tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28529427979970035772024-03-05T01:41:04.942-08:00I'm Just SayingThoughts, Memories, Opinions, Issues and Rants on Everything.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-65317232178166992152011-01-21T19:03:00.000-08:002011-01-21T19:55:23.093-08:00SO THE VATICAN WANTS THE IRISH CLERGY TO KEEP MUM ABOUT PEDOPHILESWHAT?<br />A LETTER RECENTLY DISCOVERED BY <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Public_Radio">NPR </a>HAS BROUGHT TO LIGHT A HEINOUS CRIME BY THE <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See">VATICAN</a> IN ROME AND ITS OFFICIOUS OFFICIALS.<br /><br />THE <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=133015025">LETTER</a> REPORTEDLY INSTRUCTS BISHOPS IN IRELAND NOT TO REPORT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES, PRIESTS FOUND TO BE ABUSING CHILDREN.<br /><br />A COPY OF THE LETTER CAN BE FOUND HERE:<br /> http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=133015025<br /><br />ACCORDING TO THE NPR STORY, THE LETTER WARNING BISHOPS TO FOLLOW CANONICAL LAW TO THE LETTER ACTUALLY HAD A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilling_effect_%28law%29">CHILLING EFFECT</a> ON THOSE BISHOPS, WHO FEARED THEIR DECISIONS TO DISMISS OFFENDING CLERGY COULD BE OVERTURNED BY THE VATICAN.<br /><br />THE NPR ARTICLE WENT ON TO STATE: "We know from bitter experience that the letter's threat to overturn any punishments imposed by the Irish church was real and perversely executed in the case of Tony Walsh," <a href="Maeve Lewis, director of Ireland's abuse victims support group One in Four">she</a> said.<br /><br />"Walsh was defrocked by a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canonical_court">canonical court</a> in Dublin in 1993, but appealed the punishment to Rome, which decided the next year he should be reinstated as a priest and instead sent to a monastery," THE NPR ARTICLE STATES.<br /><br />"Cardinal Desmond Connell, former archbishop of Dublin, got Walsh defrocked only after his criminal trial in Dublin had begun and Connell had made a personal plea to John Paul, explaining that no Irish monastery was willing to take him," THE ARTICLE STATES.<br /><br />I JUST CANNOT STAND THIS: TO SACRIFICE INNOCENT CHILDREN TO AVOID SCANDAL, EXPOSING THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE TO THESE ANIMALS THAT OPERATE UNDER COLOR OF CLERICAL AUTHORITY MAKES ME CRAZY.<br /><br />OF COURSE TODAY THE VATICAN HAS BACKTRACKED, INSISTING THAT THE MEDIA MISUNDERSTOOD THE LETTER AND THAT THE MISSIVE WAS MEANT TO EMPHASIZE THE NEED TO FOLLOW CHURCH LAW, ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE WHERE PROPOSITIONS WERE MADE TO CHILDREN IN THE CONFESSIONAL. WHAT?<br /><br />OH MAN, THAT IS SUCH BLATHER. A KID CAN SAY NO IN THE CONFESSIONAL BUT CAN BE FORCED IN A BACK ROOM, WHERE NO DAMN CONFESSIONAL PRIVILEGE EXISTS.<br /><br />FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT WANT TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE, CHECK OUT THIS LITTLE TIDBIT.<br /><br />"The 1997 letter cited the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy, which had reviewed the Irish document and expressed reservations." THE NPR ARTICLE STATES.<br /><br />"At the time, the Congregation for the Clergy was led by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, who has routinely defended the church's practice of not reporting abuse to police in favor of guarding the rights of accused priests. At the height of the Vatican's sex abuse scandal last year, Castrillon Hoyos told a Colombian radio station that no one should be forced to report abuse."<br /><br />"'The law in nations with a well-developed judiciary does not force anyone to testify against a child, a father, against other people close to the suspect," Castrillon told RCN radio. "Why would they ask that of the church? That's the injustice.'"<br /><br />"Lombardi in his statement noted that the letter was issued before the Vatican in May 2001 instructed bishops worldwide to send abuse cases to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for review," THE ARTICLE STATES.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">YOU WILL RECALL, I HOPE, THAT THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH IS THE NEW AND MODERN, KINDER, GENTLER NAME FOR THE HOLY FREAKING INQUISITION</span>. WHAT?<br /><br />OKAY, CHECK OUT THE ARTICLE, THINK ABOUT HOW MANY YEARS IT HAS TAKEN FOR THE CHURCH TO HAVE TO PAY FOR GENERATIONS OF RUINED CHILDREN AND THEN GET BACK TO ME.<br /><br />I DO HAVE A QUESTION. WHY DOES THE NAZI RATZINGER AKA (I WILL NOT CALL THE CREEP POPE ANYMORE) BENEDICT WEAR RED SHOES? REALLY? RED SHOES? DAMN.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-32118339137108967072011-01-20T17:09:00.000-08:002011-01-20T17:44:47.140-08:00DUDE I HATE CHINAOKAY, SO THE CHINESE LEADER, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_us_china">HU</a> TELLS THE U.S. THAT HE WANTS NORMALIZED RELATIONS WITH THE U.S., BUT WILL NOT BEND ON ANYTHING, NOT HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS (REMEMBER THE PEOPLE MOWED OVER BY THE TANK IN THE 1980s? NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED) NOT TAIWAN, WHICH SEPARATED ITSELF YEARS AGO,, FOR PETE'S SAKE, AND NOT TIBET.<br /><br />HU AND OTHER LEADERS WERE PISSED THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS MET WITH THE <a href="http://dalailama.com/">DALAI LAMA</a>, WHOM THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT RECOGNIZE.<br /><br />THE DALAI LAMA, A TRULY HOLY AND GOOD MAN, HAS BEEN IN EXILE FOR YEARS.<br /><br />OUR CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS HAD ISSUES WITH WHAT THEY CALL CHINA'S ENFORCED ABORTION POLICY, BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT OF 1.3 BILLION PEOPLE HAS DECREED THAT ONLY ONE<a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9766870"> CHILD</a> PER FAMILY IS ALLOWED.<br /><br />ALSO, THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAS A PROBLEM WITH UNMARRIED WOMEN HAVING CHILDREN.<br /><br />WELL CHINA IS A SOVEREIGN NATION AND AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED, WE HAVE NO BUSINESS MEDDLING. <br /><br />BUT WE ALSO HAVE NO BUSINESS TRADING AND THAT IS WHAT PISSES ME OFF.<br /><br /><a href="http://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/poison-chinese-rice-noodles-memories-of-melamine-poisoned-milk-products/">POISONED ITEMS</a> HAVE COME FROM CHINA IN THE PAST AND THEY <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2009/06/24/censorship-20-china-blocks-google-search-apps-gmail-and-more/">CENSOR </a> FREE INTERNET SPEECH, FORGET ABOUT FREE SPEECH IN GENERAL. <br /><br />IN SHORT, THE GOVERNMENT SUCKS AND WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH THEM BECAUSE THEY HAVE SO MANY POTENTIAL CONSUMERS, WE NEED THE MONEY, RIGHT?<br /><br />BUT WHY DO WE NEED THEIR CRAPPY PRODUCTS?<br /><br />U.S. CORPORATIONS WHO LIKE THE CHEAP LABOR AND EASY QUALITY CONTROL RESTRICTIONS NEED THE CHINESE AND THEY PRESSURE THE GOVERNMENT AND LOBBY CONGRESS TO GET THEIR WAY.<br /><br />I SAY WE STAND UP AND NOT BUY ANY, I MEAN ANY, PRODUCTS FROM CHINA. I AM SORRY FOR THE PEOPLE, YOU UNDERSTAND, BUT THE PEOPLE STAY POOR.<br /><br />THEIR SO-CALLED SOCIALISTIC GOVERNMENT THAT HU LAUDED IS A JOKE. IT IS AN OLIGARCHY, A DICTATORSHIP, A REPRESSED SOCIETY AT ITS WORST.<br /><br />IF WE VALUE OUR VISION AS U.S. CITIZENS FROM A FREE AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY THAT VALUES HONESTY, INTEGRITY, ETHICS AND MORALITY, SOMETHING THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAS NEVER, EVER, HAD, NOT FROM THE TIMES OF THE EMPERORS, THEN WE SHOULD STOP DOING BUSINESS WITH CHINA.<br /><br />FOR ALL HU'S ASSURANCES THAT THEY ARE NOT SEEKING TO HARM US, THERE WAS A THREAT THAT IF WE DID NOT DO THINGS HIS WAY, THERE COULD BE AS HE PUT IT, "TENSIONS" BETWEEN THE TWO SUPERPOWERS.<br /><br />I GOT YOUR TENSION RIGHT HERE, HU.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-18665265491905824042011-01-13T16:56:00.000-08:002011-01-13T18:25:08.228-08:00I HAVE FELT PSYCHIC SHAME FOR THE SPANISH INQUISITIONFOR YEARS...
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<br />BOTH AS A ROMAN CATHOLIC AND A PERSON OF SPANISH DESCENT, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition">THE SPANISH INQUISITION </a>HAS WEIGHED ON MY SOUL.
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<br />MY BELIEF IN <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation">REINCARNATION</a> (WHICH SOME MAY SAY DIRECTLY CONFLICTS WITH <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordination#Roman_Catholic.2C_Orthodox.2C_and_Anglican_Churches">ROMAN CATHOLIC TENETS</a>) HAS MADE ME FEEL THAT I WAS PRESENT DURING THE INQUISITION, (PERHAPS IN SPAIN, PERHAPS IN FRANCE) IN ONE OF MY LIFETIMES.
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<br />I ASK YOU, MY READERS, WHAT DOES A CHILD OF THE 20TH CENTURY HAVE TO DO WITH CRUELTY PERPETRATED CENTURIES AGO?
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<br />BUT THE ANSWER IS, THAT I CANNOT IN GOOD CONSCIENCE SAY, "OH THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO, LIKE SLAVERY, AND THEREFORE, NOTHING TO D0 WITH ME."
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<br />BUT IT WAS MY ANCESTORS, BOTH SPIRITUAL AND GENETICALLY, WHO KILLED HUNDREDS, PERHAPS THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, IN HORRIBLE WAYS, IN THE NAME OF <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=RELIGION.">RELIGION.</a>
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<br />THE <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_church">CATHOLIC CHURCH</a> DURING THE TIME OF QUEEN ISABELLA</a></a>, (MAY SHE STAY IN HELL, OR SHEOL FOR ALL TIME) WAS NOT ALLOWED TO SHED BLOOD DURING THE QUESTIONING OR EVEN DURING THE EXECUTION OF, SO-CALLED <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heretics">HERETICS</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostates">APOSTATES</a>, UN RENOUNCED JEWS AND HECK, PEOPLE WHO WERE DENOUNCED BY NEIGHBORS, FOR WHATEVER REASON.
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<br />THE INQUISITORS THEREFORE, HAD VARIOUS WAYS OF TORTURING CONFESSIONS OUT OF PEOPLE, CONFESSIONS THAT I MYSELF WOULD HAVE MADE, IN THIS DAY AND AGE, GIVEN THE HORRIFIC METHODS USED.
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<br />THEY TORE OUT FINGERNAILS, THEY SLID SLIVERS OF METAL OR GLASS UNDER FINGERNAILS, THEY BURNED, THEY WERE PUT TO THE RACK, (THAT WAS PARTICULARLY GRUESOME, SINCE SHOULDERS AND JOINTS WOULD SEPARATE AS THEY WERE BEING PULLED IN SEPARATE DIRECTIONS ON A RACK WITH A SYSTEM OF PULLEYS).
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<br />PRETTY MUCH, ONCE THE <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Inquisitor">SPANISH INQUISITORS</a> GOT THEIR HANDS ON YOU, YOU WERE DONE FOR, SINCE THE CHANCES OF ONE COMING OUT OF THE CHAMBERS ALIVE WERE SLIM TO NONE, NEVER MIND HEALTHY OF MIND AND BODY.
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<br />CRIPPLED, HALF INSANE, INSENSATE, STARVED, BRUISED, BATTERED AND HAVING DELIVERED ONESELF OF THE WILDEST CONFESSIONS UNDER THE PAIN OF TORTURE, THE VICTIM (AND i DO MEAN VICTIM) WOULD EITHER BE BURNED OR HANGED.
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<br />IF YOU CONFESSED, REPENTED AND RECEIVED RITES OF FORGIVENESS FROM THE CHURCH (OH INIQUITOUS RELIGION) YOU USUALLY DID NOT HAVE TO SUFFER THE EXTREMITY OF FEELING YOUR BODY BURNING AS YOU STILL LIVED, SCREAMING FOR GOD'S MERCY.
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<br />YOU COULD BE HANGED INSTEAD, OH JOY.
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<br />SO TODAY I WONDER, HOW IN GOD'S NAME, COULD ANYONE CALL THE SPANISH INQUISITION (STARTED AND PERFECTED IN SPAIN BY THE AFOREMENTIONED, INFAMOUS, iSABELLA OF CASTILE), A WAY OF PRESERVING THE FAITH.
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<br />AND WHERE WAS THE MERCY THAT THOSE HOODED MONSTERS URGED THOSE POOR PEOPLE TO ACCEPT.
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<br />THEY WERE SOCIOPATHS, SADISTS, WHO HAD NO QUALMS ABOUT HEARING SCREAMS OF PAIN, SOMETHING OVER WHICH NORMAL, FEELING, MORAL PEOPLE WOULD CRINGE.
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<br />I KNOW I WAS NOT AN INQUISITOR, AND I AM SURE I WAS NOT ISABELLA OR HER CONFESSOR AND HEAD TORTURE GUY, <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/tom-s-de-torquemada">TORQUEMADA</a>, (MAY THEIR SOULS NEVER BE ALLOWED TO REJOIN THE COSMOS, IF THEY HAD SOULS AND I BELIEVE THEY DID NOT) BUT WHAT IF I WAS A PERSON WHO COULD NOT HELP SOMEONE I KNEW TO BE INNOCENT?
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<br />WHAT IF COWARDICE PREVENTED ME FROM SPEAKING OUT?
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<br />I AM ASHAMED.
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<br />AND FOR ROMAN CATHOLICS EVERYWHERE, I AM ASHAMED.
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<br />ISABELLA, YOU WERE A TOOL OF DEMONS, YOU YOURSELF ARE A DEMON AND YOUR CONFESSOR, TORQUEMADA, IS A BIGGER DEMON.
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<br />EXPELLING THE MOORS, WELL THAT WAS PURE RACISM, AS WAS EXPELLING THE JEWS, ALL OF THAT BAD ENOUGH, BECAUSE HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THE MOORS AND THE JEWS, SPAIN WOULD HAVE REMAINED A LITTLE BACKWATER PROVINCE AND IN THE STONE AGE.
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<br />THEY BROUGHT COMMERCE, CULTURE, ARCHITECTURE, MEDICINE AND SCIENCE TO THAT LITTLE BACKWATER PROVINCE THAT WAS ACTUALLY FIRST INHABITED BY THE BASQUES, THOSE PROBABLE DESCENDANTS OF CRO MAGNON MAN AND PRESENT AS LONG AGO AS PALEOLITHIC TIMES.
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<br />BUT TO THEN TORTURE AND KILL YOUR OWN PEOPLE AND FORCE THE JEWS TO EAT PORK (WITNESS TODAY THE SPANISH FASCINATION AND TASTE FOR PIG IN ALL ITS FORMS) TRULY WAS EVIL.
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<br />NOT SATISFIED TO KILL HER OWN AND BECOME A MASS MURDERER, (THAT'S RIGHT i SAID MASS MURDERER, <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-spanish-monarchs">KING JUAN CARLOS OF SPAIN)</a> LITTLE LIZZIE DECIDED TO ALLOW THE SLAUGHTER OF MORE PEOPLE SHE HAD NEVER EVEN SEEN, IN THE NEW WORLD.
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<br />WORKING THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE AMERICAS TO DEATH IN ORDER TO SECURE GOLD AND SILVER, ISABELLA PROCURED A FORTUNE IN METALS AND OTHER RESOURCES, AND HER STUPID (THAT'S RIGHT i SAID STUPID, KING JUAN CARLOS OF SPAIN) HUSBAND, SQUANDERED IT IN POINTLESS WARS AND GREED.
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<br />I AM NO FAN OF ENGLAND, AFTER WHAT THEY DID TO THE SCOTS, CELTS, WELSH, INDIANS AND CHINESE, (THAT IS PERHAPS FOR A FUTURE BLOG) BUT I HAVE TO SAY MY SOUL SHOUTED "HURRAH" WHEN THE <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/spanish-armada">SPANISH ARMADA</a> WAS SUNK BY A STRONG WIND, THE MIGHTY OF THE SPANISH MAIN SMASHED AGAINST THE ROCKS OF THE ATLANTIC.
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<br />I AM SORRY SO MANY SPANISH LIVES WERE LOST, BUT REALLY, PRIDE DOES GO BEFORE THE FALL.
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<br />AS AN ASIDE, ISABELLA AND FERDINAND'S DAUGHTER, JUANA, WAS CALLED "LA LOCA" THE CRAZY LADY, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE YEARS OF INBREEDING THE SPANISH ROYALTY, HAD ACCOMPLISHED.
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<br />SO PAYBACK IS A BITCH AND REVENGE IS A MOTHERFUCKER, AS THEY SAY.
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<br />TWO LAST THINGS:
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<br />I CALL FOR THAT NAZI POPE, BENEDICT, TO EXCOMMUNICATE ISABELLA, TORQUEMADA, <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/jun-pero-serra-2">JUNIPERO SERRA</a> AND ALL THOSE OTHER SO-CALLED PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS FRAUDS WHO INVOLVED THEMSELVES IN THE TORTURE OF THEIR FELLOW MEN, AND ALSO TO APOLOGIZE TO THE VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
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<br />i KNOW YOU MOTHERFUCKERS HAVE RECORDS; RELEASE THEM AND LET US SEE AND DO NOT, AS YOU TRIED A FEW YEARS AGO, TRY TO REVISE HISTORY AND TELL US THAT MOST PEOPLE SWEPT UP IN THE INQUISITION WERE NEVER TORTURED OR KILLED, YOU BIG FAT LIAR.
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<br />SECONDLY, I ASK THAT ROMAN CATHOLICS EVERYWHERE TRY TO MAKE UP FOR WHAT OUR RELIGION HAS DONE TO OTHERS BY DOING GOOD TODAY.
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<br />YOU KNOW, I NOTICE THAT SEVERAL CHURCH GROUPS IN MY AREA HELP TO FEED THE WORKING POOR, THE LESS FORTUNATE, THOUGH IN THIS DAY AND AGE, THAT IS BECOMING A LARGE GROUP INDEED.
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<br />THOSE CHURCHES ARE ALL PROTESTANT. NOT ONE CATHOLIC CHURCH, (AND i MEAN YOU, ST. CATHERINE'S ON SANTIAGO STREET IN OLD TOWN) HOLDS A RESCUE MISSION OR RUNS A FOOD PANTRY.
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<br />HEY BENEDICT, YOU WANT TO DO SOME GOOD, YOU HITLER YOUTH BASTID? PULL SOME MONEY OUT OF YOUR ASS AND GIVE TO THE POOR.
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<br />SELL SOME OF YOUR SILKEN ROBES AND GOLD CRAP, YOU CHEAP SKINFLINT GERMANIC THUG.
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<br />OH YEAH, AND ALSO?
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<br />QUIT CALLING BISHOPS AND CARDINALS "PRINCES" OF THE CHURCH, CAUSE THIS AIN'T NO DAMN KINGDOM.
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<br />GEEZ, ELITIST AND MONARCHICAL MUCH?
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<br />THAT'S ALL FOR NOW....
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<br />ONE LAST LITTLE NOTE: I BELIEVE THAT NOT FOR NOTHING WAS CARDINAL RATZINGER, AKA BENEDICT THE NAZI, THE HEAD OF THE MODERN-DAY <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith">CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH</a> THE OFFICE THAT WAS ONCE THE OFFICE OF THE HOLY INQUISITION.
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<br />HOLY MY ASS.
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<br />Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-84175850402207890602011-01-10T15:22:00.000-08:002011-01-10T16:21:09.650-08:00I Wish I Were BasqueFrom what I have learned in a series of lectures about the Vascos (in Spanish) or Basques (in French) no one can really say where the <a href="http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/oldworld/europe/basque.html">Basque</a> people come from, only where they have been for centuries, their language, customs and cuisine unchanged for all that time.<br /><br />According to the lectures, by <a href="http://www.markkurlansky.com/">Mark Kurlansky</a> and his Basque History of the World, the Basques may have been direct descendants of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cro-Magnon#Assemblages_and_specimens">Cro-Magnon</a> man and their language is not at all Indo-European, which makes it different from all Latin or Germanic-based languages.<br /><br />They eat a lot of fish, specifically cod, and sweet peppers and reportedly are tall, long-nosed and heavily browed.<br /><br />That could have been my dad.<br /><br />I just admire the Basque spirit of independence, though I abhor the years of terrorist activities and was pleased today to read that the militant arm of the separatist movement, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12152928">ETA</a>, has declared a permanent ceasefire and now plans to seek independence through political means and the courts.<br /><br />Since the middle ages, Basque-land, which comprised what was then called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Navarre#Etymology">Navarre</a>, has belonged in part of France and to Spain, but in the Basque mind, they belong to no one and I totally agree.<br /><br />In this day and age, people who consider themselves completely different from all those around them, (and judging by language, cuisine, culture and clothing, they are), should be free to determine their own destiny.<br /><br />However, the socialist part of it, the jury's out on that one. If they can make the ideal work, hurrah for them, because no other society has managed to do practice socialism in its purest form, where all share in the fruits of everyone's labor.<br /><br />Just a dream, I fear.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-45669020337900292372010-12-26T00:05:00.000-08:002010-12-26T00:57:05.667-08:00Happy Christmas EveryoneI went to a protestant (read Christian) church service last night, and though it was very different from the usual Roman Catholic midnight Mass services to which I have been accustomed since a very small child, I found that it was still rewarding and comforting.<br /><br />I must admit, I was a little shocked when I walked into, not a church as I know them to be, but an auditorium, with chairs, a stage and two large television screens.<br /><br />However, the singing was magnificent and the message was the same. The Christ was born in order to save us from ourselves and He worked hard bring the light of love into the world.<br /><br />I am sorry to say that even though it is shocking to know what the Ass <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/herod-the-great">King Herod </a>(may be rot in hell forever) did to the Jewish babies while searching for Jesus, we in today's world should not feel superior to ancient kings and Romans.<br /><br />The atrocities are still occurring and children are dying as we speak.<br /><br />Okay, but the good news is that, we have the rest of our lives, starting from this moment, to redeem ourselves and the human race.<br /><br />Sure I would like to go and personally knock some sense into those horrible dictators who are recruiting boys to shoot people, using rape as a weapon and committing genocide as fast as they can.<br /><br />I mean, the Arabs in the <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101223/wl_afp/sudanunrestdarfur_20101223174942">Sudan </a>and trying to kill off all the Africans? Helloooo, it belongs to the Africans.<br /><br />But I digress. I cannot go kick ass, but I can pray and I can get on my soapbox and I can see to it that I do kindnesses as often as I can to others because believe you me, that love spreads, like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect">butterfly effect</a>.<br /><br />One last thing I want to say. I say a docco on the gospel of <a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/_pdf/GospelofJudas.pdf">Judas</a>, which they recently verified as having been written sometime in the second century, which would put it about 180 AD.<br /><br />In it, the writer says that Judas saw Christ as He was, which was an enlightened and spiritual being in human form. He was told to betray Christ as part of the grand plan and supposedly he was the only one whose spirit could face that divinity of Christ that was shining through the human form.<br /><br />Lots of theologians scoff and say that the for gospels we do have are fine. But really, I have always taken offense with Bishop Iraneous' contention that anything he personally did not include in the new testament was heresy..<br /><br />Now I think I would have been a gnostic in the ancient times, because that new testament was put together for sheep, not thinking, enlightened people. Certainly not women, since it has been misogynistic from the first, as is the Catholic church.<br /><br />I believe we have to think for ourselves and not just take the word of a mortal man, or mortal men, who try to tell us what our faith is about.<br /><br />And no way can I follow a <a href="http://atheism.about.com/od/benedictxvi/i/RatzingerNazi.htm">pope </a>who was once a Nazi (and headed the office which once carried out the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition">Inquisition</a>, so that is a huge issue for me.<br /><br />The more I learn, the more I realize I know next to nothing but I do know this: No one is Rome is going to tell me how to commune with my God and how to be saved by Christ.<br /><br />That's all she wrote.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-16033490728078738102010-12-23T17:26:00.000-08:002010-12-23T18:06:02.607-08:00So This Is Christmas<strong></strong><em></em>AND HANUKKAH, KWANZAA, FESTIVUS, WINTER SOLSTICE, AM I MISSING ANYONE?<br /><br />It as been awhile I know but I just want to holler at ya'll for a bit.<br /><br />For years I have been reading and thinking, thinking and reading, a philosopher without a stone, or a soapbox or even an ivory tower or a room of my own in which to just think about stuff.<br /><br />But when I swim, I think. And when I drive and sometimes when I am working, I think.<br /><br />Now that I don't have to worry about being unbiased because I was laid off my reporting job, I can say what I feel and feel what I say.<br /><br />First, this whole Christmas thing sometimes bothers me.<br /><br />I mean, it has pretty much been proved that Jesus the Christ was born in the Spring.<br /><br />And most educated people know that the early Christrian (now called Roman Catholic) church pretty much co-opted pagan holy days for its own purposes and renamed them for a Christian calendar.<br /><br />So, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice">winter solstice </a>became Christmas and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox">spring equinox </a>and <a href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/easter1.htm">a pagan goddess became Easter </a>and the resurrection.<br /><br />Also check out the English derivation from the Viking for Friday, Sunday, Thursday, (Thor's Day).<br /><br />I do not have a quarrel with celebrating Christmas now, but I do have a quarrel with people using the holiday for greed or for manipulation.<br /><br />Children have been receiving gifts at Christmas since St. Nicholas for some reason decided to gift the kids in his parish with presents.<br /><br />Since then, the Western world has gone over the top.<br /><br />Car commercials, watches, blenders, washing machines, sweat pants, jeans, exercise equipment, games, etc.<br /><br />What does this have to do with the birth of Christ? Or for that matter, <a href="http://www.beingjewish.com/yomtov/chanukah/meaning.html">Hanukkah, </a>the Festival of Lights, when it is said the Jews had enough oil for a very short time but instead the lamp burned for eight days and nights.<br /><br />What is important is to remember that Christ preached love, whether one believed He was the son of God or a prophet, as the Jewish, Islamic and Hindu faiths preach.<br /><br />God personifies love, and love is what we need to give to each other this and every holy season.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.buzzle.com/articles/meaning-of-christmas-tree.html">tree</a>, okay, again, pagan, but I love it.<br /><br />Over the years we have mixed up so many practices and customs to call it Christmas that really except for the love part, none of it is actually Christ-related.<br /><br />I am not bagging on Christmas, don't get me wrong. But if you think I believe I need to express my love by buying someone a Mercedes or BMW or Jag, fuhgedaboudit. Even if I had the money, I would specifically not buy a car.<br /><br />Christ walked everywhere, the Israelites walked everywhere, except for Saul, who was a conceited bastid and got what he deserved for trying to kill the future <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/David.html">King David.</a><br /><br />So, this season, walk a little, smile a little, laugh a lot, be with friends, nosh a little, drink a little and fill your hearts with love.<br /><br />That's all she wrote.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-54784698557976220932010-10-27T20:33:00.001-07:002010-10-27T20:54:15.943-07:00So My Insurance Does Not Pay For Chiropractic<span style="font-style:italic;">Even though I am paying tons of money for COBRA and my former company, a good company, is helping me.<br /><br /> I found out from the pastor of <a href="http://ranchocommunity.org/">Rancho Community Church </a>on Temecula Parkway, that the church has a free clinic every Wednesday night and also a chiropractor who volunteers his evening.<br /><br />This is the same church that gives bagfuls of cans and organically grown vegetables (from the church's Rainbow farmlands) and fruits to people in need every Wednesday.<br /><br />Because I recently sprained my back, I opted to go to this healer, since the pills my medical doctor threw at me had little to no effect.<br /><br />For two weeks I walked around like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasimodo">Quasimodo</a>, with no relief, until the minister told me about the chiro.<br /><br />The chiro over the past two weeks has straightened out my spine, made my legs match (one was shorter than the other because of the hitch in my back, and told me to continue what I have been doing, swimming in heated water, light-weight resistance weight training and torso twists. <br /><br />And he told me I should come back next week; he did not hustle me out the door, even though there were people waiting for some relief.<br /><br />Wow...there is help out there for people in need.<br /><br />While waiting outside an RV for my turn, I met up with a woman whom I knew as a school crossing guard at Vail Elementary School, where we used to take my great-niece.<br /><br />She needed her lungs checked before some surgery.. Her son is headed to an Ivy League school, her daughter a 14-year-old who plays the flute and wants to be a veterinarian.<br /><br />They are both GATE students, which means they are taking honors classes in everything.<br /><br />You know what? The people who need help are not low-life drug addicts, or so-called lazy welfare trash. They are working class mothers and fathers who are trying the best for their kids and who do not have the coverage they need.<br /><br />So they sit outside in the cold, patiently awaiting their turns, in darkness, except for the light over the RV door and the registration table.<br /><br />This is the richest country in the world, seriously, and there are a lot of wonderful things about it. But a woman with a lung infection, a former reporter with a twisted back, a crossing guard who is worried her asthma will flare up, and various and sundry others who need a little help, should not have to wait in the fucking cold for some mercy.<br /><br />Kudos to Rancho Community. They are doing a wonderful thing for the community.<br /><br />The disgrace is that they must.<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span>Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-75950011954253564362010-10-27T17:26:00.000-07:002010-10-27T17:36:20.462-07:00Bang Bang Stories Taking A BreakWell, I think perhaps I have written enough about murder and mayhem for awhile, so I am going to try something different, once I think of it. So stand by for more prosaic, less hard core, writing.<br /><br />I am a lover of hard news but what are you going to do? A writer must be versatile.<br /><br />For a while, I will be writing thoughts and impressions and things I see.<br /><br />For instance, did you know that in Temecula, Ca., a resident can lap swim in a heated pool for $1 a day?<br /><br />Did you know that the YMCA will give scholarships for their gym and other services to those with fixed or low incomes?<br /><br />And did you know that area churches actually give food boxes and bags to people who are a little down on their luck?<br /><br />I know, because I found myself abruptly laid off recently and have had to make some changes. <br /><br />Oh, I can still take care of myself, but things like gym memberships, eating out (sushi was my favorite) and splurging on a treat for myself are things of the past.<br /><br />But having insurance, food and a roof over my head are still possible and for that I am grateful.<br /><br />I am also grateful for the willingness of people to share their information on community resources with everyone else.<br /><br />So as I find out about resources and hear people's stories, I will be writing about them here.<br /><br />Let's get back to the community and the good people. Screw the bad guys, they get plenty of play in print.<br /><br />Here we go.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-2000349241793670592010-10-26T20:44:00.000-07:002010-10-26T20:48:34.133-07:00Hi FolksHas been quite a while and I am sorry for not posting sooner but I promise I will be getting something on here very soon.<br /><br />Right now I am preoccupied with getting a new birth certificate from Puerto Rico because the government there insists the old ones are not fraud proof and too many undocumented aliens have been using PR birth certificates they got on the black market.<br /><br />Puerto Rico is the only Latin country where its people are U.S. citizens, therefore, the fraud..<br /><br />But I cannot find my old one, and now have to send in a copy of my driver's license and some money to get a new one issued. What a pain...Am a citizen, have been all my life but need a new certificate to prove it.<br /><br />Dang.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-12844592644361566142010-08-31T16:39:00.000-07:002010-08-31T16:39:17.775-07:00<a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCapKWDITvlA6BYBeQnJO-s-mumJIHsPvyan03aNePugFXhkpjO2xckuGFh_TIMTaxLx0Sn5vEOMwVqmXjwDWmchheZ8DxK2R3YY7P4jFZ2GDv5CnyrOouIo8wypuep8Dek0PEQfZw5d3t/s1600/UNI_0194.JPG'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCapKWDITvlA6BYBeQnJO-s-mumJIHsPvyan03aNePugFXhkpjO2xckuGFh_TIMTaxLx0Sn5vEOMwVqmXjwDWmchheZ8DxK2R3YY7P4jFZ2GDv5CnyrOouIo8wypuep8Dek0PEQfZw5d3t/s400/UNI_0194.JPG' border='0' alt=''style='clear:both;float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;' /></a> <div style='clear:both; text-align:RIGHT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-52976173514103084862010-08-27T11:13:00.000-07:002010-08-27T12:05:46.040-07:00Father Vehicular Murder Of SonJavier Terrones, 34, was upset that his wife was leaving him and taking the kids, though one has to wonder whether his children, a then-10-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy, even figured into his thoughts when he raced an SUV up a freeway embankment in Riverside County, Ca., in an attempt to kill himself.<br /><br />Terrones, as is so often the case when a person tries to take people with him when leaving this mortal coil, survived his death attempt but managed to kill his young son and injure his daughter. He is now spending 35 years to life in prison for murder and attempted murder.<br /><br />Don't you just hate it when some A-HOLE tried to kill himself and take others with him, then has the nerve to live while others dies. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">KILL YOURSELF, JERKOFF, BUT LEAVE EVERYONE ELSE ALONE, STUPIDO.<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />Javier Terrones, Jr., thrown from the vehicle when the Escalade went up an embankment on Interstate 15, then went airborne and landed on another vehicle down in the street, died of a head injury at<a href="http://lomalindahealth.org/medical-center/index.page"> Loma Linda University Medical Center </a> in San Bernardino, Ca.<br /><br />The boy also suffered two broken legs, a broken arm and broken jaw, according to the prosecutor in the case. <br /><br />When Terrones senior was convicted three years ago, on Sept. 27, 2007, jurors explained that it took them only five hours to agree he was guilty.<br /><br />"There were just too many opportunities for him to secure his children," the jury forewoman said.<br /><br />"We did feel that his intention that day was to kill his children."<br /><br />According to testimony by the boy's sister, Bianca Terrones, who is now about 14, her father refused to collect the youngster's car seat from his grandmother's house, which was just down the block from their Lake Elsinore home.<br /><br />Bianca spoke of her brother's terror as their father steadily accelerated on the southbound I-15, screaming for his sister, in the front seat, to help him as he tossed about in the back seat.<br /><br />His sister could not get hold of her brother to secure him before Terrones, with murderous intent, went into the embankment.<br /><br />His wife testified that the defendant called her as he drove their children and promised her she would be sorry for not giving him another chance.<br /><br />The wife, Zorayda Terrones, testified that he was a loser and she was tired of supporting him.<br /><br />"I told him that I was tired of helping him and tired of his lies," the woman testified during a pre-trial hearing.<br /><br />At his sentencing Nov. 9, 2007, Terrones showed little emotion as he listened to tearful statements by his wife, his mother-in-law, the woman on whose SUV the Escalade landed (she was unhurt) and Bianca, who sent a note to the court to be read.<br /><br />"You should be sorry for yourself after what you did!" the youngster had printed out on a lined sheet of school book paper.<br /><br />"You killed my brother and you almost killed me!<br /><br />"We would have been a happy family if you had not done that," Bianca wrote.<br /><br />"You destroyed our family!<br /><br />"And you broke our hearts. My brother is in a much better place, wich [sic] is Heaven.<br /><br />"Just keep in mind you are not going there, you did something bad and that does not make Jesus happy.<br /><br />"I HATE YOU!" she wrote and drew two lines and an inverted parentheses mark to signify a frown.<br /><br />"And I never want to see you ever again."<br /><br />Riverside Superior Court Judge Rodney Walker told Terrones that he had never seen the type of rage it would take to deliberately try to kill one's children in a fatal crash.<br /><br />"If I could give you more (time) I would," Walker told the unmoved defendant.<br /><br /><br />Terrones was also found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and child endangerment likely to cause great bodily injury, as well as an allegation that he personally used a deadly weapon -- the Escalade.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-10718066367172252422010-08-22T16:16:00.000-07:002010-08-22T16:43:50.427-07:00TRAILER MURDERJeffrey Scott Klinefelter, was 44 when he was sentenced to 50 years to life for shooting a business associate who pissed him off because the defendant was apparently being bullied by the bigger victim.<br /><br />Jason Lane, 49, of <a href="http://www.cityofhemet.org/">Hemet, Ca</a> had gone to Klinefelter's trailer in Lake Elsinore, Ca. the morning of Jan. 25, 2008.<br /><br />Klinefelter, incensed because Lane planned to auction vehicles on the defendant's property, was waiting for him with a .45-caliber pistol and shot him in the head.<br /><br />Klinefelter had earlier sent his girlfriend for coffee and breakfast and when Shari Stokes returned, she saw a puddle of blood and "All I knew is he was bleeding from that hole," in his head, Stokes testified during trial.<br /><br />Stokes originally was to be prosecuted for murder but she pleaded guilty to being an accessory and received three years probation and 199 weekend days in jail.<br /><br />She testified that she took Lane's legs and helped move him out of the trailer and into the victim's own van, then the two drove away and dumped the body nearby.<br /><br />Stokes said that Klinefelter told her he was going to "kill Kevin."<br /><br />Though the defense tried to show that Klinefelter was in fear for his life, the prosecution proved that the defendant was never in imminent danger and had deliberately intended to shoot the victim.<br /><br />Klinefelter was convicted of first-degree murder, though no special circumstances -- which would have meant the death penalty or life without parole -- were charged.<br /><br />The defendant was turned in by his own mother, to whom he confessed the shooting. The mother called authorities after she spoke with her son, who was taken into custody without incident.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-65073227148380370712010-08-22T15:53:00.000-07:002010-08-22T16:04:50.062-07:00DISABLED SEX BATTERERWell it surely has been awhile, no?<br /><br />San Diego resident Timothy Wayne Harris in 2006 was arrested for sexually molesting a developmentally disabled man he was mentoring<br /><br />Harris later pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to four years probation and told to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.<br /><br />Since Harris pleaded guilty before the case could come to trial, details of his molestation were never released to the press but because of a plea arrangement, the judge dismissed charges of oral copulation and sodomy of an incompetent victim.<br /><br />The victim, who lived in Perris, Ca., reported the molestation after Harris discontinued the mentoring regimen.<br /><br />Though Harris was also sentenced to 555 days in jail, he received credit for time served and was allowed to walk out of jail a free man.<br />Valerie Zucker, who has since retired to raise a family, said the District Attorney's office agreed to the deal to spare the victim the "agony' of testifying on the witness stand.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-83209412315796270882010-08-04T15:00:00.000-07:002010-08-04T15:29:23.036-07:00Tribal Member Gets Life Without Parole For Cabbie SlayingGabriel Gerard Resvaloso belongs to the <a href="http://www.soboba-nsn.gov/">Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians</a>, which is situated in San Jacinto, Ca.<br /><br />On the night of Dec. 4, 2005, Resvaloso, then about 30, called a Yellow Cab, driven by James Burrows, 42, who picked him up at a motel in <a href="http://www.ci.san-Jacinto.ca.us/city-govt/">San Jacinto</a> and took him to the Reservation.<br /><br />According to videos shown at trial, the yellow Scion that Burrows used as a cab traveled to and from the tribal casino to a desolate spot on the reservation but it was unclear whether Burrows was in the taxi every time.<br /><br />What is clear is that at some point during the night and the subsequent morning, Dec. 5, 2005, Resvaloso shot Burrows and left him out on a dirt road on the Rez to die.<br /><br />Burrows was found by a passerby during the day.<br /><br />The Scion was found parked in a lot not from from the motel where <a href="http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2009-10-13/news/dna-of-soboba-tribal-member-found-in-vehicle-of-slain-taxi-driver">Resvaloso</a> was staying.<br /><br />DNA evidence belonging to Resvaloso was found on some gloves left in the car.<br /><br />And a gun was found hidden in Resvaloso's room.<br /><br />Though a seven-woman, five-man jury found that Resvaloso committed murder on someone who was out performing his duties as a cab driver, which is a special circumstance that calls for death or life without parole, the panel divided on another special circ allegation.<br /><br />The jury split 8-1-3 on an allegation that Resvaloso killed Burrows in order to carjack him.<br /><br />Eight of the jurors believed the defendant did the killing for a carjacking, one juror did not believe that and three were undecided.<br /><br />Outside the courtroom, jurors interviewed said they believed something happened out on the reservation that night but that it had nothing to do with the car,<br /><br />"The man had died for something other than that damn car," said a juror from the city of <a href="http://www.cityofmenifee.com/">Menifee</a>.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-35576836771533507802010-07-28T20:00:00.000-07:002010-07-28T20:06:11.894-07:00I Want To Talk About A Barmaid Who Should Have Known BetterHer name in Jessica Cuevas, and because she was drunk as she drove her vehicle with an off-duty sheriff's deputy as her passenger, she crashed and the deputy died.<br /><br />Cuevas, who was facing a murder charge (which carries 15 years) because as a barmaid she had a unique responsibility to know better than to drive drunk, pleaded guilty to DUI with gross vehicular manslaughter.<br /><br />Instead, Cuevas got 10 years in prison, which is still no picnic.<br /><br />The defense tried to argue that the deputy, Jason Peters, actually caused the crash because he was "groping" Cuevas as she drove her Honda in Lake Elsinore, Ca. on May 5, 2008.<br /><br />The two had been drinking heavily in a motel room before the crash.<br /><br />The Honda clipped an electrical box and struck a tree at 50 mph.<br /><br />"Jason Peters caued the accident," the defense attorney said. "Why is it murder?"Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-67859393779958899932010-07-26T17:43:00.001-07:002010-07-26T17:43:10.142-07:00Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-52341790924972475082010-07-26T16:43:00.000-07:002010-07-26T17:00:29.258-07:00A Man Who Kills Father, Buries In Backyard ...Gets 15 years to life in prison, which, with three years tacked on for elder abuse, means he is up for parole in another 15 years, and it being Southern California, most likely will not get out right away.<br /><br />Gerard John Gallo, 55, of Romoland, which is now the city of <a href="http://www.cityofmenifee.com/">Menifee</a>, represented himself in his trial for the murder of 90-year-old Joseph Gallo in August 2005.<br /><br />Trial and sentencing were held in 2007.<br /><br />The younger man took his father out of <a href="http://www.aplaceformom.com/california-senior-care/riverside/mount-rubidoux-manor-55763/">Mount Rubidoux Manor</a>, a senior facility, and days later called authorities to report his father's death.<br /><br />Investigators found the elder man's decomposed body buried in Gerard Gallo's backyard.<br /><br />Gallo told authorities he and his father were arguing when his father fell, struck his elbow on the counter and his head on the floor.<br /><br />Though his father was not breathing, he said, he did not call 911. Instead, he buried his father's body in the yard and waited more than a week to call authorities.<br /><br />Gallo was convicted of second-degree murder after the judge reduced the charge from first-degree to second-degree murder.<br /><br />Then prosecutor <a href="http:/http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search /member_detail.aspx?x=192843">Stephen Gallon</a>, who is now a judge, argued that Gallo, knowing his father's condition was frail because of a bad heart, struck his father and possibly even smothered him, leading to his death.<br /><br />He argued that there was malice in Gallo's actions, knowing it would not take much to overpower and end the man's life.<br /><br />According to testimony during an argument on a motion for a new trial, Gallo told a deputy escorting him to court, "well I killed him, but they don't know the circumstances."<br /><br />A judge ruled that the deputy was not questioning Gallo and though it was not admissible as evidence, it also did not taint the trial.<br /><br />During trial and at the 2007 sentencing, a Mount Rubidoux resident, Richard Burns, told a reporter that Joseph Gallo was still missed by his friends at the residence.<br /><br />"When he walked into a room, the room felt full."Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-15004483799445876082010-07-14T15:57:00.000-07:002010-07-14T16:04:46.992-07:00Who Knew The River Could Be So Cold...... when the land is so hot?<br /><br />Hi folks,<br /><br />It was 114 degrees in the shade in <a href="http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=laughlin%20nevada&FORM=KADOMI#">Laughlin, Nv.</a> this weekend and impossible to stay outside on the beach without going into the Colorado River.<br /><br />The river has a strong current but there were plenty of lifeguards at <a href="http://www.harrahslaughlin.com/casinos/harrahs-laughlin/hotel-casino/property-home.shtml">Harrah's Resort </a>and all the lounge chairs were sunk in the sand right into the water, so that you could sit and put your hot feet into that refreshing liquid.<br /><br />Drinking a blueberry vodka with pink lemonade and lots of ice was outstanding as well.<br /><br />When it got too hot, you just slide off your chair and go into the river, where you see big fish and ducks.<br /><br />For a fee you can rent a jet ski or wave runner and tool up and down the coastline.<br /><br />Pretty much when you go to Laughlin in the summer, take your bathing suit and live on the river during the day. The only way to survive...and what a pleasant existence it is.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-32997227423999231542010-07-08T13:08:00.000-07:002010-07-08T13:28:56.063-07:00Loser Gets Century Plus Prison Time For Attempted MurderWhat a loser this guy turned out to be but then, it should not have been a surprise, with his past.<br /><br />Raul Augustine Silva was convicted at 42 years of age in December 2006 of attempted murder, assault and burglary during the early morning hours of Jan. 31, 2004.<br /><br />He pistol-whipped, shot, beat and kicked his ex-girlfriend at a <a href="http://www.lake-elsinore.org">Lake Elsinore </a>apartment.<br /><br />Dinorha Martinez was staying with her sister in the apartment at the time of the attack, according to testimony in the defendant's case.<br /><br />She was 27.<br /><br />She cowered in the bedroom as Silva pistol-whipped her more than 10 times. He shot Martinez twice at close range, then dragged her from the apartment by her hair and kicked, beat and shot at her again, according to testimony by Martinez's sister, Tania Martinez.<br /><br />"He said he came here to kill her and he'd kill me too," Martinez testified.<br /><br />There were children in the house at the time of the assault.<br /><br />Dinorha Martinez spent several weeks in a coma and her family discussed taking her off life-support, a bullet stayed lodged in the base of her collarbone.<br /><br />The victim testified that she has lasting effects from the attack and suffers from constant pain.<br /><br />Silva attacked Martinez because she had broken off the relationship, according to the prosecution.<br /><br />The defendant had three prior strike felony convictions, was a drug addict.<br /><br />What a piece of work this guy is...Makes you wonder what a woman would see in this waste of space. This goes beyond being a bad boy. It is more like being a psychopath.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-76842935625868089722010-07-06T13:35:00.000-07:002010-07-08T13:05:27.643-07:00Well Hi There....This One Is About A Bartender Who Should Know BetterBennett William Zilonka was a bartender in <a href="http://www.cityofhemet.org">Hemet</a>, Ca., who served one too many drinks to an underage boy who was later that night killed in a vehicle crash.<br /><br />Zilonka, who was 43 at the time and is now 46 years old, served several drinks to 19-year-old James Victor Romero, of <a href="http://www.cityofmenifee.com">Menifee</a> on the between 10 p.m. June 7, 2007, and 2 the following morning.<br /><br />Romero used his bank debit card to pay his bar tab, and was killed about two hours after leaving <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/chappies-hemet">Chappies Bar</a>.<br /><br />The California Department of <a href="http://www.abc.ca.gov">Alcoholic Beverage Control </a> determined that Romero's Blood-alcohol content was .14, which is twice the legal limit in California.<br /><br />Romero was traveling west about 65 mph in his 1996 Nissan Sentry when he drove off the roadway and onto the dirt shoulder.<br /><br />Investigators said it appeared the motorist swung back onto the road, at which point the compact car went into as pin and collided with the left rear corner of a parked trailer that was holding pieces of a modular home.<br /><br />To avoid the maximum straight jail time, Zilonka pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor and was allowed to serve about four months local jail time, on weekends, which actually is a road work or work camp situation.<br /><br />The case dragged on for two years before Zilonka copped a plea.<br /><br />The bar's license was suspended for a month.<br /><br />James Victor Romero is still dead and will always be 19.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-89358791526835745192010-06-26T20:21:00.000-07:002010-06-26T20:37:11.495-07:00Well It's The WeekendAnd I have not even looked at any of my files of cases I have saved from my years as a crime and courts reporter.<br /><br />I am just now starting to relax after not having taken a vacay for about 10 years.<br /><br />Dude, I am exhausted.<br /><br />However, I will actively begin searching my own archives for a good story to make up for my laxity in getting something to my readers sooner.<br /><br />Look for it next week.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />MTAMirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-1663774609537884702010-06-24T18:03:00.000-07:002010-06-24T18:05:34.608-07:00FYIHaven't forgotten my would-be or ersatz readers. I just haven't had time to update my blog, what with my job hunt. Decided I want to go back to teaching, unless of course I can get a web blogging reporting job, which would be the best of all worlds. <br /><br />I promise I will bring another weird story to the forefront very soon, probably later this week. I cannot make this stuff up...<br />cheers.<br />MTAMirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-63890902282687064532010-06-20T15:29:00.000-07:002010-06-20T15:41:03.257-07:00This Woman Killed Her Battering Boyfriend, Got Off, then Got Into Trouble For Drugs and WeaponsHenrietta Margarita Briones, a Soboba http://www.soboba-nsn.gov/Tribal member, was caught with drugs and guns while on parole for murder.<br /><br />Briones, 50, pleaded guilty after years of awaiting trial at the Southwest Justice Center, http://www.riverside.courts.ca.gov/criminal.htm for a number of years, since her arrest in 2005.<br /><br />She had been released from prison in 2003 for killing the boyfriend, after serving 17 years in prison.<br /><br />Friends and supporters lobbied to get her freed because she suffered from Battered Woman syndrome. They pleaded with the parole board and in 2003, with no objection from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, she was freed.<br /><br />However, it did not take too long for her to get into trouble again.<br /><br />Briones was stopped for allegedly having illegally tinted windows and because she was on parole and had what is called a Fourth Waiver, http://www.metnews.com/articles/craw030603.htm her vehicle was searched.<br /><br />Authorities found drugs and two guns.<br /><br />She could have faced 14 years in prison if convicted on all counts, including allegations of committing felonies while out of prison for less than five years.<br /><br />However, a plea deal was struck.<br /><br />Briones was immediately sentenced to five years in prison, but because of time served awaiting prosecution and good behavior, she was allowed to go free.<br /><br />It also did not help the prosecution's case that a detective on the case, Jeffrey Keith Sanders, in 2008 pleaded guilty to charges of sexual battery, penetration with a foreign object and assault by a public officer.<br /><br />A piece of work, that detective.<br /><br />This is the problem with delaying trial for years in years, in Riverside County, a backlog that has gotten better in the past two years because a task force of judges and prosecutors was formed to move the cases.<br /><br />I covered one case that sat in limbo for nearly 10 years. But that is for another time.Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-68601722535919302092010-06-20T13:58:00.000-07:002010-06-20T14:13:35.772-07:00Back To Weird Guys and DogsWhere were we?<br /><br />Oh yes, Elisao Gilbert Jimenez, 67, was found harboring 200 dead and a number of dying dogs, as well as live dogs who feasted on their fellow canines, according to police.<br /><br />Jimenez, from Temecula, Ca. <a href="http://www.cityoftemecula.org/"></a> also had a dead cat on the bathroom counter, as well as pregnant and sick felines. Dogs that had been freshly killed in fights with other canines also were found in the home.<br /><br />Well, rather than going on to trial and facing 10 animal cruelty counts, which surely would have resulted in some serious prison time, Jimenez pleaded guilty to three animal cruelty counts and was immediately sentenced to five years probation, three days in jail and 1,000 hours of community service.<br /><br />The other seven counts were dismissed.<br /><br />It is interesting to note that the judge, Dennis McConaghy http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/member_detail.aspx?x=89600, did not order a mental health evaluation for Jimenez, which he clearly needed.<br /><br />It is my experience covering these sorts of cases that the suspects usually go back to their felonious activity.<br /><br />This guy clearly has issues and I can almost guarantee that those 1,000 hours of community service will not be fulfilled.<br /><br />So, more animals will suffer and this guy, who really needs help, will go on with his monstrous insanity...<br /><br />How is this justice?Mirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852942797997003577.post-91668966127415565582010-06-17T16:19:00.001-07:002010-06-17T16:23:07.529-07:00How Weird Is This Guy?Elisao Gilbert Jimenez, 68, kept more than 200 dead dogs in plastic bags on his property in <a href="http://www.cityoftemecula.org/">Temecula, ca. </a><br /><br /><br />One of the dogs had its heart eaten out, according to authorities.<br /><br />As investigators tried to control about 80 li9ve dogs, one canine killed another and began eating it, according to prosecutors.<br /><br />MORE TKMirna Alfonsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02795943252292429383noreply@blogger.com0