11 Year Old Defends Herself - Truth or Fiction?

Ironically, just after blogging about an 11 year old who was hurt in a break in, I received this email today:

"Shotgun preteen vs. Illegal alien Home Invaders:
Butte , Montana November 5, 2007
Two illegal aliens, Ralphel Resindez, 23, and Enrico Garza, 26, probably believed they would easily overpower home-alone 11 year old Patricia Harrington after her father had left their two-story home.

It seems the two crooks never learned two things: they were in Montana and Patricia had been a clay shooting champion since she was nine. Patricia was in her upstairs room when the two men broke through the front door of the house. She quickly ran to her father's room and grabbed his 12 gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun.

Resindez was the first to get up to the second floor only to be the first to catch a near point blank blast of buckshot from the 11-year-old's knee crouch aim. He suffered fatal wounds to his abdomen and genitals.

When Garza ran to the foot of the stairs, he took a blast to the left shoulder and staggered out into the street where he bled to death before medical help could arrive.

It was found out later that Resindez was armed with a stolen 45 caliber handgun he took from another home invasion robbery. That victim, 50-year-old David 0Burien, was not so lucky. He died from stab wounds to the chest.

Ever wonder why good stuff never makes NBC, CBS, PBS, MSNBC, CNN, or ABC news........an 11 year old girl, properly trained, defended her home, and herself......against two murderous, illegal immigrants......and she wins,
She is still alive..

Now that is Gun Control!

Thought for the day: Calling an illegal alien an 'undocumented immigrant' is like calling a drug dealer an 'unlicensed pharmacist'

I like this kind of e-mail. American citizens defending themselves and their homes."

Searching the internet, it appears this is a bogus story.

And Speaking of Fire Victims - Joel Sonnenberg

I think of Joel Sonnenberg each and every time I go through a New Hampshire toll booth. Joel was 22 months old when the car he was in was rear-ended, resulting in the car being enveloped in fire. Joel was burned from head to toe and grew up without toes or fingers.

I happened to see Joel on an episode of Sue Thomas FBEye (a show loosly based on a true story) and decided to find out more about him. It was disturbing to learn his burns were caused at a New Hampshire toll booth.

Thinking of Joel and how he overcame so many obstacles gives me confidence and helps keep me optimistic. Thanks Joel for being you!

His book is "The Inspiring Story of a Miracle Named Joel" and his website is www.joelsonnenberg.com

15 Year Old Florida Boy Intentially Burned

Every morning the news is disturbing, but especially so this morning and recently. A 15-year-old boy, Michael Brewer, was set on fire by five young boys with the aid of rubbing alcohol. Michael was burned on 65% of his body and may have saved his own life by jumping into a pool. Due to the severity of his burns, the next few days are critical. According to the Miami Herald, five boys have been arrested: Matthew Bent, 15; Denver Colorado Jarvis, 15; Denver's brother Jeremy Jarvis, 13; Steven Shelton, 15; and Jesus Mendez, 15.

Rewinding to October 8 in New Hampshire - According to Union Leader, Senior Assistant Attorney General N. Will Delker has said four armed teens entered the secluded home in Mont Vernon about 4 a.m.,with robbery plans and to kill anyone they found inside. Kimberly Cates, 42, was fatally attacked in her bed with a machete and a knife. Her 11-year-old daughter, Jaimie, survived the attack, and was able to call 911. She suffered injuries that led to hours in surgery at Children's Hospital Boston. This will be a tough thing for her to live with.

According to CBS News, Four teens have been arrested. Charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder are Steven Spader, 17, and Christopher Gribble, 19, both of Brookline, NH. They are being held without bail. Charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary and robbery are William Marks, 18, and Quinn Glover, 17, both of Amherst, NH They are being held on $500,000 cash bail.

This reverberates to another senseless act in Dartmouth NH, in 2001 when two college professors were brutally killed in their home. If my memory serves me correctly, the reason they were killed is because they opened their door.

My heart goes out to all of these families. I can't imagine what these tradgeies have put these families through.

Last night, I sat down to watch Criminal Minds. It was about three men who broke into a home and killed two couples. The next target was a young couple - a young boy picking up his girlfriend. That is when I chose to shut off the TV. With this type of stuff going on all around us, I just can NOT watch it on Television anymore. I love the perfect meld of the actors in the show. I now hate the show.

There are many shows on TV that I'm choosing not to watch: Criminal Minds, all the CSI shows, any that show violence along with blood and guts.

Thirty years ago my parents wintered in Florida and had the Union Leader mailed to them. I remember my father calling me, shocked that he had read about someone in New Hampshire being murdered. Thirty years ago it was not the normal.

Could someone please tell me WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON???? How are we raising children who have no regard for the human life?????

NY Times front page this am...

"It's a Fork, It's a Spoon, It's a ... Weapon?" is a must-read article in the NY Times this morning. A 6 year old was suspended for bringing his Boy Scout eating utensils to school. He now could be punished by having to spend 45 days in reform school. HUH?????? I have to admit, the fork and spoon look like eating utensils, and the "knife" does look like a pocket knife, but STILL!!! Does a 6 year old even understand his eating utensils might be something more than eating untensils? I'm sure he must understand now.

An even more disturbing part of this article is the third grader who was expelled after her grandmother sent a birthday cake for the classmates. It wasn't the birthday cake that got her expelled, it was the knife she sent with it to cut and serve it. The teacher only reported it to the principal AFTER using it to cut the cake! I thought the days of being punished for someone else's actions were gone!

Have the zero tolerance laws gone too far?

Read this article here: http://tinyurl.com/yj8v3fr

Google Barcode - Something to Think About

I love today's Google doodle, the barcode. In fact, I love all the Google doodles. I even like saying "Google doodle". The bar code doodle on Google's home page contains a link that will take you to the same place "bar code" takes you if entered into the Google search field.

According to the Telegraph.co.uk, Google is celebrating the bar code's 57th anniversary (although it was originally slightly different than the straight lines we see today). It was not used in a supermarket until June of 1974 on a pack of Wrigley's gum.

I'm definitely showing my age here, but I remember standing in line while the cashier had to punch in the prices of everything. The cash register receipt did not give any specifics of anything purchased either -- just the prices and total.

I wonder, what would it be like today, without the barcode? How life would be different!!! Thanks Google for giving us something to think about.

Beware of Hidden Ingredient - Splenda / Sucralose

A disturbing fact about Splenda. Several items I'm buying lately contain sucralose, which of course is Splenda, an artifical sweetener. What I'm concerned about are two things. One that it is more or less "hidden" in the incredients list - you know those so-small-you-need-a-magnifying-glass-to-see-them ingredients.
And two, I'm very concerned that parents might be UNKNOWINGLY feeding it to their children. Please beware, if not for yourself, at least for your children's sake. Please check those indredients.

I recently purchased chocolate covered almonds and a high-protein drink that both contained sucralose. I was shocked to see sucralose in the ingredients, since NOTHING whatsoever on the front suggested the addition of any artificial sweetener. Somehow I thought any addition of artifcial sweetener needed to be noted on the front. I thought wrong.