LEGALIZED PROSTITUTION IN THE BAKKEN OIL FIELDS, EASTERN MONTANA? OR STRICTER PENALTIES FOR COMMERCIAL SEX BUYERS, AS IN SWEDEN? WHATEVER IT TAKES! HUMAN TRAFFICKING, MONTANA & THE WORLD: FIGHT FOR HOPE & FREEDOM; FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING AT HOME--WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW, YOU DON'T KNOW, BUT THE MISSOULA, MONTANA, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND MANY PROFESSIONALS, WILL TELL YOU, IT IS IN YOUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD--WE NEED ZERO TOLERANCE FOR INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE, COMMERCIAL SEX, OR LABOR--USING FORCE, FRAUD OR COERCION, PROSTITUTION, PROMOTING PROSTITUTION, SEXUAL SERVITUDE OF A CHILD OR PATRONIZING OF A CHILD IS JUST NOT GOING TO HAPPEN IN OUR JURISDICTION, BUT IT WILL TAKE THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, STATE, NATION AND WORLD TO STOP IT!

Human Trafficking--Oh, Hell NO!

• Estimated 12.3 million victims of human trafficking worldwide.  U.S. Department of State, TIP Report 2010
• Approximately 800,000 to 900,000 victims annually trafficked across international borders worldwide.
• Approximately 18,000 to 20,000 victims are trafficked annually into the United States.
• Approximately 100,000 children are estimated to be involved in the sex industry in the United States.  Polaris Project 2011
• An estimated 27 million men, women and children are trafficked for commercial sex or forced labor around the world today.
• There are approximately 800,000 annual trafficking victims worldwide.
• 80% of them are women, 50% are children.
• 15,000 to 18,000, the estimated number of people trafficked in the United States each year.
• Most children are between the ages of 12 to 14 when they enter the commercial sex industry in the United States.
• There is estimated that there are 3 million runaways each year, and within 24 to 48 hours, 1/3 will be inducted, seduced, kidnapped, enticed with promises of fame, entertainment and music careers, but are abducted into prostitution, the sex industry and pornography!

Show Me the Money, I Will Show You the Motive!

• In 2005, the total annual revenue for trafficking in person were estimated at an annual profit of $31.6 billion.
• In 2013, the NHTRC Hotline received 31,945 calls; 
• 2,241 from potential victims of trafficking
• 2,174 from potential victims of labor exploitation
• 44 were calls from Montana
• Potential Victims Referenced on Hotline: 7,702; 20% of calls reference actual trafficking situations.

What you have is a reusable source of income . . . with drugs, it is a one time deal; with commercial sex trade, within the first time a girl is inducted or kidnapped, she is turning tricks, up to 5 per day, even to start, with more experienced sex slaves, entering into deals with up to 25 sex partners in one day.  One young girl, had 500 partners, in less than 4 months.  The going rate is about $300 on average; therefore, the pimp, john, madame is making from $1500 to $7500 per day, per girl!  And generally, the girls don't get to keep any of the money, their pimp controls all the money, basically looks at them as property, just like in the early days of slavery in the United States and around the world. 

FEDERAL DEFINITION

Trafficking means recruiting, harboring, abducting, facilitating, transferring, or transporting a person, by threat or use of FORCE, COERCION, FRAUD or DECEPTION or by purchase, sale, trade, transfer or receipt of a person, for the purpose of subjecting that person to involuntary servitude, peonage, slavery, slave-like practices, sex trafficking, or forced or bonded labor services.

Charges involving children or minors need not prove force, coercion or fraud.

This applies to commercial sex (sex trafficking) or labor services (labor trafficking).

Myths & Reality

• Trafficking persons can only be foreign nationals or are only immigrants from other countries.
• Trafficking victims can be U.S. citizens or foreign nationals.
• Trafficking is a crime that must involve some form of travel, transportation, or movement across state or national borders.
• Transportation is not required.
• There must be elements of physical restraint or physical force, when identifying a human trafficking situation.
• Physical force or restraint is not required.
• If the trafficked person consented or was informed about what type of service they would be doing then it cannot be human trafficking or against their will because they "knew better."
• Initial consent is not required.

WHO ARE THEY?

VICTIM PROFILE

• Strangers, friends, family members or neighbors
• US citizens & foreign nationals
• Males & females
• Adults & minors
• Any race, ethnicity or socioeconomic background
• ANYONE CAN BE A VICTIM OF TRAFFICKING--Human trafficking is about VULNERABILITY!

TARGETED VULNERABLE GROUPS

• Runaway and homeless youth
• Victims of prior abuse or domestic & sexual violence
• Oppressed or marginalized populations
• Impoverished and indebted individuals
• Undocumented foreign nationals
• Displaced people (i.e., civil unrest, natural disaster, political instability)

VICTIM INDICATORS--YOUTH

• Under 18 and providing commercial sex act
• History of school truancy
• Homelessness & chronic runaway
• Claims to be an adult, but appears to be adolescent
• False ID/lying about true age
• Lives with multiple people not related to her/him
• Lack of freedom of movement
• Claims "just visiting" and cannot give address
• Signs of physical & emotional abuse
• Sign of untreated illness & injuries
• Branding or suspicious tattoos
• Rehearsed/inconsistent story

VICTIM INDICATORS--ADULTS

• No control of money or ID
• No or few personal possessions
• Lack of freedom of movement
• Frequent movement
• Claims "just visiting" and cannot give address
• No knowledge of community/whereabouts
• Signs of physical & emotional abuse
• Sign of untreated illness & injuries
• Branding or suspicious tattoos
• Rehearsed/inconsistent story
• Prior arrests/convictions for prostitution
• Involvement in drug/assault cases
• Hotel room keys

WHERE DOES TRAFFICKING HAPPEN?  ANYWHERE!

TRAFFICKER PROFILE

• Stranger, friends, partners, family members or neighbors
• US citizens & foreign nationals
• Males & females
• Adults & Minors
• Any race, ethnicity or socioeconomic background
• ANYONE!

FREEDOM IN MONTANA: FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING AT HOME

Today, at the University of Montana, joined by a ton of law enforcement officers, from around the state, victim advocates from domestic violence and sexual assault services, community members, interfaith councils, college representatives, members of the FBI, assistant attorney general, task force members, and a few attorneys, we could have used a few more prosecutors--you need to be able to recognize commercial sex and labor crimes from your run of the mile prostitution . . . don't victimize enslaved individuals, to learn about human body trafficking, either by means of commercial sex or labor through enslavement.

The above information came from the presentations, excellent I might add, from Katharina Werner, Pathways Program Manager, YWCA Missoula; Guy Baker, Task Force Officer, MT Regional Violent Crime Task Force; Ole Olson, Assistant Attorney General, Montana Department of Justice, and a follow-up presentations by the members of the Missoula Task Force . . . staff from the University and the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center, under the direction of new arrival to Missoula, Abraham Kim, Director of the Mansfield Center, the MC for the meeting, all did a fabulous job.

Thank You, all presenters, staff and audience for the information, the challenge, and the networking!  Many good connections were facilitated, informed suggestions, and offers of help . . . if you want to get involved, all members of the community are needed, retired doctors, attorneys, health care providers, educators, community and neighborhood watches, anyone who cares, can contact the Members of the Missoula Task Force, through the YWCA or the Missoula Police Department.

What You Don't Know, You Don't Know!

This issue came to my attention, about 3 years ago, while I was in Salt Lake City, Utah, waiting for a hearing at the federal court, and had a few hours to kill, before going to court, noticed that my former employer, the Utah Attorney Generals Office and the US Department of Justice were co-sponsoring a seminar, for experts around the country on everything from domestic violence, sexual assault, and some, pioneers in the area of human trafficking, so I decided to check in and see what was up . . . I was under the assumption, as many, that was a problem around the world, but what in the hell, did we have to worry about it in Utah?

Now, I am not an uneducated member of the community, learning of these types of problems, that are very similar and connected in a lot of ways, to domestic violence and sexual assault, with many of the same victims of the one, or the other, ending up a victim of human trafficking, as well as minors who have, likewise been abused in one way or another.  In my former life, as an assistant attorney general, working with the Utah Attorney Generals Office, staff attorney, for the Utah Prosecution Council, in the Criminal Enforcement Division . . . I was the one in the state who applied for a grant under the Violence Against Women Act, and co-wrote the domestic violence manual for cops and prosecutors, on domestic violence and sexual assault, while being gone for some time, at that time, 1996, human body trafficking was not even on our radar . . . so, needless to say, I was a bit shocked, that there was trafficking in Utah, but realized, that this issue, was where domestic violence and sexual assault were at 20 years ago!

So we don't have to reinvent the wheel, we need a village to tackle this problems, churches, hospitals, schools, colleges, neighborhood watches, observers on the Internet, that get something by accident or on purpose, propositions for sex, with what appears to be a minor, or someone unwilling, and of course, prosecutors, cops, victim advocates, and anyone who has a passion for this, like Diane Yaris, of Kalispell, and the Soroptimist Clubs, from around the country!

Hopefully, this small bit of information will get your attention, that there is a real problem out there, and it is real in every state, especially in big boom towns, oil, coal, and towns, with large populations of workers in growing industries, with little community infrastructures or time to adapt to the growth, these places are breeding grounds for drugs and human trafficking, with little law enforcement, community services, or help in place, and with a large transient population, coming and going, even between one state and the other, big time problems.  We need tough legislation, public policy and educational campaigns . . . like your wife or girlfriend are going to find out!  Whatever it take . . . 

A Fence at the Top of the Hill is Better than an Ambulance, Jail, or a Hurst at the Bottom of the Hill!

AESOP'S FABLE OF THE SUN & THE WIND: 7 CHOICES HAPPY PEOPLE MAKE, LIKE SHERIFF BABEU, WITH THE PRIMARIES OVER, HOPEFULLY ALL SHERIFFS WILL FOLLOW, SHERIFF BABEU, OF PINAL COUNTY, DIDN'T CATCH STATE--SENT A LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA, THAT HE IS A CONSTITUTIONALLY ELECTED SHERIFF, REFUSES TO ENFORCE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ORDERS, THAT COME BY WAY OF EXECUTIVE ORDER, ESPECIALLY ON GUN CONTROL, THAT CIRCUMVENTS CONGRESS & LEGISLATION--CAN'T GET IT PASSED CONGRESS, NO DICE--YOU ARE NOT A KING OR DICTATOR, LIKE BUSH, THAT IS EASIER, THIS IS A REPUBLIC, AND DAMN IT, WE ARE PRESERVING, PROTECTING AND DEFENDING THE CONSTITUTION, FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ELECTED US--CITIZENS ARE THE MOST POWERFUL PLAYERS! CITIZENS, NEED NOT BE SWAYED BY A NEW MOVEMENT TO CONSOLIDATE SHERIFF & POLICE DEPARTMENTS, DIFFERENT ANIMALS, WITH DIFFERENT JOBS--NEWLY ELECTED SHERIFFS, THAT CAME FROM COP SHOPS, NO LONGER THE MAYOR'S BOY OR GIRL, YOU ARE THE PEOPLE'S MAN OR WOMAN--GOOD LUCK, NO COUNTRY FOR STUPID MEN AND WOMEN, TOUGH JOB, JUST GOT TOUGHER! CARRY THE TORCH OF FREEDOM, EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO DISARM AND CHARGE AN ATF OFFICER, FBI AGENT, OR THROW THEIR ASSES IN JAIL! GOD BLESS AMERICA, GOD BLESS THE WORLD--DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY!

Competition Between the Sun & the Wind, With a Traveler

Once there was a traveler, walking down the road, and the wind and the sun were talking, and suddenly one challenged the other, to which one could make the traveler take of his coat.  The wind offered to go first, so the wind, blew and blew, but the traveler pulled his coat tighter and tighter around him.  So the wind blew, even stronger and stronger, the traveler, again, reacted by tightening his grasp on the coat, and even overlapped, one side over the other, to secure the gaps, and keep the wind out.

Now it was the sun's turn.  The sun just warmed the traveler with its rays, and the walker, relaxed his grip on the coat, leaving the coat open to let some coolness in, and then with the increased warmth of the sun, the traveler, completely took his coat off, and carried in his arms.  And like in all Aesop's fables, there is a moral to the story . . . you get a person or people to go your way, more by being warm to them, or warming them to your ideas, that by blowing at them in a furious onslaught, either of wind or ideas; humans react better to one approach, better than the other!

Happiness 101--It is a Choice!

Last night I was listening to the Herman Kane or Cane Radio Program, on I assume a conservative radio frequency, that my roommate and landlord listens to, as I sat in he recliner and read, listened and thought about the days news, events, and comings and goings, a very rewarding day . . . stump the former law professor, both of us, constitutional law attorneys, he having taught at 3 law schools, and me having made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, but I know enough to get him and I did . . . he was honest, as are most Montanans, and admitted the question was too hard for him to answer, but attempted and did an admirable job, fun luncheon at Jake's Restaurant in Missoula, Montana!  

I guess you could call it, pay back for all the times law professors of years passed, used the Socratic Method of questioning on me, and I didn't know the answer . . . generally in front of 180 similarly scared shit-less, law students, until I decided, we all looked stupid, whether we were prepared or not, so finally, I just decided to look stupid 5 times in any given semester, rather than stress out and brief all my cases, writing cheat notes on recipe cards.  Ah, back in the day . . .

Socrates or Aristotle, had a young man approach him, while he was walking on the beach one day, contemplating the mysteries of life, and asked the scholar if he would be his teacher.  Socrates, let's assume the legal profession, used the method of the smartest guy on the block, and we will say it is him, wisely said to the young man, well we will see how bad you want to be my student.  So the teacher took the potentially future student into the sea, and grabbed him by the neck and forced his head under the water, and held it there, until the kid, scratched, grabbed at the older man's toga, kicked, bobbed up and down, fighting for breath . . . finally, when the student was about to drown, the model for all law professors, Socrates, allowed the young man to come up out of the water.

Of course the younger man and alleged, wanna be pupil, was pissed as hell, and said, why did you do that?  Socrates said, when you want to know what I have to teach, as bad as you wanted air, I will be your teacher.  The story ends there, and we don't know if the young man walked away from the teacher, or he decided he wanted to learn that bad.  I however, may not have wanted to learn that bad while I was in law school, but, for some reason, I took my oath of being an officer of the court, and someone who was to preserve, protect and defend the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Utah, very seriously, enough to take Socrates challenge to heart, and sought knowledge on that subject, as bad as I want breath, for freedom is everything, and knowledge is the guardian of freedom!

The Constitution is the moral, ethical, legal, noble, most valuable, and most fought for, happiness, we as citizens can go for . . . so bitching and moaning about what ails America is not enough!  We have to actually put our mouths, heart, mind, actions, lives, money, and harmony in line with what we believe, took an oath to do, and that is all part of the game.  However, I don't think Socrates, read or learned from Aesop's Fable of the sun and the wind, but he did get his point across, and most likely had a great student!  

Happiness I.Q. & 7 Choices Happy People Make

My cousin was a happiness coach in Japan and wrote a book called the Happiness Quotion, and he came to the conclusion after studying, people he considered to be happy, successful, and self-actualized, that people needed basically three things to make them happy: (1) time, (2) health, and (3) only sufficient money to meet their basic needs, at the time about $10,000 per family member, and any amount much above that did not seem to make much difference on their happiness I.Q.

Radio Talk Show Host, Herman Kane or Cane, after bitching and moaning about the days events, on Stg. Bergdahl's release, the war on coal, and the fact that the Seattle City Council, decided to tackle wage inequality on its own, by raising the minimum wage to about $15.50 per hour, which he thought was a horrible idea, and I disagree, I love it that this city, cares enough about their workers, and hates federal regulations enough to act on their own, and decided, CEOs and people with millions for bonuses each years, can afford to pay lower level employees, a piddly little bit more without breaking the bank!  The host said that Seattle was the first to raise the minimum wage, but there is actually a city back east in New Jersey or Iowa, somewhere, that raised their minimum wage up to $16 per hour and it worked so well, that they are actually raising it to $20 per hour, over a few year time frame . . . Kudos to YOU!d

Anyway, our host, who seemed like a happy personality, seemed like he could hardly force himself to mention the 7 choices, happy people make each day to be happy.  But he did mention that he broke happiness, obviously something he had taught before to his listeners, that would make them happy . . . and I agree with him: (1) have something to do, (2) have someone to love, and (3) have something to hope for . . . all but the last of the 7 choices, he said, could fit into his model, good, I have to admit.  So here we go to the choices, but he did mention or the study he was quoting mentioned, that some people are just born happier than others, with genetics, external events, and attitude, making up the combo of what it takes to either be happy, get happy, or get rid of to then be happy.

7 Choices Happy People Make, to Make Themselves Happy

• Happy people choose to exercise daily
• Happy people choose to spend time in the outdoors . . . no wonder people in Montana are always happy; if you ask them who their day is going, great, wonderful, couldn't be better . . . total beauty everywhere in the outdoors, the second they step outside!
• Happy people focus on family, making them happy
• Happy people make time for friends . . . friends can fill in big gaps in family systems, take time for them
• Happy people find meaning in their work . . . love your work and love what you do, find meaning
• Happy people contribute to their community
• Happy people get enough sleep!  I would ad this, from a commercial I saw, the very thin woman in the commercial was eating a diet dinner, and she said, I don't hate children, I was just hungry!

Don't Worry Be Happy--What if the World Just Adopted this Attitude for One Day?

This morning as the primary elections are done, don't worry be happy, our newly elected or choices are going to do a great job . . . the Ukraine, Russia, and nervous European nations, don't worry, be happy, all is going to be good; Syria, who also held elections, some cast vote with their blood, don't worry, Assad, is going to be better in his next 7 years, be happy; the new Unity Party in Palestine is going to be easier on Israel, and will work better, with Hamas involved, as the Afghanistan people about what happened when the Taliban wasn't asked to the G8 summit, to decide the future of a country they had major control over, don't worry, be happy!  Let's all just chill out, and be happy, if not just for one day . . . DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY!

I am right with the talk show host on this one . . . he has spoken on 33 college campuses, and he said, he has great faith in this new generation, they get it!  I think, this young people with so much access to social media, to news, to connections around the world . . . I had to smile, when someone, while in conflict, in the border towns on the east side of the Ukraine, is keeping people posted on his facebook!  Talk about facebook, the wife of, Zukerman, previous owner, or sole owner before going public, just gave $120 million to the San Francisco public school system, and then you have the millionaire that is making people happy in California, by hiding money all over cities . . . I bet he is getting more joy from that, than he did making the money, it doesn't make you happy!  

What was most revealing about the whole giving and finding money thing, was that most of the people who found the money said, they were giving it away, making other people happy . . . happiness is contagious! Pass it on!  Maybe we can catch the world on fire!

The say, more people commit suicide, right after getting that dream house, their perfect car, or a boat, job, or whatever, than at any other time, because, those things don't make you happy, and they realize it.  I remember, my sister, Rachel, who build her dream home at 3770 Sugar Leo Road, Bloomington or St. George, and after all the excitement of building it wore off, she said, we are still us . . . thinking that would fix the family, her marriage, or make them happy!  You have heard the saying, wherever you go, there you are.  Or I met the enemy, and the enemy was me! 

Invest in yourself, your family, friends, your work, community, and get exercise, outdoors and enough to sleep and eat.  Once, my son, Elliot, bass guitarist for God's Revolver and Maraloka, but before that, when he was in first grade, said, after being found after going AWOL, after kindergarten one day, being found, by his very busty and happy teacher, under the bushes with a little Indian girl, who didn't speak the language, making Elliot, crack up laughing each time she talked, and being a bit plump herself, said that I, his mother, who was thin and a runner at the time, I really think you would be more jolly mom, if you were fatter . . . wisdom out of the mouths of babes!

I am happy to pass the baton, in this relay race to preserve our freedoms to the Sheriffs of this country, who have stepped up and are shouldering the guard on citizens' freedoms, WE THE PEOPLE better get their backs, take it from a war torn veteran of the war to preserve, protect and defend the U.S. Constitution, they will need your help . . . I had a dream last night, taking me back 24 years, when I embarked on this battle, when the Constitution used to hang by a thread, that it is time to go home, and preserve, protect and defend my family, that is hanging by a thread--a 20 year battle to get law enforcement to this point--GOD BLESS THIS COUNTRY, GOD BLESS THE WORLD . . . I can finally, relax!  Thank you, Sheriffs!  Signing off!

SWAP SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL FOR 5 TERRORISTS: CREATE YOUR OWN BLOODY MARY VS. HOW DO YOU WIN A TUG-O-WAR? DROP YOUR SIDE OF THE ROPE, AND YOUR ENEMIES FALL ON THEIR ASS! MY SATURDAY WITH THE LOCAL T & A GIRL, FORMER MISS MISSOULA, TRYING TO PROVE THAT MEN, COPS IN PARTICULAR LOVE FAKE TITS--NO OFFENSE, BUT MOST WOMEN, WHEN THEY GET BREAST AUGMENTATION, TREAT THEIR CHEST AS INANIMATE OBJECTS, WITH NO CONNECTION TO THEIR BODIES, AND LET ANYONE TOUCH THEM--DISGUSTING AND THE GUYS YOU WERE GETTING ALL SEXY WITH, WOULD GROSS ME OUT IF THEY TOUCHED ME!

Good Thing, We Got Our Guy Back, Bad Thing, Taliban Could Use That Exchange to Take More Men as Collateral

I have a particular interest, in Afghanistan, having worked with a group, called the St. George, Utah, Think Team, who submitted a 4 point plan to our newly elected at the time, President Barack Obama, who was being bombarded with questions from Congress, as to why, they should, (1) commit more troops to Afghanistan, and (2) allocate more money to the war or the peace keeping effort.  The plan, again this was 5 years ago, so my memory fades, but I believe we called the title of the piece, Afghanistan it like a Tiger: the USA Better be Careful when it Gets on, and Careful when it Gets Off!  Or something to that affect.  This was a group of female professors, under the PBS discussion efforts of the program called Great Decisions . . . my cousin, Edward Southwick, got me into the group, and the country should be grateful to him for that invitation.

As we divided up the discussions, from the table of content, I was interested, not only in leading the discussion on Afghanistan and Pakistan, but using this group of very intelligent women, and their male counterparts, in my case it was the male who got this former college professor, involved, but the 15 of us, in a collaborative effort, took in the experts, knowledge and information in the Great Decisions, manual provided for such study groups throughout the world, along with DVDs, of world renown experts in all the areas of discussion, so we had a foundation.  But, I think the thing that shocked me the most as the group embarked on this venture of creating a plan for the military and the new President, was the fact, that the previous, Bush Administration plus the other members of the G8, or the world super powers, failed to invite the Taliban, who at the time, was ruling over a great majority of the 354 tribal regions in the country, but were not invited to the meeting on what to do with Afghanistan!  WHAT?

Just A Not So Small Oversight, I Assure You!

Come on, serving G.O.D., Gold, Oil & Drugs, in typical Bushian and imperialist fashion is one thing; however, totally, ignoring the Taliban is another!  Afghanistan, has long been a buffer zone for Europe and the EU, if not for America itself, protecting us and our allies, from the eastern block countries, so no small role, in the bigger world, scheme of things.  Not only was this a horrible mistake of the G8, deciding to step in a tell the Afghan people what was going to happen to them, they were entirely left out of the discussions! I am well aware of the fact that President Karsai, was the one to involve in the meetings, however, I can't remember if he was even involved . . . but the government was corrupt, riddled with opium, making up 92% of the countries GNP and the world supplier of the drug, no jobs, or legitimate way for the people to make a living, legitimately without the help of the CIA putting Karsai's brother, the biggest opium dealer in the country on its payroll . . .

As any group, in charge of at least 2/3rds of the country or tribes, they should have out of courtesy, been invited, or at least an attempt to involve them in the discussions, might have been appropriate.  Then, we went in on the peace keeping mission, expecting Pakistan, as an ally, to turn all the member of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, over to the Americans, but these alleged terrorists, would bomb American troops in Afghanistan, and run to hide in Pakistan, and the Americans would bomb the Pakistani people, causing a civil war in that country!  

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, was interviewed, while a POW, by Rolling Stone Magazine, in 2012, and happened to mention, that he was embarrassed to be an American . . . this was not an Anti-American statement, he had probably been listening to the Taliban's side of the story, and truly was embarrassed, by the actions of the Bush Cowboys, going into the country, like a bull in a China shop!  We simply cannot do this, as a method of foreign policy, nor international relations.  The group of intelligentsia I worked with on the plan, had been career Marines, fighter pilots in World War II, had children, currently over in Afghanistan, trying to set up education for the countries girls, so no group of uneducated people on affairs in the country. The members of the group that were not involved at a personal or career level, read every book on the customs, the religion, women, education, problems, possible solutions, that experts had come up with.

So can the State Department or the Secretary of State, look at what this young soldier said, and in anyway, concoct a viable argument, or drum up some type of charges against him for his personal opinion after spending 5 fucking years with these guys--hell, I think 200 Taliban for our one soldier would have been worth it!  Now, whether this is a good move or bad, remains to be seen, depending on how both sides handle it . . . and that, nobody can predict.  

Basically, This is What Happened

Five year captive from Afghanistan war, Sgt. Bowe Begdahl was freed in exchange for 5 Guantanamo terrorist detainees in a swap that is stirring debate in Washington, the entertainment capitol of the world, over whether the U.S. should have negotiated with the Taliban over prisoners?  Officials said the Taliban signaled to the U.S. in November they were ready to start fresh talks on issues of detainees.  After the U.S. received proof that Bergdahl was, alive in direct talks began, with Qatar sending messages back and forth.

I think an example may demonstrate how this can work out well, or negatively . . . only we can determine the outcome, there is something called projection and quantum physics, Einstein's theory, that you can manipulate one entity, and that there are unseen connectors, to the other, psychic type stuff, connecting us, to the other, that depending on the way we react, the other side will act accordingly.  Let me see if I can better explain that to the reader . . .

Projections--We Are A Mirror of Ourselves--If We Are Trustworthy, We Will See Others As Trustworthy, or the Opposite

In a communications class at Weber State College, University now, our professor divided up the class into pairs, on the very first night.  He gave us three minutes to interview this other person, we didn't know, and then write three words to describe this person . . . I talked to my other classmate, and wrote down that this person was happy, outgoing and friendly!  The professor said, what you have done, is a projection, of yourself, onto this other person; you didn't have time to make any kind of assessment of their nature or personality, but you did project what you think of yourself.  And I would say, that still describes myself, never really got to know the other student.

Let us take the micro-cosmic application of this same principle, and project it onto the macro-cosmic situation when dealing with world events . . . we don't know the Taliban, nor the Al Qaeda, but we do know ourselves, we made a statement to the alleged terrorists, I am with the soldier, who got to know their side of the war, that we went in and made assumptions about the people, the dynamics, and we projected our imperialistic, less than noble aims and goals, and projected those onto the Afghanistan people and their leaders, tribal or not.  I believe that CIA, was less than honest and worthy, in inducting allies that were actually hurting the cause, rather than helping, and the Bush Administration was totally self-serving!

There was a great cartoon, the other day in the Missoulian Newspaper, of a guy who looked, CIA like, sunglasses, pin-stripped suit, more mafia looking, but hey, I call them the legal mafia, they just have a badge and are far more dangerous than the regular mafia, who they usually tolerate as long as the dudes get a cut of the drug trade.  But anyway, this was dealing with the alleged Chinese military leaders, 5, seems like the magical number in this blog, who were spying on American companies, stealing trade and technology secrets, but the interesting thing is, the Wanted poster, had a picture of the guy hanging the picture . . . like America is not totally exposed to the world, for even spying on our allies!  Come on, isn't this calling the Kettle Black?  Oh, I guess it is okay if America does it, but if another country does it to us, we go after them?  Is that it?  Talk about a projection of ourselves!

Another great cartoon, showed a very small man, with the title, Senate Intelligence Committee, on his shirt, trying to control, this rabid slobbering, huge dog, with saliva dripping and teeth gnarled and exposed against its owner . . . perfect, and it had the dog tag or the NSA written on it, we still haven't been able to reign in the NSA from spying, not only on foreign officials, but on our own citizens.  Someone told me, the spy systems are so invaded and compromised with spies of all countries, that everyone knows every one's secrets these days, with technology, good luck!  I can see spying on terrorists, but your own citizens, me?  REALLY?  All I have is not only America's best interest at heart, but the world, for a the goal of a beautiful new world, that I think by exchanging soldier for terrorist, was an equal exchange we value our people more than the Taliban seems to, but I am the ugly American!

Quantum Physics--We Can Only Change Ourselves, But In Acting Honorably, We Just Might Get Respect Back, Another Step for Humanity!

Do you seriously think, that Sgt. Bergdahl, just sat there for 5 years and never said anything, never learned anything, it sounds to me, like he learned plenty, and didn't like what he learned about America, it wasn't the saintly nation he thought he signed up to serve, and got disgruntled by what he heard and learned from his captives, now he may have been brain-washed, got the Stockholm Syndrome where kidnapped victims or POWs may, actually sympathize with their captives, kind of like what Patty Hearst, the heiress of the Hearst Fortune, who was kidnapped by the Lebanese Liberation Army or whoever the hell she was taken by, but often, if someone hears the other side, they will sympathize with them, just like I did, when I read about the G8 taking over the country of Afghan without the major players, at least invited to the table, the war may never have happened!

Anyway, back to quantum physics--Einstein and crew, had these simple wood boards with matching green and red lights, one board wasn't connected by any wire or evident thread or anything; however, when the programmers would do a series of red and green lights, the other side would light up, in almost the identical pattern.  You could liken it to telepathy, like when you think about a friend and out of the blue, this friend calls you, after a long period of time, without talking, and just when you think about it, they call.  This works kind of like that.  Like in a relationship with a significant other, or a spouse, you can't change them, but you can change yourself, affecting a change in them, simply by changing yourself, you act different, they act different.

Why Don't We Project Trust, Respect, and Even Love

What is wrong with that, these people have similar goals, they want to be loved, they want their country to succeed, they want their children warm at night, they are the world's largest purchasers of cell phones, so come on, they are catching up to speed rapidly.  Let's try trust, it is only 5 guys, even though people are saying they are the worst of the worst--do you really think they haven't learned a thing or two, hopefully, President Obama gave them plenty of time to forget the water boarding policies of the Bush administration . . . in violation of all war crime treaties!

Maybe they suffer from memory loss . . . come on, we have done our fair share of terrorism in their country, just like they have in ours.  This problem with the VA, comes on the heels of two wars, with I think 3 million soldiers, whoops, we forgot, that fighting two wars, simultaneously, was going to bring home Vets, who were going to need services . . . it may not be that the VA, so much delayed, services, but had so many Vets to serve, they couldn't, seriously get to them . . . I am sure their systems were gutted with return vets, more so than at any time in history, so . . . what the hell, look at what the country has been involved in for years!

We are just getting out of the longest war in American history, Afghanistan, barely out of the Iraq war!  What in the hell, do you expect, the docs and nurses, hospital administrators, may have nothing to do with it, other than having more Vets than they can possibly handle . . . I haven't been following the new much in that area, just know there are problems in Arizona, now other parts of the country and now the director just stepped down, like he is there to oversee every hospital in person?  Superman couldn't do that . . . we need to be realistic as to where the country has been, own up to our mistakes, and mover forward, in a more peaceful world, maybe this is a first step to declare a cease fire on war, between the two nations, the terrorists, and just let bygones, be bygones, and start fresh!  What a refreshing change!

I Need to Drop My Personal War Against the Tits & Ass Girls, THEY SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES, OR THEIR MEN SPEAK FOR THEM, BUT NOT IMPRESSED!  SORRY, CAN'T HELP IT!  I Expect World Leaders, To Be More Mature Than I Am!

B IS FOR BOULDER--CAUGHT YOU, LOL, THOUGHT IT STOOD FOR SOMETHING ELSE, HUH? WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A PARTY ALL NIGHT, LIONEL RICHIE--CELEBRATING AN EDUCATION THROUGH HARD COPY, NEWSPAPERS--CAN'T BEAT MISSOULIAN AND OTHER RAGS, NATIONWIDE, ONLINE NEWS JUST DOESN'T CUT IT! LAW SCHOOL TRAINED ME TO UNDERLINE, HIGHLIGHT AND STAR, CAN'T READ WITHOUT IT, CAN'T DO THAT ONLINE! CAMPAIGN TO SAVE THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE--POPE FRANCIS?

HARD COPY NEWSPRINT--CAN'T BEAT IT!

A few months ago, my daughter, Greta, who often writes for St. George News, online newspaper, and Utah Adventure Magazine, brought an alarming bit of news to my attention, that the wonderful, news source, The Salt Lake Tribune, was either going out of business, due to competition with online news sources, or it was going to have to be bought out by the owners of the Mormon owned, Deseret News, part of the Mormon Bubble and Mormon Mafia in Utah, and I am sure the pressure is being put on the Tribune, for having the guts to actually, as the largest newspaper in Utah, come out one week before the elections, and dare, as all good newspapers will do, when they learn shit about candidates that the normal public can't hear or doesn't know about, and in Utah, behind the Mormon Curtain, neither newspaper dare write about . . . but, the happiest moment of my, wonderful adventure of taking on Mitt Romney, 2012, presidential candidate, while hiding out in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Jackson, Calamity Lake, my Golden Circle of Beauty, while going undercover, writing emails, to Steve Oberbeck and Nathan Carlyle, during the elections, having either been interviewed on various Utah cases, or trying to make my plight known to news sources, with the hopes of getting some leverage against the perpetrators, the conglomerate of Mormons, attacking me from all angles . . . but as I came down the mountains, in a very scary, snowy drive, even for late October, and headed into Jackson, the radio news announced that the Salt Lake Tribune had endorsed President Obama!

The second, the Tribune, announced the likelihood, of Mitt getting the Republican nomination for president, I went into high gear, and wrote a letter, via email, to all the citizens of the United States, that the headlines in Utah, were indicative of Mitt's potential election, entitled in the headlines, with Mitt's Mugshot, A Mormon Moment . . . I knew damn well, that was exactly true, it was not a conservative moment, nor a Republican Moment, nor even an American Moment, but exactly what the headlines said, a Mormon Moment.  I took up poison pen from that moment on, started the Republican War Against Women, through Mitt and the Mormons, polygamy, patriarchy, lowest in the nation equal pay for equal work, 55 cents to the dollar, large meth use among Mormon housewives, national highs in domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assaults, suicide . . . and of course, I sent direct, named emails to several Trib reporters, hoping they would get the picture!

Thank God, the Salt Lake Tribune Had the Guts!

I am sure as I read articles, like the one in Rolling Stone Magazine and Mother Jones, reporting stories of the 47% and the $30 million bail out for Bain Capital, and these great investigative reporters, took the time to do their own research, so as not to get shot in the foot by some female attorney, with a vendetta against Utah, made sure of the reliability and credibility of my sources, as I reported for weeks, leading up to the elections . . . I am sure that these professionals, took the time to find other reliable information from verifiable news sources of what I was reporting to them, along with my own spin on things, but I almost started crying when, the radio, said, the largest newspaper in Utah, endorsed Obama . . . all my suffering at the hands of the Mormon, Male Patriarchy, that runs the legal arena too, with no separation of church and state, had to have been kicking themselves . . . I know the Trib took personal hits, attacks, people withdrawing their subscriptions by the thousands, but they stood strong, and with conviction did what their 1st amendment rights said they could . . . exercise their, responsibility as a news source, to make a statement as they saw it, and endorsed a candidate, that not only was disliked, but in a the most Republican red state in the Union, with at least 75% or higher of the voters, supporting, homeboy, Mitt, used free speech to make their educated point . . . hell, yeah!

Mormonism as a Cult

While growing up as a Mormon girl in Utah, I often heard Mormons called a cult, and of course, I defended the Church, and refuted their statements, until I grew up and put away childish things . . . and started looking critically at the church through mature, legally trained, intellect, not controlled by family, cult, Sure, church, society around me, and I started to think, hell, they are a cult, and now where is this more apparent than in the area of the media . . . there are Mormon newspapers, magazines, radio shows, talk shows, TV shows, programs, etc.  And I remember, being totally alarmed when, there was an TV that was only run, twice, that I saw, but it had both news anchors from all four major TV news channels, all sitting on stools, together, and they announced that they were all coordinating or collaborating, rather than competing, all under the name of Four Points Media . . . if memory serves!

Now, what this translated into, was, all news channels, taking on the likeness of a directed, one source of news, all under the auspice of reporting from HAPPY VALLEY, UTAH!  What you got was the same news on all 4 channels, same story, same slant, same bull shit, about 5 minutes of news, a bit of national news, and very censored at that, selective viewing, is what I would call it, Mormon, Republican slant on everything, negative for anything related to President Obama, or Democrats . . . then you would get the little cutesy singing group of kid performers of the week, to be seen at the local mall, or what not, then the ladies section, with cooking and new products, pushed by a nice looking news reporter in the field or on the spot, then you got, about a half hour of sports, and that was it, then the same news would be repeated for the second half of the hour news show!  Total pablum, boring as hell, murders, barely reported, didn't fit the Mormon state image, oh, heaven forbid, people won't think we, the Mormon Church have control of our state, all the crime, and negatives in society, that we just want to pretend is non-existent!

Investigative Reporters, Long Time Journalists at the Deseret News, Replaced by Bubble Gum, BYU, Zoobies . . . Who Got the Nice Offices, and Reported on Family Values . . .

I was sensitive to this change also, because long time good reporters, like Linda Thompson at the Deseret News, were being replaced with recent grads of BYU, taking the place of hardcore investigative journalists who were great writers, and had also interviewed me on cases, like the Brock securities case, and did an excellent cover of the story . . . a former, Bountiful High Brave, Joseph Walker, who wrote a weekly column, in the Utah section I believe, who wrote one about 10 boys in my Bountiful, Utah, Mormon ward, who used to chase me home from school everyday, being mortified when I tripped, ending up on the asphalt, with my dress up around my head, exposing my underwear, to a shocked group of boys, I guess making the point, that as back then, me tripping up now, was equally horrifying, after I was poisoned, when general counsel for the Utah Medical Association, a professor of family law at the University of Utah, had my own anger management business, and writing programs for the elderly or their caretakers online . . . while flattered, this is not news!

Well, my take down might have been, but I am sure there was some other Mormon Motive to it, like your three very Mormon or very Mormon controlled sisters, will step in and pretend they are you, so your legacy will continue, even though it is so far from the legacy I would leave, but that was the point, we will capitalize on your good name, your credentials, your legal license, but it will be the Mormon version of you . . . even though I can out scripture them, my sisters, any time of any day . . . PERIOD!  But this was a Mitt Romney for President, power play, get rid of the daughter, who would not pay tithing, hadn't for 20 years, wasn't going to profit the Mormon Church in any way, wasn't going to contribute a million or so to be a chair at BYU, nor was she going to set up her constitutional law firm from hell, under Brock or Rice, who she saved their asses, now she wasn't smart enough to invest or spend her own money, her way, fuck no!

Salt Lake Tribune Hard Copy News Reached Me In Missoula--Changed History!

Things in Utah, may have been different, had I not seen a copy, and the headlines of the Salt Lake Tribune . . . FBI drops probe against AG John Swallow . . . over my dead body!  Last October, late in the month, but that or early November, I was staying at the 5 star hotel, Poverello, and happened over to the Missoula County Library, to read the newspaper, and as I walked up the stairs to the periodical and newspaper section, I saw the headline, I just mentioned, and went into action, wrote to some news reporters, addressed the issue of John Swallow, on my blog, and did all I could, knowing, the FBI, is just an extension of the Mormon Church, who is protecting the man, who teamed with former, AG, Mark Shurtleff, to take me down, directing Washington County Sheriff Constable, Judge John Walton, and others in my vicinity, to take my house, fuck with me in court, little things like try to kill me, teaming with the feds, and whatever, whoever, under the direction of Church leaders, who would in turn, protect Shurtleff and Swallow!

I also contacted, Jeremy Johnson, under investigation by the FTC, or the Federal Trade Commission, who was offered deals through Shurtleff and Swallow, in conjunction with Mormon, President of the Senate, Harry Reid, that they would make this investigation go away, if Johnson, did certain things . . . well, Johnson had hired me to come down from Montana, to help him, when he was facing the FTC, but magically, when I hit Salt Lake City, Johnson, took off, allegedly to Texas, home of my government groom, who killed my real client, and was most likely being offered a bribed, not to work with me, and me being stopped on the streets of Salt Lake City, threatened by a guy I had never seen before, Sam, can't remember his Irish name right now . . . but told I better drop what I was going to do against the feds, and if I didn't I would be in prison for the rest of my life . . . when obviously not shaken by that, and responding, if they are corrupt, I will take them down . . . he said, then they will kill you!

Jeremy, like the normal, dick-head, Mormon male, left me on the streets of Salt Lake without a dime to my name, until he got back, and decided to bring me to his mansion in St. George, and make me one of his polygamist wives, checking out my ass, as he pretended to care about his case, while I was getting all the documents to read, and write a 16 page brief, you know, I was his secret weapon, cheaper to marry me, than pay me, type thing!  I was introduced to what he joked was his second wife, Rebecca, then I was introduced to his real, legal wife, Shar, and there was another woman, named Susan, that I caught Jeremy with, on the stairs, just off the upstairs kitchen, having a little love fest, at 2:30 a.m., so seeing what this was all about, they brought me down, promising to pay me, leaving me stranded in Salt Lake, to break my will, good luck on that one . . . then bring me into this 20,000 square foot mansion, with a pool, and I should be happy . . . hell, no, I would rather live under a viaduct, than be a spiritual wife of any fucking cheating ass husband, no matter how rich . . . so I sneaked out of the house at the wee hours of the morning, without pay, but saved Jeremy's fucking, cheating ass, with my name backing him, my 16 page brief to prove it, going against John Swallow and Shurtleff, who were not about to tangle with me again, after the ass whooping on the Brock case!

I guess Jeremy didn't like the 10 year prison sentence, he was still looking at, even after he brought me on board, and he started to copy my email or social media, blitz, trashing tactics, and started to go after John Swallow, and after I saw the FBI, within the FBI was dropping their probe against Swallow, I was all about helping Jeremy's smear campaign, and wrote him an email in support, validating the same pattern of scheme, the AGs, used to trap him . . . only I am a lot cleaner than Jeremy!  I talked to one of his spiritual wives the other day, and asked how he was doing, she said fine, that he was trying to offer her a car for her youngest kids, who is probably his!  She looks like him.  But I had a dream that I was in the back seat of car with Jeremy, and he was wearing a red sweater, indicative of fame or power, and I was rubbing his back . . . symbolic of the power behind his power and fame . . . but nobody but those in power know, I am there.

I was in the Missoula, Einsteins Bagels, getting breakfast the other morning, and some guy, probably undercover, walked in wearing a University of Utah hat and sports shorts, a sure fired target that anyone knowing me would know I would strike up a conversation with . . . as we talked, he said if both Shurtleff and Swallow, didn't end up in prison, something was wrong . . . absolutely, Swallow learned from the best, Shurtleff, but this little whimpering, Boy Scout, crying about his stories of being a card carrying Duty of God, boy, carries more weight in the Mormon Church, than me going to the US Supreme Court, even for an attorney!  LOL!

Swallow, did not get corrupt within 11 months of being elected, he was dirty with his former boss, former attorney general, Mark Shurtleff, but like I said, that boy scout image, that Shurtleff, wore on his sleeve worked, getting him three terms as attorney general . . . that is how far a connection with the church will get you, and they will overlook all corruption, all about image, thus the tits and ass girls, heels before head, rather than Gloria Steinhem of Utah!  LOL, they don't like women like me.  LOL!  And I am sure, Swallow is the sacrificial lamb on the alter for Shurtleff, who used my writings to challenge the constitutionality of Obamacare, and on immigration.  LOL!  If I had not been poisoned, I would have beat his ass as attorney general, and he knew it, and so did all the cops in Utah, too bad I wanted the 4th Congressional seat, 16 years too early.  Oh, well, I am happy, this blog is more powerful than any fucking seat in Congress.  LOL!

After Dancing at the Carnivore Fest at Caras Park, I Sat Across the River from the Missoulian Newspaper Agency--Song on Right Now--All She Want To Do Is Dance . . . Oh, Yeah!  Don't see the heat coming off the street!  All She Wants To Do Is Dance . . .

I am new to Missoula, so I had not idea where the Missoulian News Agency was located, so it was nice, to look across the swollen river, the Clark Fork River, and see the place I get so much joy from, addicted to each work, all articles, the pictures, and all the knowledge I get from the newspaper everyday.  Montanans are hard copy newspaper reading people!  I love it!  I can jump on the bus, just a half a block from my townhouse, every morning, and read the bus, while it takes an hour to get to the transit center--love it that buses have copies on the bus for the riders, awesome!

Even at the Poverello Center, all the homeless guys and gals are up at 4 a.m. waiting to get their hands on the newspaper, about 20 copies are dropped off each morning, I am sure as a gift, or donation from someone, and they devour the news, look for jobs, and housing, what a great gift!  They live for it, every morning and the political discussions start just shortly after the newspaper is delivered!  There was a two page add the other week, with a place patrons of the schools, could help with the $35,000 cost of delivering the newspaper, many copies, to all the public schools in the area, so the teachers can teach through the newspapers . . . amazingly wonderful!

Students learn through lessons that are relevant to their lives . . . and I bet their parents love talking to the kids about current events!  They say, that if a kid sees dad, reading for 10 minutes a day, probably the newspaper, if he is from Montana, it makes a huge statement to his children, not only about the importance of reading, but of learning and staying up on current events, PLUS EDUCATION.  Moms, sorry, we don't make a hell of a lot of difference in this area, and many more.  I remember my children, say to their stay at home MOM, other than going to college, but mainly home, well, we know what dad does, he goes to work, but we don't know what you do . . . are you fucking kidding me?  A thankless job, you guys, see what I do with your own eyes, every day--someone has to clean the dirty bathroom, the house, vacuum, bug you guys to clean your rooms, sweep the front porch, cook breakfast, lunch and dinner . . . I guess that stuff doesn't count!  I should have gone on strike!  Then they might have gotten a clue, and they wonder why I eventually went to law school!

Love the Ads on the Mountain Line--I Graduated From the University of Montana, But Continued My Education at the Missoulian!

I went to law school at Brigham Young University, but continue my daily education at the Salt Lake Tribune and the Missoulian . . .  thanks for all the All Night Longs & All She Wants To Do Is Dance Nights, you have, sleepless to get us our morning fix each day, in the newspaper, may hard copies never be replaced by online news sources . . . I can't underline, star and highlight, so I can go back later to write about in my blog, that you are so much a part of . . . some great things I have learned this week:

• Pope Francis, got the leaders of Israel and Palistine to come to the Vatican for lunch--he might be able to do what Presidents Jimmy Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and Obama haven't been able to do, sit down and set up two states, recognizing the state of Palistine--Satan Steals, Jesus Heals . . . as the leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, 3X the population of the USA, you carry a lot of clout around the world, thanks for using it for peace, GOD BLESS!  P.S., Hey, Catholics have a lot of money, the robes and all give it away, could you have the Cathedral of the Madoline, in Salt Lake City, Utah, purchase the Salt Lake Tribune, so we can at least have a balance of power in the state and in the news?  Just a thought.
• Congress, Republicans included, joined in denying the Department of Justice some of their budget requests, due to the fact that they are using it to harass state rights, to make decisions by voters, to control the health, safety and welfare of their citizens, by legalizing both medical marijuana and recreational use, in Colorado and Wyoming, thus following the 10th amendment, and making the rogue FBI agents who just raided a marijuana grower in Washington State, with the states saying it is okay, kind of like it was in Montana, who now has a hellaious law, driven by the federal bureau of investigation and the department of justice, you always, capitalize federal and state government agencies, I have worked for 5 government agencies, always, always, so this was an intentional ploy by the two fed agencies to mislead Montanans, in a very slick, throw in the kitchen sink type legislation, leaving every medical marijuana grower, with strict reporting, open to FBI raids! Thank you, Congress for getting off your asses, and doing something right, for WE THE PEOPLE, who elected you to take care of us, like you just did, and slapping the feds back into their place as a safety net, over general welfare, and taking them the hell out of our state jurisdictions where they are not invited and wanted!
• Great pictures and article today, about VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, worldwide, with a shockingly horrifying picture of several Asian girls, with chains around their wrists and duct tape across their mouths . . . women in Egypt are being murdered by the thousands, two girls in India, were gang raped, murdered, then hung in a tree, a young pregnant bride in some Muslim country was stoned in an honor killing, by her family for marrying the man she loved!  The International community is starting to get involved, enough, is fucking enough!  Politicians, and celebrities, like Angelina Jolie, are getting involved and using their star power to help, worldwide.  Thank God for good people around the world, helping centuries of abuse, not only abroad, but here in America . . . mine situation was extreme prejudice!
• Up to date, coverage of the Ukraine, Syria, Thialand, and other world hot spots . . . great, I care about my brothers and sisters, worldwide, so thanks!  One of the smartie, high school students here in Montana, is going to the Ukraine to teach English, before, entering college, local connection, there is also a guy in Whitefish, who brings students from the Ukraine to America, why do you think they just voted for a pro, western president . . . they love what we have, welcome to the wild, wild west, my daughter, was called a Communist, by a Ukrainian, who got her email address from my blog, or a relative, when she was reporting on the Clive Bundy, rancher against the BLM!  LOL!
• Kick ass article on Boulder, Montana . . . hot springs, healing Uranium mine, ghost of a local prostitute or Lady of the Night, magical stuff that makes small towns come alive!  Now I want to go there!  Just this morning, I was talking to my friend and landlord about my grandparents living to their late 90's, going to their hot springs in Honeyville, Utah, every morning . . . maybe a trip to the mines, hot springs and Boulder might help his hips!
• Amazing Art Contest, in Ravalli County, Hamilton, our neighbors to the south, I think, great shots of an Eagle and a Magpie, buffalo, winter scene with a barn and horse, and a bunch of others . . . beautiful Montana!

Beautiful God . . . Thank You For This Bless Day, And Save the Salt Lake Tribune & Utahans From One Owned News Source!  Amen!  And We All Say, Amen!

JUSTICE FOR ALL! HOW DO I START THE PROCESS OF EXPUNGEMENT FOR A BURGLARY CHARGE IN MONTANA THAT HAPPENED 19 YEARS AGO? THE GOOD NEWS IS, THE COURTS ARE FOLLOWING THE LAW, SEPARATION OF POWERS, AND THE BAD NEWS IS, THE COURTS ARE FOLLOWING THE LAW, SEPARATION OF POWERS--BUT THE HOMELESS, ALLEGED CRIMINALS, JUVENILE OFFENDERS, WHO HAVE STRAIGHTENED UP, CAN'T GET ON WITH LIFE, CAN'T GET JOBS, APARTMENTS, ETC., WE NEED TO DO MORE THAT JUST FEED, SHELTER AND CLOTHES THE VETS AND HOMELESS, AND GIVE THEM THE LEGAL TOOLS TO GET OFF THE PUBLIC DOLE, AND BECOME PRODUCTIVE CITIZENS, A KEY COMPONENT OF REHABILITATION AND THE WHOLE INTENT OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM--MS. HOBBY LOBBY IS ON IT . . . POVERELLO, GOD'S LOVE, SAMARITAN HOUSE, MISSION OF HOPE, AND OTHERS, WE HAVE SOME LEGISLATION TO GET PASSED HERE IN MONTANA! BLESS YOUR LIVES WITH GOD'S LOVE--DAVE, NEED YOU AND YOUR MOM'S HELP, THERE IN HELENA, COME JANUARY!

Once Someone Has Served Time, Paid for Their Crime, Satisfied the Courts--They Need to Have a Remedy to Wipe that from their Record!  The Jewish Sabbath Starts Today--Look at it as Repentance . . . I Know, I Know!

Tim Baldwin, an attorney from Kalispell, and I believe a constitutional law attorney, like myself, answered, the question of getting a record expunged, in the following way:  Expunging a criminal record is allowed only if statute allows it.  No authority of courts to expunge criminal records absent statutory authorization: Montana courts have jurisdiction to expunge criminal records pursuant to statute, but absent explicit legislative authorization, courts have no inherent power to expunge criminal records. St v. Chesley, 2004 MT 165, 322 M 26, 92 P3d 1212 (2004).  With your particular conviction, I am unaware of any statutory authority to expunge your conviction.  WHAT THE FUCK?

One of the reasons, I love Montana, is that they actually do follow the law, love the constitutions, and really try to follow it the best they can; they also have term limits for elected officials, which I am coming to find, like everything else is both good and bad!  The problem is, every session, the legislature has hot topic items, last session, the most money was spent on dignity in death or physician assisted suicide, with attorneys from other states, setting up shop, model legislation, and outside influence . . . but, there is no voice for the homeless, few for Vets, and absolutely none for the alleged criminals, of yesteryear, especially, but we are all paying for that oversight!

Law School Commencement Ceremonies--JUSTICE FOR ALL!

In the week or two, the University of Montana, School of Law, celebrated graduation, and the bold headline in the newspaper, was Justice for All!  I was particularly interested, because just days before, my oldest daughter, Greta Secrist Hyland, had just been admitted to the law school, and I referred the article down to here in Dameron Valley, Utah, just out of St. George, Utah, so she could see what the school focus is, and I know that has always been my bent on the law, justice for all!  And as I have clawed and scratched my way, all the way up to the top court in the land, with tons of opposition, to see that justice is for all, regardless of price, personal, high, even life-threatening, at times, that is my goal, and I know, my daughter will fit, why, because she is my daughter, her value system is highly evident, and I know, she will fight for JUSTICE FOR ALL!

I would have failed as both a mother and an attorney, had I not conveyed to her the importance, critical implications of not providing justice for all, not only in the strictest sense of fairness, but just downright justice, and the backlash against society as a whole, if there is not justice for all . . . I know my children, I know the values I instilled in them . . . teach correct principles, they will govern themselves, and they will not depart from them!  That is Biblical, so is justice, so is mercy, the word hearsay, and many legal terms, come from the New Testament, and so is payment for crimes/sins!  

It always amazed me, that our advocate, with the Father, was none other than Jesus Christ, who will stand before the judgement seat for us, arguing our case, and he also, after getting us the most lenient sentence, with the minimal amount of punishment, took our place!  If our legal system is based on Judeo-Christian principles, then should our response to former perpetrators of crimes, be that in response also, with concepts like, judge not that ye be not judged, and turn the other cheek . . . not necessarily, in this secular system, but after they have completed what the courts feel is their obligation?  Come on!

Shelters Across this State Have Fed, Sheltered & Clothed Me, While I My Travel Plans Have Been Dictated by Law Enforcement, Allegedly for Being the Person, Who Committed Crimes Against Me!  Double Vision, Mistaken Identity, With Very Powerful People in High Places, Wanting My Demise!

As I escaped Utah, after suing the state for $357 million, and the county I lived in for $56.7 million, trying to get justice for all, including two financial planners, who use to both be millionaires, now bankrupt and broke, and three kids, all basically good, who were targeted by cops, and who were trying to do their best to take on the powers that be, for their crimes . . . the venom turned on the attorney, who really did have the skills, had the tools, and the credentials to give them, as formerly being one of their own, a run for their money; however, they switched sides, the plaintiffs that is, and sided with the Mormon Church, once I won the cases, took bribes, I think two of the guys are now cops, or one a detective now, agreeing to let the real criminals off and chase the only one with a pure heart and clean hands, out of the state, after taking 2 homes, with all the belongings, up to and including my toothbrush, 5 vehicles, books, computers, and files in my law practice, that was raging with constitutional vigor, kicking the shit out of law enforcement agencies in multiple states, and at a federal level, so for fear of my life, I fled to Montana, as the last best place!

Once while in Helena, I walked past God's Love Homeless Shelter . . . and told God to never, never let me land there!  LOL!  At that time, I still had my truck, then my car for shelter, haven't seen my home in Utah for almost 2 years, now, cabin, also, but as fate would have it, someone put a pipe bomb on my car, they already took my truck and about $20,000 worth of art, electronics, computers, TVs, and whatever they wanted from my house, in addition to my truck, so I was in my new throw away vehicle, I bought in Great Falls, where the DMV, kept my driver's license, and just couldn't find it when I went back to get it . . . feds, and my Utah State Bar Association Card, picture I.D., was taken in Helena, last July 4th, when staying with friends, new roommate, just had her boyfriend picked up on a warrant, I am sure he got out, in exchange for her getting in my purse, I left, while going to honor Vets at the VA Hospital, in Helena, that day! 

So with no I.D., my means of getting money, and no protection now, from the elements, as unpredictable as Montana weather is, I found myself on the streets . . . at none other than, God's Love, which I am sure, was in fact, GOD'S Love, both for me, and what I am now seeing, probably was part of the plan, for all the guys and gals, who are there due to the lack of means, remedy, statute, or whatever, to get records expunged to move on with their lives!  I have been driven from state to state, from sea to shining sea, for the Patriot Act, or alleged infractions, due to entrapment, by cops, tricking me, or putting me in difficult situations, by what they have done first, straining at a nat, and swallowing a flea, their crimes, are so monumental, and mine in reaction to their actions, like taking my truck, stealing my house, belongings, etc. that a jury would laugh in comparison!  

Giving Back to the Shelters for Their Love!

I first thought of the idea, after Dave and I, talked at God's Love, and we decided that something that would really help the homeless, was to get their records cleared so they could function in society again . . . many were out of jail or prison, but couldn't get housing or jobs, due to criminal background checks.    I am making good on my promise, Dave, just a little later than planned, staying alive is my main goal now days . . . but providing the shelter, now shelters, across the state with an easy way for staff to help the homeless get records cleared, has always been on my mind!

Two weeks ago, after one of the homeless guys from the Poverello, asked me to help him with 10 year old charges on his record out of the state of Washington, and another guys, who has 40 year old charges from Georgia, asked me to help them expunge their records, I decided this was the time.  Wow, I was shocked how easy it was to get relief in Washington, not only were their forms readily available and user friendly, in the small print below the forms, there was a number connected with an organization called CLEAR, just in case someone needing assistance is reading this blog, call (888) 201.1019, and they will even do it free if you don't have money.  That was easy.

Shock of Shocks . . . What the Hell, Montana Doesn't Do Expungements?

Now, I am not going to criticize my adopted state, again, the good and bad, you barely have 1 million people, so the state, is basically not very populated, but the down side is, with the fourth largest state, and no people, they don't have much of a tax base  . . . but I am always impressed with what they do, with so little money, and they always have a surplus of, right now, about a half a million dollars!  But it is not money, but legislation we need.  But up until, late yesterday, after spending a hour and a half on the computer, trying to find a form on the Montana Court Forms, website, after looking up the statute, having just read the bold titles, not the details, and just assuming they had expungement methods, and after stopping at the Missoula County Court and Missoula Legal Services, I was still not sure what was going on . . . they were both unaware of any forms to help people get their records expunged.

So when all else fails, call people who know what is going on, I called the Montana Supreme Court, the Montana State Library, the Law School, the Law School Librarian, a Constitutional Law Professor, the Innocence Project . . . and they all kind of hinted that there was not a statute or law, or at least not a form, or no way for someone to get their records cleared.  I still didn't believe them, that can't be true, really?  Finally, Susan, the head law librarian, very efficiently, and directly, told me in no uncertain terms, that the state did not do expungement, or rarely did, and the court, did not have jurisdiction, there was no legislation, and the person would, on a rare occasion be allowed to go before the Board of Pardons, to get a record expunged . . . what, this should be a matter of law, almost . . . in Utah, you can get a misdemeanor cleared in 3 years, and a felony in 5, if memory serves!

Susan, gave me the name and citation of the case, I mentioned in the attention grabber, and I told her, that I thought, or by first glance was sure that a record could be reversed or expunged and the law even provided for someone to get their DNA samples, dismissed from evidence in the case of an alleged rape . . . she said she was aware of that, but would have to look up the law again, and so was I going to!  

Searching for Friends in High Places--We Need Some Legislation on This!

I promptly called my landlord, Tony Ostemeier whom I helped gather signatures, Monday, to get him on the ballot against, Ellie Hill, in House District, 94, I think?  And I told him, he couldn't shoot his renters up at the ranch, he couldn't die, he thinks he is too old, na, my grandpa, lived to the ripe old age of 96 years old, and was driving his car to the week he died, so Tony has a good 18 years left, he is a Marine, tough one at that, stout, and sharp, too, that early higher education at Harvard, did him some good!

And on top of that, I needed him to carry some legislation for me . . . I testified 3 times last session, so some of the legislators already know me, and I think, Ellie Hill, was actually on my email list for a while, after I testified, and wrote on the Salish-Kootenai Indian Water Compact, along with Krayton Kearns, and a few others on the House of Representatives, Judicial Committee . . . like I said, I am principle, concept, and values oriented, not necessarily party, aligned, therefore, I don't care who carries this bill, or writes it, as long as we get one!

The down side of term limits, is a legislator just gets their feet wet, and then their time is up, and they either have to run in another branch or section, like the senate, to continue whatever work they started, and most are so green around the gills, that they are just cutting teeth; however, I didn't like the alleged kings and queens of the Utah Legislature, that kicked assistant attorney generals out of the Capitol Building, who worked their all year, for 45 days, and a special session now and then, with the top of the line decor, and even that wasn't good enough, they built the Roman Gardens, and multi-million dollar buildings to match the state Capitol, out back, fountains and all . . . is there a middle ground, one breeds corruption and the other, vacates seasoned legislators and puts them out to pasture, about the time they are getting effective . . . possibly, longer terms?

The Pov, Just Reached their Funding Goal of $1.6 Million--Total Donations About $6 Million--Great Social--Expungement is Going to Take Longer!

Since, at one time or another, I have found myself in different shelters, due to Rimrock Bus Company getting grounded by the feds, or Salt Lake Express, or Greyhound cutting services, I have been stuck in various parts of the state, but the up side, is, if I am ever homeless again, or just travelling through, either too cheap to get a hotel, or not staying long enough to get an apartment, or don't know anyone, I have always had the reassurance, that if I could make it back to Kalispell, Great Falls, Helena, or Missoula, I could have a roof over my head, a bed, whether in the hall, on the floor, or on a bed, and a good meal . . . I can't say that for Washington, or Spokane, nice clean bed, but the food, wasn't as good as in Montana.

Montanans Practice What They Preach--But I Do Have Preferences--Ratings

While not a five star hotel or restaurant, but extremely grateful, I have surmised a thing or two about the shelters . . . now the new Poverello Center, is amazing, beautiful, high tech, and just off the charts a great act of caring by the community!  And I promise, Director of Veterans Services, Tessa Johnson, MSW, at the Poverello Center, and Valor House, serving families, I think . . . that whatever I have to do, I will get a law passed to help, get criminal records cleared for the people you serve, and so well, do you serve, that is my promise!  Here we go for the rating system, take it for what it is worth, I know, beggars can't be choosers . . . put, hey, look at it this way, I was instrumental in getting the water compact tabled, having written constitutional analysis, first for the Federation of Republican Women, in the Flathead, testified before the Judicial Committee, who tabled the compact, and gave me the opportunity to testify for almost a half hour, as to why I thought is violated the U.S. Constitution, the Montana State Constitution, and Montana State Code . . . then, Krayton Kearns asked me to write my testimony.  I later, worked with Senator Jackson . . . so if Montana is smart, this homeless waif, who is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar, and there are others like me . . . and you have no idea what we have sacrificed for your freedoms and rights, but if the state is smart, it can save itself and tax payers, $55 million in repairs to water systems, under the sole jurisdiction of the U.S. Government!  A few meals, a bed, and an occassional coat, might have been worth it for the state . . . I hope!

• Best Food Category . . . Poverello, Missoula, chef stuff, while you are all buying the unhealthy food, in the grocery stores, with the foods that need to be taken off the selves, for time dated foods, go to the Pov, who cooks it up in a 5 to 7 course meal . . . after that, local farmers can pick it up for pig food, so I think you would be happy, waste not, want not, going to a good cause!
• Cleanest Shelter Category . . . Samaritan House, Kalispell, as in most shelters, people have chores they have to do, but Samaritan House is spotless and shines!
• Cutest Rooms Category . . . Mission of Hope, Great Falls, nice comfy quilts, Bibles on the beds, stuffed animals, carpeting, residents feel warm and safe . . .
• Most Lenient Rules, Funnest . . . God's Love, Helena . . . we are adults, not planning on being nuns, or giving my life to the cloth, we had BBQs, and on a rare occasion, a male pal, got to come in and watch, Jon Stewart, and Colbert, which made it fun . . . Dave was even planning a wedding for us, and had little Asian kids for adoption . . . funny, Dave!

Two Years Ago, I Never Would Have Imagined!

The other day, the day after the Poverello Center celebrated reaching their fund raising goals, some jackass, wrote an article, playing on the theme of the movie, Field of Dreams . . . build it and they will come. slamming the 100 or so homeless who have on an average night, received a warm bed, great food, and friendship . . . good friends, loyal friends, more than I can say for my clients, and family in Utah . . . two years ago, I had a ragingly popular law practice, with a million dollar home, my dream truck, my family close, $5k to $10k in my purse, cash, at any given time . . . guess what, that disappeared in the blink of an eye, and I became, an unlawful fugitive, in the eyes of the Patriot Act boys a girls, seeking to arrest without warrants, jail and kill me . . . just fighting for your rights and your freedoms, so judge not is a great standard to live by . . .

THANKS TO ALL THE GREAT FOLKS, WHO REALLY DO PRACTICE THEIR RELIGION, THEIR BELIEFS, AND PUT THEIR WALLETS WHERE THEIR MOUTHS ARE!  LET GOD'S LOVE BLESS YOUR LIVES!

PROJECT VOTE SMART: BLACK & WHITE THINKERS NEED NOT APPLY; REASONABLE PEOPLE AGREE TO DISAGREE; A WOMANIZER, ALCOHOLIC, SWORE LIKE A SAILOR--WINSTON CHURCHILL, TIPS FOR MORE SOPHISTICATED VOTING

Don't Be Confused By the Facts

Yesterday, I was on the bus, and got into a discussion with the bus driver, and as usual, it turns to politics, so politics as usual.  The bus driver, very emphatically in formed me that he was a conservative, and proud of it, as if that was all he needed to say, and all discussion of anything was off the table, implying like all of his ilk, that isn't it highly obvious, that we made a mistake in the last election, and only time had revealed that, with President Obama.  I promptly informed him that it was his Republicans who had created so much grief in my life, under the (un)Patriot Act, Pres. Bush's baby, Clinton would not sign it . . . and that I found out just last week, that it was his party, who refused to vote against legislation, that made it legal to arrest someone, without a warrant, no charges, and hold them indefinitely or detain them without a hearing or trial, and I had been arrested, under exactly those elements, and had clients and family who would not give up looking for me, in a jail, all the way across the state!

I was sure that I had been picked up under the tenuous detainment statute, intended for terrorists, but, for my protection, and adiment obedience and defense of the U.S. Constitution, but after my release 9 days later, a client came a got me, I was told that law had been overturned--that was in 2012, and I just read last week in some document, that was not true and the unconstitutional detainments were still on the books!  I heard the horror stories of a former CIA agent, who was likewise arrested, without charges, warrant for arrest and detained, among other female activist--amazing that being true to my oath of office as an attorney and officer of the court, would get me locked up as a homegrown terrorist!  The bus driver apologized, and said, yeah, President Bush was pretty bad . . . hell, bad, he threw out the whole fucking Constitution!  I would say bad!

Right Up To the Polling Booth

In 2008, I watched all news channels, from the most conservative to the most liberal and in between, every night from about August to November . . . I was worried about Palin, one heart-beat away from the presidency, but I wanted to make the right decision, having never fallen prey to voting entirely for one party or the other, nor being closely aligned with one or the other.  When I was younger, I read the Republican Platform, didn't agree with all of that, likewise for the Democrats, nor did I agree entirely with the Libertarians . . . so a woman without a party, who now knows why, I basically fall, right where the U.S. Constitution falls, kind of a deep seated sense of justice, embedded in both me and the document, secularist, grounded in common sense, rational thought, and the practicalities of life.

But in my TV and newspaper reading, trying to be a smart voter, I saw one advertisement or study, done by the Office of Veterans Affairs, in which they gave a grade to Senator McCain and Senator Obama, as the time--now McCain was a POW, or Prisoner of War and a Vet; therefore, logic should tell you that he, not Obama, should get the higher score on voting for or against veterans issues.  But to my surprise, Obama got a "B" and McCain, got an "F."  Since, four members of my family had served in the military, covering all four branches, I decided to vote for President Obama . . . 

And, this morning as I read the Judicial Watch Special Report, entitled, "Yes, Mr. President, You Will Wait" an Updated Examination into the Unprecedented and Radical Attempt by the Obama Administration to Expand Power, it struck me again, that many things that this report demonized the Obama Administration over, were long held beliefs that rang of constitutional vigor and protection, like exercising his executive powers to immediately stop enforcing minimum mandatory sentences for prisoners, or taking offense with states, who wanted to curtail or make the voting process more stringent--not for the people, but for Republican advantage!  Politics, when the founding fathers, said the federal government is to ensure a Republican form or representative form of government, and protect against domestic violence . . . which I would say, states, all 19, are trying to make it harder for seniors, the poor, or others to vote . . . when the whole reason for the Boston Tea Party, talk about an oxymoron of the abuse of the name of Tea Partiers . . . was to get rid of taxation with out representation, or a voice through voting!

This past election, I happened to be at my sister's house in Cove, Utah, now she lives in Mendon, on the date of the third presidential debate, which I couldn't wait to see, and I asked my sister, if she wanted to watch the debate with me, she immediately said, No, after Sarah Palin, and campaigning for her, one day, mind you, I am done with politics!  And Obama is Satan himself . . . and her son, piped up and said, and yeah, he is a Muslim!  At first I considered the source, Republican, and totally uneducated, nor do they care to get educated, don't confuse them with the facts, and of course, Mitt Romney was their man, no good, card carrying Mormon, would vote for Obama over Romney . . . she doesn't know her own church . . . or state, like I do, nor Mitt Romney, like I do . . . I actually know, he took $30 million in government bail out, was shipping jobs off to China, or his former company was, right during the elections . . . and you know the rest of the story, the 47% and all, but hey, what does all that matter!

If Rachel would have known, in the last election, everyone tried to bash Obama on his choice of Christian Churches and ministers, alleged radical, Black preacher . . . President Obama's dad, was Muslim, but he and Michelle, have always been Christian, attending the same Church for 20 years!  Again, don't confuse them with the facts!  It was interesting, here is another shocker, for the black and white thinkers among you . . . a Christian University, forgot which on, actually rated, President Obama and Governor Romney, on their Christianity, and if my quick glance at the tally, from the flash on TV, was, the President actually scored higher than the alleged, righteous, Mormon, Mitt, being a former Mormon Stake President!  I mentioned that to someone the other day, and he said, yeah, I don't think Mitt Romney is quit the choir boy he makes out to be . . . none of them are!

Transparency in Government

The Judicial Watch was screaming about all the executive order the President has used to circumvent Congress, with his Can't Wait campaign . . . with a Congress, who only cares about getting elected or re-elected, who just got back in session, and the newspaper said, they had no intention of getting anything done, just keeping the status quo, and doing nothing, until after the fall mid-term elections, with a less than 6 percent approval rating, less than Parliament had, shortly before the Declaration of Independence was sent to Britain, who can blame President Obama, who is actually trying to take care of business!  Congress sure as hell isn't . . . they probably would rather discuss Benghazi for the next 5 months, rather than take care of business!  The Nation can't wait!  You should be fired!

In speech after speech, the President is announcing, exactly what his intends to do, agree or disagree, he tells you . . . there have been, I have heard, about 119 executive orders, done at the stoke of a pen, by President Obama . . . hell, during the lame duck session, after President Obama won the 2008 elections, in November, early November, at January 20th, 2009, while no one was watching . . . President Bush, signed something like 1200 executive orders!  Timing is everything, what Bush signed by executive order, President Obama inherited, along with the group carrying out those orders, unbeknown to the public, that he has had to contend with!

Check Rachel Maddow, MSNBC, who was watching what President Bush was up to during those day, and I was still hooked on the news, going through withdrawal symptoms, soaking every drop of news, until it started to dwindle in notoriety, which is always does . . . you would be shocked at what your past, Republican President signed into law, with a single stroke of the law, what the Patriot Act didn't do, through Congress, Bush mopped up the details in executive orders, like making it legal for local and state cops to search your house, while you are not home . . . very consistent with the rest of the bull shit, in that act, signed, I heard, one minute after midnight, 9/12, but wasn't announced to the nation, until just short of a month after the suspiciously tragic day . . . due to the pre-prepared act, that President Clinton, would not sign!

Constitutional Law is as Complicated as You Can Get

In a perfect world, between the three branches of government, you have the Legislative Branch, or Congress, who is suppose to make the laws; the Executive Branch to enforce those laws, and the Judicial Branch, that is to interpret the laws, or actions enforcing the law, and determine if they are, in fact, constitutional . . . there is a rule in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedures, that actually gives attorneys, the right to challenge the constitutionality of an act of Congress . . . but, the division of powers, rights and duties, are not always so clearly distinguished, and 238 years of case law, has shaped, filled in the gaps in the actual word of the Constitution, and often the lines are blurred . . . 

Tip for law students, past, present and future, grappling with the complications, juxtapositions, anomalies, and complexities of this federalist, state and federal government, plus Republican form, with a balance of power between the branches of government, there is cross-over duties, that even muddy the waters further. My constitutional law professor, told us we could make an outline of a con law book that was about 4 inches thick, to bring into this open book test.  The night before the test, I decided, perhaps, I should prepare something easy to take into class to help me with the test.

So being the former graphic artist I am, and very much into the kiss idea of life, keep it simple stupid, or Henry David Thurough's mantra, simplicity, simplicity, simplicity . . . I took a single piece of paper, a tea cup, and drew three circles, basically, separate, but equal, however, with a bit of overlap between each and every branch with the other two branches, for the exceptions, like executive orders and the like . . . as small as I could write, I penned all the rights, duties, powers, and prohibitions for each branch, in the main part of the circle, then going through my notes, I covered the case law, that made the whole thing much more complicated, as the U.S. Supreme Court, the final say on matters of competition for powers, and there are many, created this overlap, that is the battle ground.

Just recently, I was shocked to read, that my disdain for the modern Court's, ruling on Citizens United, the case that gave corporations the right of free speech, giving them the right to unlimited spending, actually had some precedence, back in the late 1800s, or at least 100 year old ruling, making corporations, legal fictions, or persons, for business ease . . . so, we can't be so sure, there is not some precendence for what we now hate that, eve the U.S. Supreme Court is stuck with, historically.

Project Vote Smart

Leave social issues alone, that have been decided by the U.S. Supreme Court to be constitutional, like abortion and now, Obamacare, they have been ruled on, decided, and revisited, Congress has tried to rescind the law they voted for, 40 times, and have not been successful, the law is the law, is the law, like it or not.  You hear politicians, running on the ignorance campaign as did Sarah Palin, she was going to personally overturn, Roe v. Wade . . . really.  More states are on board with Obamacare, the typical whipping boy, for the time, than were when it was voted in back 3 years ago.

After the 2008, trouncing, I remember, Michael Steele, the new director the NCR, or National Republican Committee, and he and others, decided, rather than to broaden the base of voters, actually came up with a 20 point check list, that if political hopefuls didn't match up on all 20 points, they would not consider supporting them . . . enter the Tea Party, and the civil war in the party right now!  Remember, that back in the days of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, there were actually, 12 political parties, maybe indicative of the factions, within each party now, there is good, better, and best candidates and ideas.

Remember that money doesn't make a viable candidate . . . Karl Rove, had $300 million to spend, and not one of his candidates, he vetted, got elected, which was a relief, and a statement against the law case, Citizens United . . . the voters, still made the elections, not money!  You may personally agree with 2/3 of a candidates positions, so don't let that 1/3 deter you from voting for them . . . reasonable people agree to disagree!  Hell, spouses, don't agree, why should politicians!  Be open, be flexible, and look for people who have the basics, based on traditional principles, concepts and values, taking into consideration, we live in a diverse nation, the melting pot, with competing interests and groups, and we all have to live together and get along!

Good Luck, Primaries are June 3--VOTE SMART!