Donde esta, Ernesto?

Ernesto is turning into a wussy tropical storm...for which I'm so very glad. All we need is the rain. Maybe ol' mom nature will give Florida a break this year.

Started to rain in Ocala about an hour ago. Very light. I'll bet we got more rain last Friday during a typical August thunderstorm than we'll get from Ernesto. But that's okay. No complaints.

Been visiting

Spent the past few days with my mother. She turns 72 today. Yes, since I just turned 55, that makes her 17 years older than I. She got married less than a month after she turned 16, and had me 11 months later, still 16 and just 8 days shy of her 17th birthday.

She says she has never had regrets for marrying and having children so young. However, she insisted that her two daughters wouldn't be able to date until they turned 16. Both waited until their (very) early 20s before marrying.

I started my visit this past Saturday and returned home yesterday afternoon. I hardly left her side. Whatever she wanted to do, we did. Whereever she wanted to go, we went. It was fun, but she is so active I need a rest.

My mother married young and became a widow pretty young. My dad died 10+ years ago when my mom was 61. She's got a 'boyfriend' and they seem happy. That's all I need to know.

Well, Hell!

Doesn't look like Armegeddon today after all. 'Course it's still early.

Turned 55 and got up at 4:30 today. Took the day off and still got up early. Damn!

Mrs. Right made a light breakfast, then I went out at 6:30 to work on the pool. Got an algae problem I'm correcting.

Then called my Mother at 7:00 to ask her if she remembered what she was doing 55 years ago today. She remembered. I told her I would visit her next week to celebrate her 72nd birthday. She's more excited about her birthday that I am of mine.

Then at 8:00 I cranked up my Blackberry and handled some office emails and business calls. Yeah, I took the day off and still doing work. Mrs. Right is not pleased, but it's my birthday.

After I post this entry, I'll maybe do some more work. Mrs. Right is taking me out for a late lunch and shopping this afternoon. Looking forward to it. No skydiving for me. Just a very nice day with just the two of us.

8/22/06 (will be) a day of darkness

Not because some nutjob in Iran may unleash world-ending darkness.

No, it's more personal than that. I will have a birthday. The 55th one.

Which means there's no use kidding myself. I'm old.

I'll probably spend tomorrow in bed, whimpering into my pillow. (Unless Mrs. Right kicks me out and tells me take it like a man.)

Hell, Armegeddon doesn't look half so bad anymore.

I'll see ya'll later, if there is a later.

And what do I believe?

I've just done a blog burst (for me) concerning executions and abortion. I've just looked over the above linked post from March 24th of 2005. My opinions on death, dying and abortion haven't changed.

Thank you, Gov Jeb Bush

Gov. Bush is going out in style, doing what a good governor should do.

Gov. Jeb Bush reinstated a death warrant Thursday for condemned killer Clarence Hill and prison officials scheduled his execution for next month although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the inmate can challenge the state's method of lethal injection. Hill was strapped to a gurney and his arms attached to intravenous tubes set to deliver a fatal cocktail of three drugs when the U.S. Supreme Court in January intervened and blocked his execution. In June the high court unanimously ruled Hill and other condemned inmates could make last-minute claims that the chemicals used are too painful and therefore amount to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Bush issued his new order to execute Hill after receiving a letter from Attorney General Charlie Crist (and thank you Charlie!) telling him Hill's stay of execution from the Supreme Court had expired and he had no knowledge of any others. Prison officials scheduled Sept. 20 as the date of the execution.

Killer scum don't want to die such a painful death! Boo freakin' hoo!

Let's see, "butch" Hill was convicted of fatally shooting Pensacola police officer Stephen Taylor and wounding his partner during a 1982 bank robbery.

And Florida has another brave killer, Arthur Rutherford, who's afraid lethal injection will hurt. Let's see, what did Artie do? Oh, yeah, he was convicted for the 1985 drowning and asphyxiation of 63-year-old Stella Salamon at her Milton home. He had worked for Salamon.

And the Supreme Court proves that the law is too often an ass. Prove lethal injections doesn't cause undue pain?! These punks will be drugged and die unconscious. Christ, I wish we could use Old Sparky on these guys. And note these bastards have been on death row for over 20 years! Now that should be unconstitutional. Delaying over 5 years is just plain wrong.

However, I'm not a single issue voter

The Ocala Star Banner is running a St. Pete Times article on the difference between Crist and Gallagher on abortion.

Gallagher is straight forward pro-life. Crist is a little more nuanced. Nuanced, hell, he's calling himself pro-life, but not against abortion. Get a load of this:

Crist's opponent, Tom Gallagher, is running a TV ad that labels Crist "pro-choice" as part of a broader strategy to raise doubts among Republicans about whether Crist is the conservative he claims to be.
The Crist campaign calls the "pro-choice" label a lie.
But Crist described himself that way eight years ago, when he ran for the U.S. Senate.
In a 1998 questionnaire for the St. Petersburg Times, Crist wrote: "I am pro-choice, but not pro-abortion. I believe that a woman has the right to choose, but would prefer only after careful consideration and consultation with her family, her physician and her clergy; not her government."
Debating his Democratic opponent, then-Sen. Bob Graham, on statewide TV that fall, Crist was asked if he would support a constitutional amendment banning abortion.
"No, I would not," Crist said. "I think this is a very personal decision."
Today, as a candidate for governor in 2006, in a race against Gallagher, whose abortion views are more conservative than his own, Crist calls himself "pro-life."
"I'm pro-life. I don't know how else to say it. I'm pro-life, pro-family, pro-business, pro-Republican," Crist told reporters on the campaign trail last week at The Villages.

Here's the deal. Crist is tying himself into knots trying not to say that he's pro-choice, as that term is understood by most citizens. That position is okay with me, since I'm pro-choice. But this nuance reminds me too much of Bill Clinton's wordplay on the same issue.

I'm not a single issue voter (except for one). Even if I were, it would not be abortion. But Charlie, I know you're pro-choice. And I know it doesn't have to mean you're pro-abortion. I think this is a reasonable position And there's a strong probability I'll vote for you in the primary. But I wish you would be straight forward on this issue.

Note: I have been a single issue voter. This was the result of the 2000 election. I've since only voted for Republicans.

Abortion - a personal viewpoint

My views on abortion have changed over the years. I was ardently pro-abortion in my early years. But as maturity happened, I realized how little I understood or cared about the totality of this issue. I began to understand other points of view.

So where am I now?

I'm still pro-abortion, pro-choice, whatever.

But a significant change is my opinion of abortion at any stage of fetus development. I'm now sure that late term abortions are rarely needed to save the life of the woman. And the practice of "partial birth" abortion is reprehensible.

There's been a few special instances that have helped form my current viewpoint (perhaps evolving even now), but one instance was observing a picture of an operation on a fetus still in its mother's womb. As the doctor was operating, the baby (yes, baby) reached out a hand and held the doctor's finger.

Up until then I could say that a fetus was a clump of tissue that was a part of a woman's body. After that, honesty forced me to change my mind. If the doctor had cut up and removed the baby at that point of development, rather than trying to save its life, the doctor would have committed murder. Yes, I overstate. And there could be extenuating circumstances. But it is murder until proven otherwise.

Well, that's just one man's opinion. So it may not count for much.

Confessional note: there was another life changing experience contributing to my present position, but it's a little too personal.

UPDATE (8/20/06)

PEER Review FL posts on some late term abortion activities here in Florida. He is strongly anti-abortion. I respect that.

Abortion in Marion County

According to the Ocala Star Banner: "Since 1998, members of Marion County Right to Life could be found every Tuesday and Saturday protesting in front of the Ocala Women's Center, the county's only abortion clinic. Today, there will be no abortions done at the clinic, with owner Dr. James Scott Pendergraft under state investigation."

These protests occur across the street from where I work. I'm quite pro-choice when it comes to abortion (and pretty much everything else), but I have no problems with pro-life citizens exercising their rights to protests. Hell, live and let live (so to speak).

But I am against the abortionist, Pendergraft. Not because he's aborts fetuses, babies, etc. No, it's because he's an extortionist. He tried to extort money from Orlando, as well as Ocala, in order not to locate. He also wanted Orlando to deny his clinic so he could sue for damages. That had a better prospect of larger payoff than actually opening the clinic. Well, common sense prevailed in Orlando, and he was able to open there. (I worked for Orlando during that time.)

He tried the same game in Ocala/Marion County, but we had a county commissioner who was able to obtain incriminating evidence of a bribery request/extortion, and Pendergraft was convicted. This was later overturned (the law is often an ass) and the ol' doc opened his "women's center."

Now Pendergraft is in trouble in Orlando for late term abortions. As I said, I'm pro-choice, but this couldn't have happened to a more deserving fellow.

Charlie Crist

I mentioned below that I had been in training on Friday. During the drive back from Tampa, the 2 staff member I was traveling with asked: did I think Charlie Crist was a handsome man. I quickly replied, somewhat sarcastically, that "yes, he's handsome. Maybe too handsome."

It was a throwaway line that meant nothing. That's when both young ladies said they had been discussing whether Crist was gay. He's 50 and never been married you see and looks very trim and dapper. That's when it hit me. I had never thought about it.

I know Tom Gallagher is married. Hell, that's all over his campaign ads. But I'd never really thought about Crist except to think that he'd be a good governor. Frankly, so would Gallagher, even with his flaws. (Side note: Florida has a very strong Republican bench, which is what baffles me about our Senate race.)

And it's not whether Crist is gay or straight. It's that it never crossed my mind. And even if it were true, it would have no impact on my vote. Apparently that's true of most Republican voters since Charlie is well ahead in the polls. That's a good thing, right?

Well, a article in Sunday's Star Banner wants to make sure that everyone knows Crist isn't married and never has been.

Checkout the headline: "SWM, rich, drives Jag, looking for governorship. Opponents question Crist's life experience"

Single with no children at the age of 50, he is a renter who has never had to pay a home mortgage or property insurance. His work experience is largely limited to government. He drives a Jaguar but has few investments.
**********************
Democrats are already teeing off on the topic, tying Crist's personal history to remote issues such as this week's news report that Crist was unaware of the dates and scoring of the FCAT.

Get that..."Democrats are already..."

Here's what will happen. On September 5th, Republicans will vote for whom they believe is the better man for governor. After September 5th, if Charlie Crist is the nominee, Democrats will be questioning his personal life and whether his private life should disqualify him for the job. (And you can be sure the Democrats will more than hint that maybe he's gay.) From the party that re-elected Bill Clinton...and elected Hillary...that's sadly funny.

Yet another murder in Marion County (Part 3)

To accompany the previous post:

OCALA - A Marion County grand jury Wednesday indicted Renaldo McGirth, 18, Theodore C. Huston, 17, and Jarrord M. Roberts, 20, for first-degree murder in the July 21 home robbery in The Villages.

The trio is accused of going to the home of James and Diana Miller, 9262 S.E. 179th Wesley St., and shooting Diana Miller to death and wounding James Miller. The couple's daughter, Sheila Miller, let the men in the home, referring to them as "friends."

Once more I must point out something that hasn't been mentioned, or even alluded to, in this newspaper story. It's been left out of almost all of the articles. The 3 indicted "youths" are all young black men. The 3 victims are white. I just want to assure you all...there will be no rioting by the persons of (non) color community. Not even a protest march. Hell, even the KKK and the Aryan Nation seem to be sitting this one out. Imagine that...now that's news! It's well known that white folks usually will riot over a traffic stop. Guess times have been changing.

Yet another murder in Marion County (Part 2)

As recently posted, 3 young black men (allegedly) killed a mother, wounded a father and (maybe) kidnapped an adult daughter. I pointed out that dad got a temporary restraining order against daughter. Well, an update:

"Well, she brought these gentlemen into my home and, um," James Miller, 68, began telling the judge, pausing for a few moments. "They shot my wife. I never seen or heard a word from my daughter the entire time all went on inside the house. I don't have any idea what she was doing or whether she was gone, but I fear for my life because of all this riffraff that they had in the house."

About 10 minutes into the hearing, Edwards-Stephens granted Miller a permanent protection order against his daughter.

"If these were your friends and you were aware that at least one of them had been incarcerated and you invited them into your parents' home, they (your parents) have to rely on who you invite. They, at that time, were trusting you to know who you were inviting in their home," the judge said.

There's more to this story. We'll have to stay tuned, but I think I know how the script will go.

Here's a hint:
"They had abducted me . . . taped my mouth and taped my hands and . . . put me into the bathroom when all this went down," Sheila Miller said. "They shot my mother right in front of me. They said they were bringing me a present because I had been in a bad car accident."

Oh, by the way, an interesting side note. The parent's home, which was the scene of the crime, was titled in the the names of the parents and daughter. My guess is that the rest of the assets were also.

Training

Training. That's what I was doing on Friday. Day tripped to Tampa for a seminar. You'd think that at my age and work experience that I'd know everything there is to know about my profession. Turns out, that's not (completely) true. Actually, it's kinda nice to know I can still learn. What's depressing is how much there still is to learn.