• Charles Manson

    Charles Manson Scheduled for Parole Hearing Next Week – Says He Won’t Attend

    The 2011, aged 77 Charles Manson

    An exercise in futility, because Charles Manson will die in prison.

    Charles Manson is not expected to attend his parole hearing next week, officials said.

    A parole board will consider Wednesday whether Manson should be released from Corcoran State Prison, though the chance of that happening is slim. The board has rejected parole for Manson 11 times.

    A prison spokeswoman told The Associated Press Thursday that Manson has informed local prison officials that he will not be at the hearing.

    Nonetheless, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said it would vigorously oppose Manson’s release. “We consistently (opposed parole) and will continue to do so,” said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman.

    You remember what Charles Manson and his followers did, right?

    Sharon Tate

    Manson and other members of his so-called family were convicted of killing actress Sharon Tate and six other people during a bloody rampage in the Los Angeles area in August 1969. Prosecutors said that Manson and his followers were trying to incite a race war that he believed was prophesied in the Beatles song “Helter Skelter.”

    Tate, the wife of director Roman Polanski, was 8 1/2 months pregnant when she was killed at the couple’s hilltop home in Benedict Canyon on Aug. 9, 1969. Polanski was out of the country working on a film. Besides Tate, four others were stabbed and shot to death, including Jay Sebring, 35; Voytek Frykowski, 32; Abigail Folger, 25, a coffee heiress; and Steven Parent, 18, a friend of Tate’s caretaker.The word “Pig” was written on the front door in blood.

    The next night, Manson rode with his cohorts to the Los Feliz home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, then left three of them to commit the murders.

    Manson was also convicted of the earlier murder of musician Gary Hinman in his Topanga Canyon home, and the slaying of former stuntman Donald “Shorty” Shea at the Spahn movie ranch in Chatsworth, where Manson had his commune.

    Manson initially was sentenced to death. A 1972 ruling by the California Supreme Court found the state’s death penalty law at the time unconstitutional and his death sentence was changed in 1977 to life in prison.

    Here is a photo of the Sharon Tate murder scene:

    Charlie Manson deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life as do the remaining members of his muderous “family.”

  • Polling,  Unemployment Rate

    Gallup Poll Watch: U.S. Unemployment Rate Falls in March But…

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    U.S. unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, declined to 8.4% in March from 9.1% in February, while Gallup’s seasonally adjusted rate fell to 8.1% from 8.6% in February.

    These results are based on Gallup Daily tracking interviewing conducted in March, including interviews with 31,283 U.S. adults, 67.8% of whom are active in the workforce. Gallup’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is based on the adjustment used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the same month of the previous year.

    On an unadjusted basis, the March unemployment rate matches the previous low since Gallup began monitoring and reporting unemployment in January 2010. The unadjusted unemployment rate was last at 8.4% in October and November 2011. On a seasonally adjusted basis, March’s 8.1% reading is near the monthly low of 7.9% for Gallup’s U.S. unemployment rate, seen in January of this year. In both cases, Gallup trends show the U.S. unemployment rate declining dramatically over the past year.

    This is some good news for the American economy. And, why President Obama has been rising in the polls, as of late.

    Americans are feeling better about their jobs and their economic job prospects.

    Underemployment has dramtically fallen.

    Gallup’s U.S. underemployment measure combines those unemployed with those working part time but looking for full-time work. As a result of sharp declines in both of these groups, the underemployment rate, on an unadjusted basis, fell to 18.0% in March from 19.1% in February 2012. The underemployment rate declined to as low as 18.0% last July before reversing course in August; it also increased from November through January.

    Here is the chart:

    Now, these numbers are from Gallup and not the government, Bureau of Labor Services. Here is the comparison chart:

    Whichever the numbers, there is a decided downward trend = good news for Americans.

    So, what does this all mean?

    Gallup’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased in March to 8.1%, slightly higher than January’s 7.9% reading but an improvement from 8.5% in Gallup’s preliminary mid-March estimate. The March and January rates are the two lowest since Gallup began monitoring and reporting unemployment in January 2010. They are also consistent with Gallup’s other behavioral economic data for March showing a new high in Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index and a post-recession high in its Job Creation Index as well as strong consumer spending.

    While the sharp drop in the U.S. unemployment rate during recent months is clearly good news, it raises some significant economic questions. Traditional economic analysis raises the question of why the unemployment rate is falling much more rapidly than can be justified by the modest pace of current economic growth. Answering this question is essential to determining the sustainability of the declining trend in unemployment.

    Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke made this issue the centerpiece of his recent speech to the National Association for Business Economics, noting, “the better jobs numbers seem somewhat out of sync with the overall pace of economic expansion.” He went on to explain his hypothesis that companies shed many more jobs than necessary during the recession and financial crisis of 2008-2009, and now they are correcting their workforces for this understaffing of the past. The chairman went on to suggest that achieving further declines in the unemployment rate is likely to require a more rapid pace of economic growth going forward.

    f Bernanke is right, then the rapid decline in the unemployment rate might be approaching its end as individual businesses achieve a right-sizing of their workforces. Further, traditional economics also suggest that many people who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the economy to improve might decide that now is the time to seek a job, increasing the baseline figure used to calculate unemployment. In turn, this could keep the unemployment rate from decreasing or even send it higher, negatively affecting economic confidence and the overall economy — not good news for political incumbents, including the president.

    On the other hand, the economy might continue to build on the momentum indicated by the current positive trend in Gallup’s behavioral economic data, or perhaps the economy is already growing faster than the current economic data suggest. Either way, if true, the unemployment rate could fall below 8.0% in the not-too-distant future — particularly if the workforce does not grow — meaning good things for the economy, incumbents, and the president’s re-election effort.

    In other words, this decline in unemployment and underemployment may be an outlier from economic activity or a portent for increasing economic growth to come.

    Again, stay tuned…

  • Jyllands-Posten,  Kurt Westergaard,  Muhammad Caricatures

    Two Tunisian Men Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Posting Muhammad Caricatures to Facebook

    The Muhammad Cartoons of Jyllands-Posten

    Another blow for freedom of speech.

    The Court of First Instance of Mahdia sentenced two men to seven years of prison for charges relating to their posting of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed on Facebook. The decision is subject to appeal.

    According to an extract of the decision, which was posted online, Jabeur Mejri and Ghazi Beji were sentenced to five years in prison for “troubling the public” order and “transgressing morality” by posting the images of the Prophet and an additional two for “bringing harm to others” across “networks of public communications.” The two men were each levied a fine of 1,200 dinars as well.

    Beji has fled to Europe to avoid facing charges while Mejri is currently in jail in Mahdia and studying his appeal with his legal representation.

    Bochra Belhaj Hmida, lawyer, activist, and ex-president of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, is currently involved in an effort to rally civil society against the decision. She stated that she found the decision shocking, particularly, “when one considers the fact that those in Tunisia who committed terrorist acts are free and those two men are being prosecuted for publishing such insignificant things.”

    But, then again, most of the American press were afraid to post these cartoons or caricatures as well.

    I wonder what my sentence would be, since I have posted them over and over?

    Here is Kurt Westergaard’s most famous cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad:

  • El Monte Union High School District,  Maria-Elena Talamantes

    Maria-Elena Talamantes Assumes Office on the El Monte Union High School Board of Trustees

    Maria-Elena Talamantes taking the oath of office from El Monte Union High School Governing Board Member Salvador Ramirez

    Yes, Maria-Elena is a friend of mine, and a fellow Los Angeles Roadrunner (training program for the Los Angeles Marathon). She was appointed to the El Monte Union High School Governing Board of Trustees a couple of weeks ago, replacing a Trustee who resigned under a cloud of corruption.

    Here is an earlier piece.

    After a public interview and selection process, the El Monte Union High School District Board of Trustees selected educator Maria-Elena Talamantes to replace former board member John Tran, who pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal bribery charges.

    The board had operated one member short for more than a month following Tran’s resignation in early February.

    “She’s fresh, she’s an educator and well-educated,” Board member Salvador Ramirez said in his motion to nominate Talamantes. “She seems to have a very good demeanor and be very positive.”

    Talamantes is a special education teacher at Baldwin Park Unified School District’s Margaret Heath Elementary School.

    “I really believe in public education. As an educator myself, I’m very passionate about the education that our children receive,” the 38-year-old said. “I was very excited to be able to apply for this vacancy and to have the opportunity to contribute to the youth within my own community.”

    Before becoming a teacher four years ago, Talamantes spent nine years reviewing contracts and payroll documents as an auditor in the Teamsters Union, she said.

    The 14-year El Monte resident was selected out of a pool of nine candidates.

    Maria-Elena will make a good Trustee.

    My only regret in this whole affair is that she may not make many of those long 10-12 mile runs this spring/summer.

    But, we will see!

    Here is the video of Maria-Elena taking the oath of office:

  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: April 5, 2012

    These are my links for April 5th from 05:01 to 06:04:

    • Paul Ryan’s rapidly-improving vice presidential prospects – It did not go unnoticed — at least by the Fix — that Ryan was also chosen to introduce Romney on Tuesday night as the former governor celebrated his victory Wisconsin primary victory in Milwaukee. (Does this guy know how to party or what?)And, Ryan’s introduction featured just the sort of attack-dog rhetoric against President Obama that the vice presidential nominee will be called on to offer up throughout the fall campaign. Ryan’s best zinger on Obama? “He is going to try to divide us to distract us,” the Wisconsin Republican thundered from the podium.While it’s clear that Ryan’s stint on the stump amounted to a sort of vice presidential tryout, it’s actually something that President Obama said in a speech on Tuesday in Washington that convinced us that Ryan deserved to be in the top-tier of the veepstakes.
    • The Hispanic Gap – Even as the Hispanic population has boomed, the rate of Hispanic voter-participation has not kept pace. The Census Bureau estimates there are 31.8 million Hispanics over 18 years old in the U.S., 21.3 million of whom are citizens. Hispanic population grew by 15.2 million over the last decade, accounting for more than half the nation’s total population growth during those 10 years, the Census Bureau reported. But only 10.9 million — a paltry 51.6 percent — are registered to vote.That’s far fewer than the 62.8 percent of black Americans and 68.2 percent of non-Hispanic whites who are registered to vote, according to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. And consider the ramifications: The Census Bureau reports there are at least 6 million Hispanics who said they are not registered to vote. That’s more than half the margin by which President Obama beat John McCain in 2008.
    • DREAM Act-er lauds Rubio’s DREAM Act, raps Democrats for playing politics – Ruben Navarette Jr., an often-critical analyst of Sen. Marco Rubio’s policies and stances (or lack thereof) on immigration, says the Florida vice-presidential shortlister might be on to something by proposing a small step in helping some (but not many) illegal immigrants attain legal residency (though not guaranteed) citizenship.In short: Bad news for Democrats, who have made the more-expansive DREAM Act, which Rubio has bashed for allowing too much “amnesty,” into a cudgel to batter Republicans when it comes to the Hispanic vote.
    • Shelby Steele: The Exploitation of Trayvon Martin
    • Bam blasts, Mitt laughs – Ryan wants it held to the growth rate of the overall economy, plus 0.5 percent; that’s exactly the same rate Obama says his bureaucratic cost-controls (under the ObamaCare law) would produce. (For the record, the Congressional Budget Office is exceedingly doubtful that Obama’s rationing plan can deliver.)The rest of Obama’s speech was no better or more accurate. For instance, he predictably and perfunctorily hammered Republicans for wanting to cut tax rates for wealthier Americans. Not only does the class-warfare pitch leave out how Romney would cut rates for all Americans —including US corporations, which as of April 1 pay the highest tax rate among advanced economies —but also that Romney would at the same time scale back tax breaks so that wealthier Americans would pay the same total share of income taxes.It would sure be incredibly convenient for Obama if his Republican opponent were really proposing to cancel Medicare and cut taxes only for millionaires and billionaires. Even the Democrats’ all-time loser consultant, Bob Shrum, could win that campaign. But that’s not the reality in 2012.

      Maybe someone should tell Obama’s speechwriters.

    • Marine sergeant files suit to block his dismissal for anti-Obama Facebook posts – Sgt. Gary Stein, the Marine facing dismissal for posts he made on Facebook criticizing President Obama and saying he would not follow orders, has filed a federal lawsuit to stop his discharge, saying his First Amendment rights had been violated.Stein filed his lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Tuesday with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union and U.S. Justice Foundation, which seeks to delay his administrative hearing, scheduled for Thursday, and stop the Marines from discharging him.Stein says the posts he made on his “Armed Forces Tea Party” Facebook page — where he called Obama a “domestic enemy” and said he would not follow some orders — were not made as a uniformed Marine.
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    @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-05

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