Saturday Night Live Recognizes That There Is Nothing Funny About the Connecticut Shootings

Saturday Night Live recognizes that there is nothing funny about the Connecticut shootings.  The father of the alleged shooter in the Connecticut school massacre has broken his silence, expressing condolences to the families of the victims.  In fact, Saturday night, the Children's Choir opened the show in tribute to the children who lost their lives.  Peter Lanza, the father of the psychotic killer, summed up the feelings of the country, "Our family is grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy. No words can truly express how heartbroken we are. We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can."

And what more can be said about the senseless killings perpetuated by Adam Lanza, 20.  What possible explanation is there for killing twenty 6 and 7 year old children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut?  20 children and six adults were murdered before Adam took his own life. (Adam also killed his mother Nancy Lanza at another location. The Lanza's were divorced in 2009. But many families go through divorces without turning into killers.  Peter Lanza and Adam's older brother Ryan were questioned by the FBI.  Neither man is a suspect.  Yet law enforcement was hoping to find answers.   Investigators claim that they have "very good evidence ... as to how, and more importantly, why, this occurred" yet the State Police didn't provide any further explanation.

Possible copycats?  A northern Indiana  man was arrested after allegedly threatening to "kill as many people as he could" at a local school.  Von I. Meyer, 60, allegedly made the statement during a heated argument with his wife.  He also allegedly threatened to set his wife on fire. Meyer was arrested Saturday on seven felony charges.  Meyer's wife works at the Jane Ball Elementary School  cafeteria. Although police found 47 guns and ammunition in Meyer's two-story home, most of those weapons were antique collector guns.  Authorities believes Meyer was probably not serious about his alleged school threat.
Apparently Meyer's marriage is a volatile sometimes turbulent relationship.  Furthermore, Meyers is to be presumed innocent unless otherwise proven in a court of law. In the mean time, there is nothing funny about killing children or adults.  Its time to place law enforcement in schools so that teachers and students can return their attention to education.

Ellen DeGeneres Unfazed by Protest?

One Million Moms may be done with Ellen DeGeneres and J.C. Penney. The group founded by an anti-gay, conservative Christian group is apparently ending its feud with J.C. Penney who used DeGeneres as a  spokesperson.  One Million Moms initially blasted a J.C. Penney Christmas ad featuring DeGeneres. The group had criticized DeGeneres' holiday commercial, in which she makes "big" jokes in front of three tiny elves.  Since JC Penney is marketed as a family store, the group did not approve of the store embracing  non-traditional family lifestyle.  

DeGeneres was apparently not harmed by the criticism.  She got support from both fans and friends.  In fact, Executive Producer of "The Ellen Show," Andy Lassner, vocally gave his support to the comedian. At the time of this writing, no public word from the elf union. 

How Often Do We Agree With the ACLU?

A West Virginia middle school believes that students perform better when boys and girls are taught in separate classrooms.  The ACLU opposes the controversial theory that kids perform better when they are segregated from the opposite sex.   A lawsuit is causing the debate to surface and stimulating experiments with less than traditional classrooms.  Is such practice based on harmful stereotypes or are girls and boys motivated differently? The American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against Van Devender Middle School and its administrators in Parkersburg, W.Va., may answer the controversy.

The lawsuit claims that segregated classrooms constitute gender discrimination. The suit, filed on behalf of a mother of three female students, contends that the school lights its classrooms more brightly for boys and allows boys more freedom to move around freely. Amy Katz, an attorney working with the ACLU, apparently thinks its classic discrimination. But Leonard Sax, a psychologist, physician, and author of three books on kids and education, including Why Gender Matters disagrees. Sax argues that same-sex classes help students shed inhibitions and stereotypes. Sax shared his theories with teachers at Van Devender in 2009.   The next year they apparently incorporated some of his ideas into practice.

Is Sax right about same sex classrooms? Perhaps the wisdom of our legal system will soon provide an answer.

Dylan Redwine Missing?

Missing children seldom lead to good news. The New Mexico State Police Dive Team spent Sunday searching for Dylan Redwine, 13, near the dam at Vallecito Reservoir.  The 13 year-old was first reported missing from his father’s home in Vallecito, Colo. on Nov. 19.  Divers searched an area targeted by trained cadaver dogs.  Dogs repeatedly “hit” on several spots near the dam while aboard watercraft, according to the Durango Herald. However, no body was found. Dylan disappeared last week from his father’s home in Vallecito, Colo., during a one-day court ordered visit. Mark Redwine, Dylan's father, told police that his son was in his house when he left to run some errands at 7:30 a.m. When Mark returned four hours later, the boy was missing according to ABC News. 

Dylan normally lives with his mother in Colorado Springs.  He is described as 5 feet tall, 105 pounds, with blond hair, blue eyes and fair complexion. When he was last seen, Dylan was wearing a blue-and-white Duke Blue Devils baseball cap, black Nike T-shirt and black Jordan tennis shoes. Investigators are hoping to speak with two boys who were seen by a postal worker on Nov. 19 at the Vallecito Lake Country Market. The postal worker told police that one of the boys looked like Dylan.  La Plata County Sheriff's Office is considering various scenarios, including whether he might have run away or been abducted.

Update 2-119-13: Separating fact from fiction is always the hardest part of these posts. Facts: the teenager disappeared durign a court-ordered Thanksgiving week visit with his father, Mark Redwine.  Dylan  vanished from his father's Vallecito home on Nov. 19. The rest remains a mystery despite a recent tip from someone who remembered seeing a Hispanic man in the north end of Vallecito the day Dylan was reported missing. The 45 to 50 year old man asked where he could buy gas for his vehicle. The man is not a suspect nor a person of interest.  However, he may have seen Dylan or have information about Dylan.

The authorities believe Dylan did not run away. But no one has publicly revealed the reasoning behind this assumption. The reward for information concerning Dylan is reportedly $50,000. Anyone with information concerning  Dylan's whereabouts is encouraged to call La Plata County Sheriff’s Office Investigators Dan Patterson 970-382-7015 or Tom Cowing 970-382-7045. The local tip line is 970-382-7511. 

Cop Fantasizing Over A Meal?

Cops are known to get hungry.  How many cop at the donut shop jokes have you heard?  So is it surprising that Gilberto Valle, a New York cop, is accused of getting the munchies?  Valle pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he plotted to kidnap, torture, cook and eat at least 100 women.  Valle allegedly obtained the prospective victim's photos, names and addresses from a confidential law enforcement database. Gilberto Valle denied all charges in the federal court in Manhattan.

Valle, a 28-year-old New York Police Department officer, was arrested last month based on a tip from his estranged wife.Valle's computer allegedly contained documents including one titled "Abducting and Cooking (Victim 1): A Blueprint."  The file allegedly included the woman's birth date and other personal information.
Valle allegedly participated in online conversations involving the mechanics of fitting a woman's body into an oven (her legs would have to be bent) and using chloroform to knock a woman out.

A prospective female victim told the FBI she knew Valle and met him for lunch in July. Valle's computer allegedly contained at least 100 women names, addresses and photos. Some of the information was thought to have come from a restricted law enforcement database.

No women were actually harmed.  Valle's lawyer claims he was never a threat and that the alleged plot was pure fantasy. Valle was suspended from the police force after his arrest. He has a bail hearing scheduled for today.

Indianapolis Blast Destroys Homes and Sense of Safety

Indianapolis is always thought of as a safe city.  Crime is low, spirits generally high, especially when the Colts and the Pacers play well.  But a Saturday evening blast changed everything.  What is believed to be a natural gas explosion shook the south side of Indianapolis around 11 p.m. Saturday. A loud boom was heard and the concussion blew out windows and collapsed ceilings. A fire engulfed several homes. (Photo courtesy of A.P.)

31 homes were damaged so badly that they may have to be demolished. A total of 80 homes were damaged.  The estimated damage is $3.6 million. More importantly, two people lost their lives.  Greenwood's Southwest Elementary School second-grade teacher Jennifer Longworth and her husband John Dion Longworth perished in the explosion. Seven other people were taken to local hospitals with injuries.

Deputy Fire Chief Kenny Bacon said that investigators haven't eliminated any possible causes for the blast. But U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, said that a bomb or meth lab explosion had been ruled out. Dan Considine, of Citizens Energy, responded to assumptions that the fire may have been caused by a natural gas leak by saying that there had been no reports of anyone smelling natural gas in the area. The National Transportation Safety Board and the federal Department of Transportation, which regulate pipelines, are also involved in the investigation.

Until more is known about the cause of the fire, the Indianapolis area will sleep a little less comfortably for the next few days.

11-20-2012 Update:  Indianapolis Homeland Security Director Gary Coons announced a criminal investigation is underway. This is the first public acknowledgement by investigators of a possible criminal element to the Nov. 10 explosion.  There is a $10,000 reward offered for information concerning a white van that was seen in the subdivision on the day of the blast.  No suspects or arrests have been announced.

Randall Cable, an attorney representing Monserrate Shirley and Mark Leonard, who lived in that home that is believed to have exploded, seemed perplexed by the new direction of the investigation.What is believed to be a natural gas explosion caused an estimated $4.4 million in damage.

Strange But Surprising True!

-40 percent of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.
-Over 300 entries in Webster's 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.
-Over 10 newborns per day were given to the wrong parents prior to "the bracelet system."
-Chocolate is harmful to a dog's cardiovascular system and can be fatal!
-Bruce Lee was so fast that they had to slow a film down so you could see his moves.
-Raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, may keep you afloat in quicksand.
-A toothbrush within six feet of a toilet may be susceptible to airborne particles resulting from the flush.
-Michael Jordan makes more money than the entire Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
-Marilyn Monroe had six toes on one foot.
-Cockroach can live for 10 days without a head.


*AND TOMORROW PRESIDENT OBAMA GET REELECTED!