Bush States -- Florida
Curly Surmudgeon
/s/Bush Country/Twilight Zone
Know the world over for vote fraud and corruption here are a few more
lesser known aspects of Florida:
Dangling from Meat Hooks, for Fun
Mon Jul 19,10:11 AM ET
MIAMI (Reuters) - Law enforcement officials in the Florida Keys are mystified
by a bizarre new pastime -- young people dangling themselves from meat hooks
on a popular sandbar.
A U.S. Coast Guard (news - web sites) spokeswoman said on Sunday that the
Monroe County sheriff's office and Coast Guard were called on July 12 to the
sandbar off Whale Harbor in Islamorada where locals say wild behavior is
becoming a tradition.
They found that five young people had erected a bamboo tripod and hung meat
hooks from it. A young woman, her feet brushing the surface of the shallow
water, dangled from the frame, hooks embedded firmly in her shoulders.
According to a Coast Guard video, she did not seem to mind the hooks.
Lt. Tom Brazil of the Coast Guard told the Key West Citizen newspaper that a
young man, who also had hooks embedded in his heavily pierced and tattooed
skin, assured him the group was "just enjoying the afternoon."
A Coast Guard spokeswoman in Miami said the group had clearly done this
before and intended to post photos of themselves on a Web site dedicated to
"body modification" -- the ritualistic piercing of the body.
"It looked like a daily routine for them," she said, adding that the hooks
had been inserted in the skin in a professional manner and had drawn very
little blood."
"As long as they weren't creating any kind of ruckus or riot within a crowd
they really weren't breaking any laws."
The Coast Guard passed the video on to federal justice authorities but no
further action will be taken.
=====
- It's illegal for men to be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown.
- It's illegal to give a lighted cigarette to a cat or dog in Miami. - In
Sarasota, it is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a
swimsuit.
- If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to
be paid just as it would for a vehicle.
- A special law prohibits unmarried women (whether single, divorced or
widowed) from parachuting on Sunday or she shall risk arrest, fine, and/or
jailing.
- Women may be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer, as can the
salon owner.
http://tinyurl.com/4hqcpt
=====
Fla. Man Kills Roommate Over Toilet Paper
Tue Feb 21, 6:18 AM ET
MOSS BLUFF, Fla. - A man accused of fatally beating his roommate with a
sledgehammer and a claw hammer because there was no toilet paper in their
home has been arrested.
Franklin Paul Crow, 56, was charged Monday with homicide in the death of
Kenneth Matthews, 58, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
Capt. Thomas Bibb said Crow initially denied his involvement, but confessed
during questioning.
Crow told investigators that the men were fighting about the toilet paper
over the weekend when Matthews pulled out a rifle. Crow said he then began
beating Matthews with the sledgehammer and claw hammer, according to an
affidavit.
Matthews was beaten so badly he had to be identified through his
fingerprints, detectives said.
Crow was being held at the Marion County jail without bond. It was not
immediately known whether he had an attorney.
=====
Two Florida teens arrested in beating death of homeless man
Sun Jan 15, 7:19 PM ET
MIAMI (AFP) - Police in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, arrested two teenagers
charged with murdering a homeless man and brutally beating another.
The two, aged 17 and 18, are also suspected of conducting a third attack on a
homeless man within hours of the two other incidents early Thursday.
The teenagers surrendered to police after they were identified from footage
taken by surveillance cameras, which showed them repeatedly bashing a man on
the head with what looked like baseball bats.
Three such attacks were conducted the same night within hours of each other,
leaving one homeless man dead and two others seriously wounded.
The teenagers were charged with murder and aggravated battery.
Police have indicated other people may also have been involved in the attacks.
The National Coalition for the Homeless says such attacks are not uncommon
and that teenagers are often behind them.
Numerous homeless people have been harassed, kicked, set on fire, beaten to
death, and even decapitated, the group said. It said 156 people homeless
people were killed in the United States between 1999 and 2004.
"Thrill seekers, primarily in their teens, are the most common perpetrators
of violence against people who are homeless," the Washington-based group
said.
=====
PANAMA CITY, Fla -- A man who got angry with his wife because she wanted to
cuddle after sex when he wanted to watch sports on television was sentenced
to death for killing her with a claw hammer.
Christopher Offord, 30, was sentenced Wednesday by Circuit Judge Dedee
Costello, who said the brutality of the crime outweighed any mental problems
Offord may have had.
"The defendant struck his wife approximately 70 individual blows after
spendign a happy interlude with her," the judge said. "Her desire to cuddle
after sex does not justify the extremely violent, brutal response of the
defendant."
=====
OCALA Fla. -- If you are desparate to get your estranged wife's attention,
you can always tell her that you killed someone. Teddy Claire Akin's tale did
indeed get his wife's attention, and although it isn't true, he faces charges
anyway for making up the story.
Akin told his wife, Felicia, that he had killed a hitchhiker and burie dthe
body in the woods. She called the Marion County Sheriff's Office, and Akin
told investigators this week that he picked up the hitchhiker and then hit
the man when the two got into an arguement over how far Akin would drive him,
authorities said.
Akin said he dumpe dthe body in a forest and kept the man's wallet, which
contained the driver's license of Utah resident Dennis Legrande Allen,
authorities said.
Deputies searched the area with dogs and an air unit, Capt. Thomas Bibb said.
Akin eventually told investigators that the whole story was bogus. He was
going through a divorced and had hoped the murder story would make his wife
leave him, said Sue Livoti, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.
Akin, 28, was charged Tuesday with making a false report and theft. The
sheriff's office said it will probably bill Akin for the cost of the
seven-hour search. Akin confessed that he made up the story after finding the
wallet on top of a newspaper stand. Allen is alive and well.
=====
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/orl-asecviagra29052905may2
9,0,4845268.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
State leads in buying pills for impotent sex offenders
Compiled from wire and staff reports
Posted May 29 2005
Florida topped the list of 14 states that allowed almost 800 convicted sex
offenders to receive Medicaid-funded prescriptions for Viagra and other
impotence drugs.
Before halting the practice last week, Florida had provided 218 offenders
with the performance-enhancing drugs during a four-year period at a cost of
$93,000 -- and 77 percent of the offenders had committed sex crimes involving
minors, according to Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist.
More than 10 percent were guilty of crimes such as rape and classified as
sex predators. Most live in Miami-Dade, which had 64 registered sex offenders
receiving impotence pills paid for by the state. Broward, Duval and Orange
counties had nine each, Crist said.
"It's hard to believe," Crist said Saturday, commenting on Florida's dubious
No. 1 ranking. "Obviously, it was very ridiculous that sex offenders were
getting Viagra. . . . I think what it says is that it was a horrific mistake."
Crist, a candidate for governor, ordered his staff to compare state databases
after New York earlier this month uncovered that Medicaid had paid for Viagra
prescriptions for sex offenders. The federal government, which provides
states with funds for Medicaid, then ordered states to stop the coverage
for those felons.
Gov. Jeb Bush also called on the state's $15 billion Medicaid program to stop
paying for erectile-dysfunction drugs such as Viagra, Levitra and Cialis. At
the urging of Bush and Crist, Florida's Medicaid director, Alan Levine,
announced that the state's health-care program for the poor and elderly would
immediately discontinue "coverage of lifestyle-enhancing drugs for sexual
performance for all participants."
There has been heightened concern about convicted sex offenders in recent
months after high-profile cases in Citrus and Hillsborough counties in which
young girls were abducted, abused and killed, and convicted sex offenders
confessed to the crimes, authorities said.
The killing of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford prompted the state Legislature to
toughen penalties and registration requirements for sex offenders and sexual
predators.
New York uncovered 198 cases in which sex offenders had gotten the subsidized
impotence drugs. Other states providing the drugs were Texas, 191; New
Jersey, 55; Virginia, 52; Missouri, 26; Kansas, 14; Ohio, 13; Michigan,
seven; Maine, five; Georgia, three; Montana, three; Alabama, two; and North
Dakota, one, The Associated Press reported Saturday.
The time surveyed varied widely among the states, from six months to five
years.
Some states had relied on a 1998 letter from the Clinton administration as a
basis for providing coverage, said Matt Salo, a staff member of the National
Governors Association. But that letter also said restrictions could be put in
place to curb abuse. For example, the letter said states should limit the
number of refills or the quantity of pills per prescription.
That letter, sent to then-Govs. Mike Leavitt of Utah and Lawton Chiles of
Florida, said Medicaid must cover all FDA-approved drugs with certain
exceptions. Those exceptions included drugs used for weight control, for
cosmetic purposes or to promote fertility.
"The law is pretty clear. The letter in 1998 said Medicaid had to cover
Viagra," said Salo, director of the association's health and human services
committee. "I don't think there is any dispute about that."
Some states did decline to provide coverage for impotence drugs to any male.
South Dakota considers Viagra and similar drugs to be fertility drugs.
"Our rules are specific in that we do not cover agents to promote fertility
or to treat impotence," said Larry Iverson, director of South Dakota's Office
of Medical Services.
Wisconsin officials ignored the directive.
The state's health and human services chief "thought the directive was
ill-advised and chose to disregard it," said Stephanie Marquis, a department
spokeswoman.
Tennessee took the position that the treatment of erectile dysfunction is not
medically necessary. The state has approved coverage of Viagra in five cases,
not involving sex offenders, for treatment of pulmonary hypertension.
Gary Karr, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
said states always have had the right to determine what treatments are
medically necessary.
"Obviously, there was some degree of confusion or misunderstanding from the
letter the Clinton administration sent out," he said.
Though the federal government told states this past week they had to take
steps to ensure that impotence drugs did not go to sex offenders, the fallout
could be much broader because Congress has proposed banning coverage of
impotence drugs for all Medicaid and Medicare recipients.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said such a restriction would save $2 billion
during the next decade.
=====
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/04/23/Southpinellas/Textbook_case_of_disc.shtml
Schools
Textbook case of discipline viewed with praise, criticism
An expert calls educators' handling of a misbehaving girl admirable. But
some wonder: Why not corporal punishment?
By THOMAS C. TOBIN, Times Staff Writer
Published April 23, 2005
ST. PETERSBURG - What parent hasn't tried this trick on stubborn children:
Tell them it's time to go, pretend you're leaving and hope they follow.
Two educators tried the tactic last month in the case of a 5-year-old girl at
Fairmount Park Elementary. Twice it failed.
The pair used a range of other strategies in an hourlong ordeal, about 30
minutes of which were caught on a videotape released this week by a lawyer
for the girl's mother. Some of their "interventions" appeared to work, others
did not.
Although administrators and many teachers are trained in dealing with
misbehaving children, educators say they have no sure formula for success,
especially in such an extreme case.
At Fairmount Park on March 14, the girl swung several times at assistant
principal Nicole Dibenedetto and teacher Patti Tsaousis. She created a mess
wherever she went and generally refused to cooperate. She eventually was
handcuffed by St. Petersburg police, who were called to the school.
"She's a little girl who wants to be in control," Carol Thomas, an assistant
superintendent in charge of Pinellas elementary schools, said while viewing
the video this week. "It was very deliberate behavior.
Lynette Fields, a professor at the University of South Florida's College of
Education, called it "a very trying situation in the real world."
Thomas said Dibenedetto and Tsaousis handled the case admirably, setting
limits for the girl but also giving her options and praising the positive
decisions she made amid the bad ones. Thomas also offered suggestions for
what else might have been tried.
Instead of counting to five out loud, as Dibenedetto did to coax the girl to
act, Thomas said she might have counted in her head to give the girl more
leeway.
Another alternative: ignoring the child.
But Thomas said that strategy is risky because it requires an unbending
commitment. If you give up on it to prevent a child from getting hurt, it
results in "intermittent reinforcement," Thomas said, which only strengthens
bad behavior.
Fields said it appeared Dibenedetto and Tsaousis took a page from the
philosophy espoused in the book, Parenting with Love and Logic, which gave
rise to the Love and Logic Institute.
The Love and Logic philosophy discourages the "drill sergeant" and
"helicopter" styles of parenting. The first one commands and directs
children, the latter hovers and rescues them from mistakes.
The Love and Logic style encourages children to talk about their feelings,
make their own decisions and complete required tasks within loose "time
frames."
It is a philosophy that surely grates on those who said during the robust
public discussion following the videotape's release that the girl was in need
of corporal punishment.
In letters to the St. Petersburg Times, on Internet postings and in talk
radio debates, many expressed outrage Friday that the educators at Fairmount
Park seemed hamstrung by concerns about touching the girl or being too stern.
Among the dynamics at work that day: two school staffers were forced to focus
exclusively on the girl during dismissal, one of the busiest and most
stressful times of the day; the girl's behavior had prompted the school to
call city police a few days earlier, and the mother had complained.
District officials said that in the future Pinellas schools police should be
notified because they are accustomed to dealing with students.
Florida law still allows corporal punishment but leaves the decision to
school districts. Many districts abandoned the practice years ago because of
liability concerns, Fields said. Pinellas is one of them.
Even the law that allows corporal punishment is fraught with caution. An
educator may administer it only with another adult present. That adult must
be told - in the presence of the student - of the reason for the punishment.
Parents can request a written explanation.
Pinellas educators are told they may use "reasonable force" to protect
themselves, a student or anyone else from harm. But, in practice, that
translates to a simpler rule of thumb: no touching at all.
"That's a good rule for anyone to follow when dealing with somebody else's
children," Fields said.
Pinellas elementary schools reported 406 disciplinary referrals for batteries
on adults last school year, up from 272 the year before. Many are repeat
"Some schools call them "frequent fliers,' " said Bob Poth, principal of
Douglas L. Jamerson Jr. Elementary.
"The bottom line is that if a child is misbehaving, learning is not taking
place," Poth said. "We only have 180 days with the kids. We can't afford to
have them fooling around."
=====
And after the 2000 elections you'd think tabulation would have been
resolved:
The state of Florida has managed to lose actual voting records from 2002 due
to "computer crashes." The results of some touchscreen-based elections were
lost:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/28/florida.voting.ap/index.html
=====
Report: Felon voting list in Florida includes thousands of eligible voters
(07-02) 17:00 PDT MIAMI (AP) --
More than 2,100 Floridians who had their voting rights restored were included
on a list of purported felons who are potentially ineligible to vote, a
newspaper reported Friday.
The names were on a Florida Division of Elections list of more than 47,000
people that was sent to county elections supervisors, who are expected to
determine who should be removed from the rolls.
The Miami Herald, after a computer analysis, said at least 2,119 people on
the list had received clemency and were eligible to vote.
The purge of felons from voter rolls has been an issue in Florida since the
disputed 2000 presidential election. A company hired to identify ineligible
voters before the election produced an error-filled list and elections
supervisors removed voters without verifying its accuracy.
State elections officials disputed the Herald's report, calling it incomplete
and misleading.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman Nicole de Lara said the
newspaper did not check the list against the department's records, suggesting
some of the people who received clemency could have committed another felony
and lost their voting rights again.
The state checks the clemency list against records from the FDLE and the
Corrections Department. The Herald used corrections records.
The newspaper stood by its story and said the FDLE records covered an
insignificant number of felons compared with the more comprehensive
corrections department data.
"I can understand it's embarrassing to them, but it's an accurate, important
and solid news story for the people of Florida," said Manny Garcia, the
Herald's metro editor. "We scrubbed (the list) down, we analyzed it and came
up with the results."
Of the 2,119 people identified by the Herald, 62 percent were registered
Democrats, and almost half were black. Less than 20 percent were Republicans.
The paper contacted 36 people on the list who confirmed they had received
clemency.
De Lara said the list is a database of potential matches, not a final list of
names that will be purged from the voter rolls. The Herald reported that the
state had flagged more than 300 people listed who might have received
clemency.
"We recognize there are people on this list that are not felons," de Lara
said. "This list is the beginning of the process, not the end of the
process."
On Friday, the civil rights group People for the American Way set up a Web
site to search for names on the list. The database was announced the day
after a Tallahassee judge ordered the state to make copies of the list, which
the Herald had obtained earlier.
The Florida Democratic Party also is reviewing the list.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/07/02/politics2
000EDT0720.DTL
=====
Woman Drove for Days with Dead Mother in Car
Fri Apr 30, 7:24 AM ET
MIAMI (Reuters) - An Oklahoma woman drove around for days with her mother's
decomposing body in the passenger seat of her car, Florida investigators said
on Thursday.
Sheriff's deputies found the woman's body on Tuesday in a car parked outside
a Wal-Mart store in the northeast Florida city of Palm Coast. The medical
examiner ruled the 65-year-old woman had died of natural causes at least five
days earlier.
The woman's daughter, in her mid-30s, was inside the 24-hour store, where she
had been shopping since the night before. She was incoherent and unable to
give a clear account of her journey to Florida, Flagler County Sheriff's
investigators said.
Police went to investigate when other shoppers complained about the odor
coming from the parked car.
They traced the auto registration and pieced together details of the trip
from receipts found in the car.
The women had lived together in Covington, Oklahoma, and left there several
weeks ago. They traveled through Texas and North Carolina on the 1,300-mile
trip to Florida, the investigators said. It was not clear if the mother died
at a stop-off or in the car.
The daughter was hospitalized for psychiatric examination. No charges were
filed because the mother's death was from natural causes. No further details
were available.
=====
9-Year-Old Girl Arrested for Rabbit Theft
Fri Apr 9, 7:03 AM ET
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - A 9-year-old girl accused of stealing a rabbit and
$10 from a neighbor's home was arrested, handcuffed and questioned at a
police station.
A Pasco County sheriff's deputy found the black-and-white rabbit, named Oreo,
hopping around in the girl's living room, according to the arrest report. She
was read her rights and taken away in the back of a patrol car.
The girl began to cry during questioning Tuesday. She admitted taking the
rabbit belonging to another child, but denied taking two $5 bills and some
change, according to reports.
Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll defended the arrest, and said if the victim of
a crime wants an arrest, deputies are required to act if there is enough
evidence.
Lori Ventura, the mother of the child who owns the rabbit, said the girl has
been involved in other incidents and needs help.
The deputy could have taken a report and referred the charges to the state
attorney, said Pasco-Pinellas Public Defender Bob Dillinger.
The girl was released to her mother from a juvenile assessment center about
an hour after her arrest, which she said was scary. She also didn't like the
deputy.
"He put one handcuff on me really tight," she said Thursday. In the patrol
car, "He just stared at me in the mirror."
=====
Governor Jeb Bush of Florida orders woman fed in right-to-die case.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/22/national/22FEED.html?ex=1067400000&en=d1
006c4d0a37cce6&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
=====
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3155078.stm
US toddler's 'home alone' ordeal
A two-year-old girl in Florida has survived nearly three weeks alone in her
apartment, living on a diet of mustard, dried pasta and tomato sauce.
Briana Lee was abandoned when her mother was jailed on 10 September, but did
not tell police about her daughter.
The girl's plight was only discovered when her father, after failing to make
contact with his estranged wife for some time, went to the apartment.
She was found in a filthy state, lying naked in a baby's bath, watching TV.
Neighbourhood search
Briana's father, Ogden Lee, told the Florida Times-Union newspaper that he
had been trying to get in touch with the mother Dakeysha Telita Lee, 20, for
a fortnight - unaware that she was in fact in custody.
Dakeysha Lee had been detained on charges of battery and theft earlier in the
month.
When Mr Lee eventually traced the mother to the prison and was able to speak
to her, Dakeysha Lee said that the child was in the care of neighbours.
Mr Lee went to the apartment block and after knocking on the doors of several
neighbours was still unable to find Briana, so he got the building's
manager to let him into the flat.
Indomitable spirit
The infant was lying naked in a baby bath tub in the mother's bedroom covered
in dirt and dried ketchup, draped in a towel, watching cartoons on the
television.
"She grabbed me and wouldn't let go of me," Mr Lee told the newspaper.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Jefferson said Briana had
scavenged in the kitchen for food to survive, dragging it into the bedroom.
"She had subsisted on mustard, ketchup, dried pasta. She cleared out the
lower cabinets looking for food as well as the refrigerator.
"She managed to stay alive for 19 days. She's quite a scrapper," Sheriff John
Rutherford said.
Along with food, Briana had taken a supply of toys and other belongings to
the bed.
"Everything was on the bed in the bedroom. Obviously she had found other
things than the ketchup to eat," her father was quoted as saying.
Remarkably healthy
Police said there was no sign that the child had been visited by anyone else
in the time.
Leaford James, a neighbour in the apartment block, said he had heard the girl
crying during her time alone, "but nothing to get suspicious about".
Briana is now recovering from the effects of malnutrition and dehydration in
Wolfson Children's Hospital.
"She's sitting up in the bed and laughing and playing with the nurses,"
hospital spokesman David Foreman said.
She remains in the care of social services, who are deciding where she should
be placed.
"The child is safe and in our care," Pattie Mallon, an official from
Jacksonville's Department of Children and Families said. "We are in awe of
her spirit to survive and we are making every effort to ensure her safety and
well being."
Briana's ability to survive has astonished her father too. "It really is a
miracle how good a shape my daughter is in. I don't know how she did it," he
said.
The mother has been charged with child abuse and detained on a $20,000 bail
bond for failing to notify the authorities of her daughter's whereabouts.
======
The state constitution allows for freedom of speech, a trial by jury, and
pregnant pigs to not be confined in cages.
http://www.dumblaws.com/law/1349
=====
http://www.msnbc.com/local/wfla/mgavr4ft6dd.asp?vts=31220030928&cp1=1
Sharp Calculator Leads To Student's Suspension
Mar 12, 2003 -
BRANDON - Angela Saffold's calculator can't help her figure the
Hillsborough County school district's zero-tolerance policy on weapons.
It just doesn't add up, she said.
Her 13-year-old son, Burns Middle School sixth-grader Cortez Curtis, is
serving a 10- day suspension for taking his mother's calculator to
school. Hidden within the James Bond-esque calculator are tools such as a
screwdriver, a magnifying glass and - the contraband that led to his
suspension and arrest on felony weapons possession - a 2- inch knife blade.
Curtis was not brandishing the weapon or threatening a classmate.
``That would be something totally different,'' Saffold said,
acknowledging those would be legitimate grounds for discipline.
But she said the punishment is too severe for just taking the calculator
to school Friday.
``He didn't do anything wrong,'' Saffold said. ``He didn't threaten
anybody.''
======
One may not commit any "unnatural acts" with another person.
http://www.dumblaws.com/law/1278
======
Unmarried couples may not commit "lewd acts" and live together in the same
residence.
http://www.dumblaws.com/law/1279
======
It is illegal to sell your children.
http://www.dumblaws.com/law/1282
======
- Having sexual relations with a porcupine is illegal.
- It is illegal to skateboard without a license.
- When having sex, only the missionary position is legal.
- You may not fart in a public place after 6 P.
- It is considered an offense to shower naked.
- You are not allowed to break more than three dishes per day, or chip the
edges of more than four cups and/or saucers.
- Oral sex is illegal.
- You may not kiss your wife's breasts.
- Penalty for horse theft is hanging.
http://www.dumblaws.com/laws/united-states/florida
======
This is line 666, you're going to hell...
======
http://stupidfloridapolitics.blogspot.com/
======
Confirmed by Darwin
28 march 2004, Jacksonville, Florida
jeremiah, thirty-five, had a fun idea for a prank: shoot a six-inch
fireworks rocket at his girlfriend as he drove by in his Ford Mustang.
But before he could launch it out the window, the fuse burned down to the
ignition point, and the rocket began to ricochet around the inside of the
car, finally exploding between his legs. The flash temporarily blinded
him, which protected him from seeing the extent of the damage.
Neighbors saw the flash and heard the explosion. They rushed toward the
car to find a person on fire. They extinguished the flames to reveal a
man singed from his groin to his toes, with an outline of his sandals
burned into his feet.
"I thought I was dead." Jeremiah told a reporter. "I couldn't see, I
couldn't hear, I couldn't walk." He was taken to a medical center and
treated for second-degree burns. When interviewed by a reporter, he
reflected on his potentially fatal encounter with rockets, raised his
hairless eyebrows, and said, "No more of those!"
=======
11 April 2004, Pompano Beach, Florida
Confirmed by Darwin
Bill, forty-four, and Ted, Forty-seven, narrowly avoided earning a
double-Darwin award when they accidently blew up their fishing boat. They
had stopped at a gas station to fill up the boat's gas tank.
Unfortunately they put the nozzle into one of the fishing-rod holders
instead of the gas tank, sending fuel throughout the boat. With gasoline
sloshing around in the bilge and forming a vapor cloud, the two men drove
merrily on, looking for a great day of fishing.
They lauched the boat, which floated quietly in the calm water -- until
they pushed the starter on the engine. The spark from the engine
instantly ignited the vaor cloud surrounding the men. The force of the
blast knocked them both to the deck. The twenty-six-foot boat was
engulfed in flames and destroyed, along with part of the dock.
Firefighters spent ten minutes trying to control the blaze.
Bill was treated and released from the emergency room. Ted was
transferred to the burn unit and released the next day. "It certainly was
a horrible lesson to learn about boating," said the Pompano Beach
Fire-Rescue spokesperson.
======
Killer Whale Rodeo
1999 Darwin Award Winner
Confirmed True by Darwin
(6 July 1999, Florida) A naked man was found dead on the back of a killer
whale at Sea World in Orlando on Tuesday morning, a victim of drowning or
hypothermia in the 55-degree water. "There were no obvious signs of
trauma. He wasn't chewed or dismembered," the sheriff's office said. The
body had scrapes on it, possibly signifying that the victim had been
dragged along the bottom of the tank.
Is a man who swims with Orcas worthy of a Darwin Award? Insights into his
bizarre history may help us decide.
He was identified as a marijuana-smoking drifter named Daniel. The South
Carolina native carried a tattered Florida DMV card, and police traced the
address on the card to a Hare Krishna temple in Miami.
Priest Paul Seaur provided insights into Daniel's month-long stay with the
community of six worshippers. He had a great love of nature, writing in
his journal and feeding wild birds in the temple garden. Daniel had
difficulty adjusting to the religion's 4AM wake-up time, their dietary
prohibitions, and their abstinence from liquor, drugs, sex, and gambling.
He preferred to dodge work and meditate in the chapel listening to heavy
metal music.
Daniel unexpectedly announced that he was taking a vow of silence, which
puzzled the Hare Krishnas, since their religion does not urge its members
to be silent. He left abruptly in the spring, saying, "I want to be free.
I want to travel around."
Daniel left a string of petty offences throughout South Carolina,
Washington, Texas and Florida. Just days before his death, he had
completed a three day sentence to the Indian River County Jail for
stealing a 3-Musketeers candy bar from 7-Eleven. He resumed his vow of
silence in court. "The suspect could not speak," a Vero Beach officer
reported, so instead he used paper and pen to deny the charge.
Three days later, our intrepid stoner gained admittance to SeaWorld and
loitered near the whale pools until 10PM closing, evading the 24-hour
security. After stripping to his bathing trunks, he scaled a 3-foot
plexiglas barrier, crossed a short stone wall, and climbed into Tillikum's
frigid enclosure using steps ringing the 80x100-foot pool. An employee
spotted Daniel's nude form draped just below Tillikum's dorsal fin at
7:35AM. His swimming shorts were found elsewhere in the tank. Tillikum
apparently tried to remove his shorts with his razor sharp teeth, the
medical examiner said.
The nature lover left few clues about his state of mind when he decided to
commune with a carnivore the size of a bus. A joint was found inside his
pile of clothes, but no admission ticket to SeaWorld. Anonymous park
workers made a surprise announcement that this was not the first time
Daniel had communed with sea mammals. Two years ago, they recall that he
jumped into the manatee tank, which is filled with warmer water and less
offensive creatures.
Notes about Tillikum the killer whale:
The 8-year-old mammal is the largest killer whale in captivity, at 22 feet
and 11,000 pounds. He was appraised at 1.5 million dollars when purchased
by SeaWorld in 1991, where he joined 13 other killer whales. He was
considered dangerous, as he was never trained for human contact.
Biologists say he probably played with Daniel like a toy, without
realizing that he was a fragile human being.
This is not his first encounter with death. Tillikum and two other whales
were involved in the drowning of a trainer in Victoria, Canada in 1991.
Keltie Byrne fell into the whale tank at the SeaLand Marine Park and was
dragged beneath the surface to her watery demise.
Tillikum is a fecund marine predator, and the sire of four calves born
during his breeding stay in Florida.
In a comparison between Tillikum and Daniel, it's clear who is higher on
the evolutionary scale.
http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1999-18.html
=====
Love Crushed Sex
1999 Darwin Award Nominee
Confirmed True by Darwin
(June 1999, Florida) Okeechobee County investigators believe the death of
Bryan, 28, was related to his wife's habit of stomping rabbits and mice
for sexual pleasure. Stephanie, 29, was sentenced to two years of
probation and community service for the death of her husband Bryan, who
was found in a pit with a board over his body, crushed beneath the rear
wheel of his sports utility vehicle.
Stephanie did not deny that she drove over her husband, but in her own
defence she released tapes to the police showing her stomping small
mammals to death. She was identified by a cryptic tattoo on her lower leg.
Such "crush" videos are sold to people who derive sexual pleasure from the
sight of death, especially at the hands of a woman. "It was abhorrent and
cruel," said Assistant State Attorney Bernard Romero. "My first instinct
was to seek the maximum penalty."
But Stephanie contended that she was an unwilling participant in the
videos, and had been beaten many times by her husband prior to his bizarre
death. Stephanie was charged in July with two counts of felony animal
cruelty, which were later reduced to misdemeanors.
As for her husband, his death under the wheels of his car was presumably a
loving sex act between consenting adults. But a man who would lie in a
special pit while a woman he groomed for "crush" videos drove over him,
shouldn't be surprised when he winds up holding a Darwin Award.
http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1999-57.html
=====
Location, the Florida Gulf:
Posted 08-19-2008 11:52 AM
We've got a minor hurricane/tropical storm blowing through down here. A
local news crew happened to be on one of the beaches to film the
conditions. What they got was a clip of some yahoo on the beach who
decided it was good paragliding weather. The guy was violentally picked
up, thrown back down on the sand, then picked up again and carried off the
beach and into the side of a large building. He's in critical condition.
Some things never cease to amaze me.
http://timesfour.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2451011802/m/3541031913
=====
Miami Thief who saved Florida Taxpayers the burden of incarceration
A suspected burglar in Miami was found dangling from a large ventilation
fan after he apparently stepped on the on switch while his body was inside
the machine and killed himself, according to police.
Miami investigators said a "known burglar" in the area was found dead in
the powerful fan at the Maranatha Used Clothing store Thursday when the
store opened up for business.
A witness said an employee of the store noticed feet dangling from the fan
and called police.
Officers said they believe he was trying to scramble through the fan when
his foot clicked a switch to the on position.
http://flprogressive.blogspot.com/2007/06/bc-bowl-meets-darwin-awards.html
======
Cameron Fritzson, 20, was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in
Hollywood, then Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami with second- and
third-degree burns to his upper extremities, police said. He was listed in
critical, but stable condition later Monday night.
Fritzon climbed a 10-foot fence surrounding a Florida Power & Light
substation near Sheridan Street and University Drive shortly before 4 p.m,
police said.
Authorities say he then tried to scale the electrical tower where his arm
brushed against a transformer. He fell 20 feet. Police believe Fritzon may
have been trying to collect the parakeet eggs to sell at a pet store.
http://flprogressive.blogspot.com/search/label/BC%20Bowl
======
The executive director of a program that supervises misdemeanor and DUI
probationers was suspended without pay Wednesday following a Monday arrest
on charges of driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an
accident, resisting deputies and disorderly intoxication.
Margot "Peggy" Cioffi [(right)], 59, of Palm City was released from the
Martin County jail on $2,000 bond, according to arrest records.
Cioffi has been the guiding force behind the Comprehensive Offender
Rehabilitation and Education Program, known as CORE, since it began nearly
30 years ago. She took the lead in expanding it to an organization that
handles misdemeanor and DUI probation in St. Lucie, Indian River and
Okeechobee counties and DUI probation in Martin County.
Deputies found her in her car in her garage after a motorist reported she
rammed the back of his car on Martin Downs Boulevard and left the scene
around 5:30 p.m. Monday, records showed.
She resisted deputies when they tried to handcuff her and place her in a
patrol car, reports said.
Martin sheriff's deputies reported her breath test showed a blood-alcohol
level of 0.34 percent, which is more than four times the 0.08 percent
level at which Florida law presumes a driver is impaired.
http://flprogressive.blogspot.com/search/label/BC%20Bowl
=====
An Edgewater [woman], accused by her daughter of trying to perform an
exorcism, will not face any charges.
The State Attorney's Office said there is not enough evidence to charge
Debra Jean Rogers and her husband with a crime.
Police were called to the Rogers' home in June. They took 18-year-old
Danielle Rogers into protective custody when the found her covered with
oil and her clothes ripped. She told officers that her parents were trying
to get the demons out.
The Rogers deny they were trying to perform an exorcism.
Investigators said the couple admitted they tried to exorcise the demons
out of their daughter by pouring olive oil on her while they held her
hands behind her back on June 27. Their attorney said [they] are innocent.
"I don't think any person should have to endure what occurred that night,"
said Edgewater Police Detective Heather Brady.
Detectives said it all started when the 18-year-old got into a yelling
match with her twin sister. Her father told police he was trying to anoint
his daughter with olive oil to "cast the demons out of her."
[...]
Detective Brady said police believe this wasn't the first time this happened.
"This is bizarre, but this apparently was a normal occurrence," Brady
said.
It's strange enough, but it only gets stranger when you realize that Debra
Jean Rogers (right) is a member of Edgewater's city council! (Yeah, I
edited that out of the excerpts for effect. So sue me.)
http://flprogressive.blogspot.com/search/label/BC%20Bowl
======
A suburban Gainesville, Fla., couple faces charges after allegedly
torturing animals while performing sex acts on each other.
Brenda and Clyde Farrell of Keystone Heights have each been charged with
four counts of animal cruelty. Police obtained a video they said shows the
abuse. They said a frog, two chameleons and a parakeet were all nailed or
taped to a board, then slowly decapitated.
The two tortured the animals as they engaged in sex acts, police said.
http://flprogressive.blogspot.com/search/label/BC%20Bowl
======
A Melbourne physician accused of groping a woman while dressed as comic
book superhero Captain America has agreed to apologize to his alleged
victim and never return to a city bar in a bid to avoid trial, his
attorney said.
Raymond Douglas Adamcik, 54, was charged with misdemeanor battery,
disorderly conduct, resisting an officer without violence and marijuana
possession in connection with the April 21 incident at On Tap Sports Cafe
and Lounge in Melbourne.
Police said Adamcik groped the woman and knocked her boyfriend to the
floor during a costume party at the bar. Initially, he also was charged
with felony destruction of evidence after authorities said he tried to
flush a marijuana cigarette down a toilet while being booked for battery,
but prosecutors reduced the charge to misdemeanor possession.
http://flprogressive.blogspot.com/search/label/BC%20Bowl
=====
--
Regards, Curly
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I Love Republicans, They Taste Just Like Chickenhawks
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................................................................
Posted via TITANnews - Uncensored Newsgroups Access
>>>> at http://www.TitanNews.com <<<<
-=Every Newsgroup - Anonymous, UNCENSORED, BROADBAND Downloads=-
Curly Surmudgeon
Men Guilty of Beating Homeless Man to Death
Fort Lauderdale, FL -- Two men were convicted Friday of killing a homeless
man with a baseball bat and viciously attacking two others in 2006. One
of the beatings was captured on videotape, outraging homeless advocated
nationwide.
Prosecutors sought first-degree murder charged against Brian Hooks, 21,
and Thomas Daugherty, 19. A jury convicted them of second-degree murder
and two counts each of attempted second-degree murder. They could face
life in prison.
--
Regards, Curly
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Bush, a Disaster of Biblical Proportions
Curly Surmudgeon
No Bang? Bang! Bang!
Florida man shoots self after being denied sex by girlfriend
OCTOBER 2--Denied sex by his girlfriend, a Florida man yesterday responded
by shooting himself, threatening the woman, and then passing out on the
kitchen floor (after hitting the oven on the way down). Jonathon Guabello,
29, was apparently under the influence of booze and Xanax when he shot
himself in the right shoulder with a rifle in the Fort Myers apartment he
shared with his girlfriend of five months. According to a Lee County
Sheriff's Office report, the couple had returned home after fighting at a
local bar and "Guabello wanted to have sex." A copy of the October 1
report can be found below. Turned down by his girlfriend, Guabello,
pictured in the mug shot at right, became irate. After the woman departed
the couple's bedroom, Guabello shot himself. He has been charged with
firing a weapon in an occupied dwelling and threatening to assault his
girlfriend.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/1002081shot1.html
--
Regards, Curly
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Jail to the Chief