Board in Alabama.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, July 6, 2012
To say this man has anger management problems would be an understated mischaracterization.
REPORT COVER – Inspector General United States Department of Defense Report of Investigation Lieutenant General Patrick J. O’Reilly US Army Director, Missile Defense Agency
Based upon the testimony given in the report, I’d say he’s very likely suffering from personality disorder, with a definite narcissistic element, and possibly borderline psychotic.
While the MDA’s headquarters remain at Fort Belvoir, VA, nearly 5,000 people work for the agency in offices on the Army’s Redstone Arsenal, in Huntsville, AL. The majority of the agency’s programs are now managed primarily in the Von Braun Complex of offices. Over 2,200 MDA positions relocated to Huntsville after the 2005 Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC) commission decision.
LTG O’Reilly is often in Huntsville and has an office in the new Von Braun III wing.
Last October during a ribbon cutting ceremony in Huntsville, LTG O’Reilly said, “The largest concentration of missile defense engineers anywhere in the world is in this building,” which he said made it the “hub of missile defense for our nation.”
Posted By Josh Rogin, Tuesday, July 3, 2012 – 12:38 PM
Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly, the head of the Missile Defense Agency, mismanaged his office, harassed and bullied his senior staff, and overall failed in his leadership of the Pentagon’s largest program, according to a previously undisclosed internal report obtained exclusively by The Cable.
O’Reilly “engaged in a leadership style that was inconsistent with standards expected of senior army leaders,” in violation of Army regulations on ethics and leadership, according to a May investigation and report by the Defense Department‘s Inspector General‘s office that was never released to the public. The IG’s office is recommending that Pentagon leadership take “corrective action,” against O’Reilly.
The report found that O’Reilly regularly yelled and screamed at subordinates, often in public, demeaned and belittled employees, and behaved in such a way as to result in the departure of at least six senior staffers from MDA during his tenure.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, June 8, 2012
Safia Memon, mother of Hammad Memon – who, at age 14 was witnessed shooting fellow classmate Todd Brown in the head execution-style at point-blank range by numerous students standing nearby, which act was also recorded on video tape at Discovery Middle School, Madison Alabama – was apprehended by law enforcement authorities at a Dallas, Texas bus station, in an apparent flight to avoid the prosecution of her son Todd. She, along with Todd and a younger daughter had fled Alabama in violation of young Mr. Memon’s court orders. In their possession, were several thousand dollars, and Pakistani passports also in violation of court orders.
A courier had tipped off authorities that a package possibly containing a Pakistani passport had been delivered to the Memon’s residence.
Police in Madison, Alabama became suspicious, and arrested her husband Dr. Iqbal Memon, MD when he claimed no knowledge of her and the children’s whereabouts, after they had not been seen for several days.
Even though she turned it off when not using it, the FBI and other law enforcement authorities were able to locate her by her cell phone signal when she did turn it on to use it.
Now, all family members – save the young girl – are charged with felonies. The parents are charged with Hindering Prosecution, a Class C felony in Alabama, and Hammad is charged with capital murder.
She claimed that she and the children were going to visit relatives in Texas.
Safia Memon, in this official Madison County Jail portrait, is charged with Hindering Prosecution, a Class C felony in Alabama, for fleeing to Texas with her son Hammad, who is charged with murdering Todd Brown.
(a) A person commits the crime of hindering prosecution in the first degree if with the intent to hinder the apprehension, prosecution, conviction or punishment of another for conduct constituting a murder or a Class A or B felony, he renders criminal assistance to such person.
(b) Hindering prosecution in the first degree is a Class C felony.
(Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §4636; Acts 1979, No. 79- 471, p. 862, §1.)
MADISON — A doctor who practiced in Athens was arrested Friday night by Madison police, accused of hindering prosecution for allegedly aiding his teen son, a murder suspect, in an attempt to flee Alabama.
Dr. Iqbal Memon, who occasionally wrote medical columns for The News Courier several years ago, was arrested after his son, Hammad Memon, 17, was captured in Dallas with his mother and 6-year-old sister. Authorities said Hammad had a Pakistani passport in his possession.
The family members apparently left Alabama Wednesday or Thursday after an express mail delivery person reported Hammad had signed for an envelope believed to contain a passport, which was a violation of the terms of Hammad’s bail on a charge of shooting to death classmate Todd Brown, 14, at Discovery Middle School in 2010. Brown lived in Madison with his mother at the time; his father Michael Brown is from Tanner.
The Memon family lives in Madison, where Memon had a second physician’s office.
Hammad was 14 at the time of the shooting but was to be tried as an adult on June 18.
Dr. Memon was charged with hindering prosecution after Madison Police investigators suspected he was not being forthcoming about his family’s location. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, March 30, 2012
This is the same 57-year-old Jane Smith, Circuit Court Clerk for Madison County, Alabama who plead guilty to three federal misdemeanors in federal court recently for sharing her high-level password to the state’s judicial system computer records in 2009, avoided jail time, was fined $5000, and placed on one year probation.
She was first elected in 2000, and to her credit, is widely credited with modernizing the clerk’s office and making it among the most efficient in the state.
Jane Smith, Circuit Court Clerk, Madison County, Alabama
Federal law sets the fee, and under Alabama law circuit clerks are allowed to keep passport handling fees. Smith said the law was in place before she was elected in 2001. The office began collecting the fees in 1977.
But Smith, who won a third term as clerk in the Republican primary March 13, said ongoing cuts to state court budgets and “continuing confusion over using these fees for official expenses” led her to decide to stop collecting the applications as of May 1.
The funds are not public, though they are collected as part of a public official‘s duties. Smith has said she deposits the collected fees into her bank account and Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, March 30, 2012
Some folks would say “common sense,” and to some extent, that’s probably true.
Well… better make that “to a great extent.”
But, a state lottery is another thing Alabama ain’t got.
And, the Republicans in the legislature in the past administration and the present administration seem to have absolutely no inclination to allow the people the opportunity to vote on it… whether to have state sponsored gammlin’, that is.
Folks’ve tried to get one for education but have failed. And, in a move called “proration,” the governor this year cut all state budgets across the board by 10.6%, excluding education, because Alabama’s state constitution, for better or for worse, forbids going into debt and requires a balanced budget. Bonds are a different matter.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, March 12, 2012
Face it folks, Alabama MUST change its tax policy and law – something about which Alabamians have been warned for quite some time. It’s not as if we’ve never heard the idea or notion, for indeed, Alabama’s income tax assesses a heavier levy upon the poor than the wealthy, and many large corporate timberland-owners (Georgia Pacific, Weyerhauser, International Paper, Gulf States Paper, et al) pay little or nothing on their vast holdings by comparison to others.
As the issue of a potential shut-down of state services (the forensics lab in Huntsville) relates to criminal prosecution, I could imagine that a sharp attorney could move for dismissal of charges based upon delay of prosecution – which is a federal Constitutional issue – because the Sixth Amendment guarantees the accused the right to a speedy trial, among other aspects of prosecution.
And that issue – a violation of the Sixth Amendment – is one reason why I can imagine former UAH professor Amy Bishop – accused of murdering her colleagues – may have a federal case on her side, because the state of Alabama has virtually shut down all funding of public defense and defenders.
Just to remind the readers, the Sixth Amendment reads: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.”
And for those readers whom, for one reason or another, are not up to speed on the wranglings of Alabama politics, India Lynch vs. State of Alabama – the federal case in which Alabama’s tax policies were on trial – ended in October 2011, with a 854-page ruling in the state’s favor by His Honor, Judge Lynwood Smith in which existing tax structures & organization were found not to be unconstitutional. That story may be found here.
Alabama State Capitol Building, Montgomery, AL
The background: Alabama’s state income tax kicks in for families that earn as little a $4,600. Mississippi starts at over $19,000. Alabamians with incomes under $13,000 pay 10.9 percent of their incomes in state and local taxes, while those who make over $229,000 pay just 4.1 percent. Alabama relies heavily on state sales tax, which runs as high as 11 percent and applies even to groceries and infant formula.
A primary reason Alabama’s poor pay so much is that large timber companies and megafarms pay so little. The state allows big landowners to value their land using ”current use” rules, which significantly underestimate its value. Then individuals are allowed to fully deduct the federal income taxes they pay from their state taxes, something few states allow, which is a boon for those in the top income brackets.
And while the GOP controls the Governor’s Office, State House & Senate and most all high-level state offices, there are no signs of progress toward equity or justice.
But read on to learn why…
Potential cuts for state forensics: ‘It’s going to impact everybody’s lives’
The evidence spans 18,000 different cases. And maybe by 2013, Lonnie Ginsberg hopes, the state will process most everything on those 12 shelves.
Maybe.
This is the uncertain world Ginsberg oversees in cash-strapped Alabama. The director of the Huntsville lab on Arcadia Circle, Ginsberg manages a complex he describes as overworked and understaffed – which is why some drugs confiscated by law enforcement may sit on a shelf for a year before being analyzed.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, February 24, 2012
Like her, love her, think she’s criminally insane, just plain stupid, idiotic, crazy like a fox, or no matter what…
Amy Bishop mug shot from Huntsville (Alabama) Police Department
there’s no denying that it continues to be exceedingly less expensive to keep a convicted criminal in jail for the rest of their natural life, including providing all humane healthcare, than it is to try a capital case – one for which the death penalty may be exacted.
Why?
The cost of mandatory appeals associated with death penalty cases, and lawyers’ time get very expensive.
It’s a crying shame that the state of Alabama has decided they do not want to pay for – because the reimbursement rate is so low, they might as well not pay for – just representation for the accused. It speaks volumes to the extremely lopsided sense of meanness – even cruelty – that have overcome many.
That statement is not meant to deny genuine representation, but to prevent abuse. Nor is it to forbid justice, but rather to assist in eliminating despiteful abuses of the system.
When one cannot pay for a case, it is justice denied.
And when one is denied justice, all are denied justice.
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Attorneys for the Alabama Comptroller’s Office want the judge in the Amy Bishopcapital murder case to vacate his orders for payments to defense expert witnesses and testing, according to a court filing today.
Having won over 20 awards as a university history professor of 40 years, and being a Sunday Schoolteacher will do things for a man, including give him a voice to which many attune.
His commentary included recitation from his most recently published work, entitled “Keeping the Faith,” in which he shared observations from two familiar and intimate perspectives – as an Auburn University history professor, and Sunday School teacher.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, September 16, 2011
Chances are, that more likely than not, you’ve come here because you’ve searched for the term “Trail of Tears Motorcycle Ride,” or similar terms.
What you’re about to read may either confuse, infuriate, or frustrate you. I sincerely doubt it will make you happy, or give you cause for rejoicing.
For many years, I have witnessed the ToT ride, and its humble origins which include Florence, Alabama. This year, as it has been since it’s establishment – it is held every 3d weekend of September – and will ride via Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, July 3, 2011
Over the past several weeks – perhaps indeed, months – Huntsville Utilities has come under increasing criticism; most recently for significant changes to their operations and policies.
AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein wrote an interesting Q & A style column about the shuttles’ retirement, which was published Fri May 13, 6:01 pm ET.
His article – which offers an explanation – follows below.
WASHINGTON – As the space shuttle program winds down, questions are flying about what’s happening and why. The launch countdown began Friday for the second-to-last flight. Some answers about the end of the space shuttle:
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, May 7, 2011
Certainly, there’s little or no disagreement that much change is needed in the way that national politics works. At its heart however, politics is the art of compromise. And politics, first begins in the home – because neither daddy, mama, nor children always get their way; but on occasion, daddy gets his way, mama gets hers, and by mutual consent with mama & daddy, on occasion the children get theirs. Changing the tenor of political operation in this nation begins with a few points, the first of which is that that we all love this nation, and seek the best for the people. One thing I’d like to see – which others have similarly expressed – is Term Limitations in the House and Senate; perhaps five in the House (10 years) and two in the Senate (12 years), for a grand total of 22 years service.
House conservatives prepare strong demands to raise the debt-ceiling
By Erik Wasson – 05/07/11 09:55 AM ET
House conservatives appear comfortable with being unable to get Medicare reform in exchange for the debt ceiling being raised and are coalescing around other strong demands including enactment of a balanced budget amendment.
Today’s – Tuesday, March 15, 2011 – Huntsville Times front page headline which read “Williams surprises UAH with departure,” comes as no surprise at all.
UAH President David Williams resigns – Huntsville Times front page 3/15/11
It was because of the mercy of God, and good American people that he lived, while millions of others died in ovens, or in dark, cold, wet subterranean chambers making the V2 – Vergeltungswaffe 2, e.g. “Vengeance” weapon.
The V2 rocket was Hitler’s Nazi terror weapon of mass destruction.
Haeussermann, 96, died at Huntsville Hospital of complications from a fall. He is survived by his wife, Ruth.
Haeussermann’s death leaves five surviving members in Huntsville of the team that took man to the moon and put Huntsville on the international map. A sixth survives on the West Coast.
Haeussermann was with von Braun at Peenemunde, Germany in World War II and helped develop the V-2 rockets that were launched against London and later formed the basis of the American rocket program. …Continue…
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, November 12, 2010
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) was once a respectable group, not only for what they promoted, but for how they promoted, as well. Now, they’ve become a “fringe element” group, which at times has operated similarly to a terrorist organization. It’s no wonder that people have lost confidence in them and their ideals.
Tomorrow – Saturday, November 13, 2010 – PETA will demonstrate in Huntsville, Alabama at a church which has an outstanding name in the community for their many good works, not the least of which is their always-immensely successful, long-standing “LobsterFest.” This year’s Lobsterfest XVII at St. Thomas Episcopal promises to be no different – that is, it will be a sold-out success.
What is particularly disconcerting is that PETA, in their fringe element mentality, offers only …Continue…
I’m a Registered Nurse. While in school doing my clinical rotations, I witnessed an abortion. I wrote about it on my blog, in an entry entitled simply, “My Abortion Story“.
To provide a bit of background for your photo, I received notice of this in my e-mail. The message follows: …Continue…
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Honesty… is it ALWAYS the best policy?
Recently, I’ve found that some search engine terms which have led to this blog include this question “Why do you want to work at Huntsville Hospital“?
In Huntsville, Alabama – where I resided for many years – there are ONLY TWO hospitals in town.
One, Huntsville Hospital, is a public not-for-profit, and the other, a much smaller Crestwood Medical Center, is a private, for-profit hospital.
Many of the professors and instructors at the Nursing School from which I graduated have privately expressed their frustrations to their students, and to me, about Huntsville Hospital’s virtual monopoly on the hospital-based healthcare delivery in Huntsville, AL.
Today’s (Friday, 16 April 2010) Huntsvillle (Behind The) Times headline reads: 2010 JAM IS CANNED.
What would the Tennessee Valley do without their CON (Corporately Owned Newspaper)?
Perhaps they’d have to figure out where to get their daily dose of truth!
(Behind The) Times Entertainment Writer Chris Welch’s lame introduction to the uninformative article sparks no interest, “For the first time in 18 years, there will be no jammin’ this September in Big Spring International Park.” Then, he drones on and on, nearly boring the readers to tears with vis-à-vis remarks that, “… The Times editorial board…,” “… the Jam has brought in headliners…,” (isn’t that the stuff that’s stuck to the top of your car’s interior roof? How about some better adjectives and verbiage, Chris?), and more uninformative blather.
The only scintilla of information about what may REALLY be going on is contained in the second paragraph: “Organizers… told… that the 18th Big Spring Jam… will be canceled this year because of downtown construction at the Von Braun Center and Huntsville Museum of Art.” (The …s are omission of extraneous, useless information.) …Continue…