Maggie's Notebook

Sonia Sotomayor La Raza: Conservatives and Liberals Agree on Sotomayor

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:15:00 +0000

Conservatives and Liberals agree that Sonia Sotomayor hid her liberality while testifying at Congress about her views, and how those views will influence her decisions if she is confirmed for the U.S. Supreme Court. Ignoring Sotomayor's La Raza membership, an extremist organization known as the "Latino answer to the KKK," and many other controversial opinions, papers and speechs, some Conservatives will cast a vote for her. Liberals will all vote for her, but activists are grousing that she has let down the cause, abandonded her judicial captial, and betrayed minorities by donning her Conservative hat and keeping her cool. Conservatives and Liberals agree that the "real Sonia Sotomayor" has not yet stood up.

Sonia Sotomayor

Conservatives are flummoxed that the Sonia Sotomayor witnessing under oath, is a completely different Sonia Sotomayor known by her previous court rulings, her speeches and her mammoth pile of writings.

Liberals are flummoxed that this week's testimony is not the Sonia they know and love,

...the same Sonia that will deny a White man his right to have a reverse discrimination case heard, the Sonia that holds membership in La Raza,

La Raza was condemned in 2007 by former U.S. Rep. Charles Norwood, R-Ga., as a radical “pro-illegal immigration lobbying organization that supports racist groups calling for the secession of the western United States as a Hispanic-only homeland.”

Norwood urged La Raza to renounce its support of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan – which sees “the Race” as part of an ethnic group that one day will reclaim Aztlan, the mythical birthplace of the Aztecs. In Chicano folklore, Aztlan includes California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and parts of Colorado and Texas.

...the same Sonia that, speaking as a member of La Raza, said "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion as a judge than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,” and then repeated it another 6 times, the same Sonia that supports "the Latino answer to KKK," :

Miguel Perez, a La Raza spokesman at Cal State-Northridge, has been quoted as saying: “The ultimate ideology is the liberation of Aztlan. Communism would be closest [to it]. Once Aztlan is established, ethnic cleansing would commence: Non-Chicanos would have to be expelled — opposition groups would be quashed because you have to keep power.”

...the same Sonia who has had 60% of her rulings overturned by the Supreme Court,

...the same Sonia who in January 2009 ruled that States do not have to abide by the Second Amendment. In other words, if a State decides that residents do not have the right to keep and bear arms, then Sonia thinks that decision is Constitutional. In Maloney v. Cuomo, she signed the opinion stating a that the Second Amendment does not protect individuals from having Second Amendment rights.

...the same Sonia who holds for abortions at any stage of pregnancy even if the mother's life is not endangered, the same Sonia who ruled in favor of a Muslim inmate's right to have a "holiday feast" (which had been denied him because the particular holiday was not a mandatory holiday in Islam) on the grounds that it was "subjectively" important to him, regardless that it was not important to Islam.

...the same Sonia who opined in a dissenting opinion that minority felons should have the right to vote, based on past discriminations,

...the same Sonia who voted for the courts of other Nations to have a say when one parent removes a child from the country without the other parent's consent - in other words, you, the parent, might be subject to the opinion of a court in another land where your spouse absconded with your child without your permission.

Still yet, some Republican liberals plan to vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. The names are no surprise. We learned some time ago we cannot count on Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), Senator Olympia Snow (R-MAINE) and now Senator Mel Martinez, a Republican Hispanic senator from Florida who is retiring in 2010.

Some more about La Raza and what it means for Judge Sotomayor to hold membership in this organization:

La Raza Facts: 15 things you should know
by Michelle Malkin writing for NationalReviewOnline:

Only in America could critics of a group called “The Race” be labeled racists. Such is the triumph of left-wing identity chauvinists, whose aggressive activists and supine abettors have succeeded in redefining all opposition as “hate.”

Both Barack Obama and John McCain will speak this week in San Diego at the annual conference of the National Council of La Raza, the Latino organization whose name is Spanish for, yes, “The Race.” Can you imagine Obama and McCain paying homage to a group of white people who called themselves that? No matter. The presidential candidates and the media have legitimized “The Race” as a mainstream ethnic lobbying group and marginalized its critics as intolerant bigots. The unvarnished truth is that the group is a radical ethnic nationalist outfit that abuses your tax dollars and milks PC politics to undermine our sovereignty.

Here are 15 things you should know about “The Race”:

15. “The Race” supports driver’s licenses for illegal aliens.

14.”The Race” demands in-state tuition discounts for illegal alien students that are not available to law-abiding U.S. citizens and law-abiding legal immigrants.

13. “The Race” vehemently opposes cooperative immigration enforcement efforts between local, state, and federal authorities.

12. “The Race” opposes a secure fence on the southern border.

11. “The Race” joined the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in a failed lawsuit attempt to prevent the feds from entering immigration information into a key national crime database — and to prevent local police officers from accessing the data.

10. “The Race” opposed the state of Oklahoma’s tough immigration-enforcement-first laws, which cut off welfare to illegal aliens, put teeth in employer sanctions, and strengthened local-federal cooperation and information sharing.

9. “The Race” joined other open-borders, anti-assimilationists and sued to prevent Proposition 227, California’s bilingual education reform ballot initiative, from becoming law.

8. “The Race” bitterly protested common-sense voter ID provisions as an “absolute disgrace.”

7. “The Race” has consistently opposed post-9/11 national security measures at every turn.

6. Former “Race” president Raul Yzaguirre, Hillary Clinton’s Hispanic outreach adviser, said this: “U.S. English is to Hispanics as the Ku Klux Klan is to blacks.” He was referring to U.S. English, the nation’s oldest, largest citizens’ action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. “The Race” also pioneered Orwellian open-borders Newspeak and advised the Mexican government on how to lobby for illegal alien amnesty while avoiding the terms “illegal” and “amnesty.”

5. “The Race” gives mainstream cover to a poisonous subset of ideological satellites, led by Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, or Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan (MEChA). The late GOP Rep. Charlie Norwood rightly characterized the organization as “a radical racist group . . . one of the most anti-American groups in the country, which has permeated U.S. campuses since the 1960s, and continues its push to carve a racist nation out of the American West.”

4. “The Race” is currently leading a smear campaign against staunch immigration-enforcement leaders and has called for TV and cable news networks to keep immigration enforcement proponents off the airwaves — in addition to pushing for Fairness Doctrine policies to shut up their foes. The New York Times reported that current “Race” president Janet Murguia believes “hate speech” should “not be tolerated, even if such censorship were a violation of First Amendment rights.”

3. “The Race” sponsors militant ethnic nationalist charter schools subsidized by your public tax dollars (at least $8 million in federal education grants). The schools include Aztlan Academy in Tucson, Ariz., the Mexicayotl Academy in Nogales, Ariz., Academia Cesar Chavez Charter School in St. Paul, Minn., and La Academia Semillas del Pueblo in Los Angeles, whose principal inveighed: “We don’t want to drink from a White water fountain, we have our own wells and our natural reservoirs and our way of collecting rain in our aqueducts. We don’t need a White water fountain . . . ultimately the White way, the American way, the neo liberal, capitalist way of life will eventually lead to our own destruction.”

2. “The Race” has perfected the art of the PC shakedown at taxpayer expense, pushing relentlessly to lower home-loan standards for Hispanic borrowers, reaping millions in federal “mortgage counseling” grants, seeking special multimillion-dollar earmarks, and partnering with banks that do business with illegal aliens.

1. “The Race” thrives on ethnic supremacy — and the elite sheeple’s unwillingness to call it what it is. As historian Victor Davis Hanson observes: “[The] organization’s very nomenclature ‘The National Council of La Raza’ is hate speech to the core. Despite all the contortions of the group, Raza (as its Latin cognate suggests) reflects the meaning of ‘race’ in Spanish, not ‘the people’ — and that’s precisely why we don’t hear of something like ‘The National Council of the People,’ which would not confer the buzz notion of ethnic, racial and tribal chauvinism.”

The fringe is the center. The center is the fringe. Viva La Raza.

Dick Cheney Assassinations: CIA Targets Al Qaeda

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:02:00 +0000

Democrats in Congress are outraged that the Pentagon and CIA were developing a plan to "assassinate" al Qaeda in Iraq. The assassination teams would be CIA personnel, and not U.S. Military. Especially heinous to Congress is that the Pentagon did not brief appropriate Congressional members about the incomplete and unimplemented plan.

CIA

Americans are no longer shocked to hear that we have not always targeted all al Qaeda members, including leaders...especially leaders...since the war began after 9-11. We are no longer shocked at much we hear, because doing what makes no sense is exactly what Congress always does. Nevertheless, while not shocked, we are surprised, and along with our surprise comes puzzlement. Why would we need a secret program, even assuming Congress is briefed, to kill top al-Qaeda members?

Targeted killing of terrorists is prohibited by presidential orders banning assassinations that date back to the Ford administration. But the president can waive that order, said Vicki Divoll, a former CIA counsel, because there is no specific federal law that bans the practice.

There's also no legal difference, she said, between killing al Qaeda targets with a hit team or with an unmanned drone, because the "intent to kill a targeted person" defines an assassination.

The "air strikes" are what made this never-implemented plan different. According to officials, it was okay to target and kill al Qadea with air strikes, but not okay to target and kill al Qaeda "at close range," - what might include hand-to-hand combat. Killing "at close range" might risk "civilian casualties." For now, the CIA will have to be satisfied with Predator Drones - except that Congress can't keep it's mouth shut about them either. While Pakistan recently complained about Predator drones taking off and landing inside their borders, officials assured Pakistan that only surveillance drones are used inside the country, not the Predator which is capable of launching missiles.

Privately, though, Pakistani officials doubt that claim, especially after the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Diane Feinstein, (D-CA), suggested 10 days ago that the CIA Predator drones do indeed use Pakistani airfields and not necessarily Afghan airfields, as most assume.

According to an anonymous source at the CIA, Dick Cheney directed the agency not to inform Congress of the specifics of the secret program.

Panetta told the committees there was no indication that there was anything illegal or inappropriate about the effort itself, the official said.

CIA directors since 2001 agreed with Cheney's decision not to inform Congress because the highly classified operation, described as "sporadic" and "embryonic," never managed to turn up the intelligence needed to carry out a kill and was not considered a covert operation, according to a former intelligence official. That official also was not authorized to discuss the program and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Congress has a right to know everything the CIA does, but the president can by law limit those told about covert operations to just the top four members of the House and Senate from the two parties and the senior members of the intelligence committees. Democrats on the House intelligence committee are pushing for a legal provision that would require the president to brief both committees in their entirety more often, but the White House has threatened to veto the move.

DefenseTech.org reminds us of Sandi Berger letting Osama bin Laden escape in Afghanistan, rather than chance civilian casualties: Doesn't this sort of smack of Sandi Berger-esque national security policy?

We know from the 9-11 commission report that Berger got cold feet when he had bin Laden in his sights for a proxy raid in Afghanistan because he was afraid of collateral damage and blowback. Now some of the same national security policy minds are back in the driver's seat so we can cancel a program to kill bad guys using CIA assets.

Here is the directive for how and when the CIA program would have been implemented:

Had it become fully developed, the CIA's aborted plan would have been a covert-action program. At the outset, the potential operation wouldn't have been limited to particular countries. The use of hit teams was in accordance with the authority granted by the 2001 order, said a former national-security official familiar with it.

In the most recent iteration of the project, top CIA leaders instructed officers involved to narrow its focus and report the plans to Congress if they reached a critical point where moving forward would involve activities that, if discovered, could embarrass the U.S., according to a former senior intelligence official.

Among all the punditry on this subject, we've heard little to nothing about the distinction between targeting for air strikes or targeting for "close contact," but surprisingly to me, there is a U.S policy prohibiting the "assassination" of anyone, not just heads of State!

Targeted killing of terrorists is prohibited by presidential orders banning assassinations that date back to the Ford administration. But the president can waive that order, said Vicki Divoll, a former CIA counsel, because there is no specific federal law that bans the practice.

There's also no legal difference, she said, between killing al Qaeda targets with a hit team or with an unmanned drone, because the "intent to kill a targeted person" defines an assassination.

However, that is not the end of the story. The rest of the story involves the Joint special Operations Command (JSOC). The JSOC is a somewhat secret branch of the U.S. Special Operations Command. The Special Operations Command is made-up of "special mission units." Among these units are the Delta Force and Seal Team Six. During the Iraq War other elite groups were known as "Grey Fox," "Capacity Gear" and "Titrant Ranger."

Pulitzer Prize winning investigating "journalist," Sy Hersh has charged that during the Bush-Cheney years the JSOC reported directly to Dick Cheney and no one else. He termed it an "executive assassination ring." The New York Times columnist didn't make the accusations in the NYT, but from podiums on college campuses, at the ACLU and public radio. New York Magazine writer Chris Suellentrop calls Hersh "the runaway mouth of America's premier investigative journalist."

Bill Roggio writing for the Weekly Standard Blog says the Hersh claims that the JSOC reports to no one, or only to Cheney during the Bush-Cheney years, is false; they report to the Secretary of Defense and also falls under congressional oversight.

From Marc Ambinder:

JSOC units are very active in Iraq and Afghanistan; in those countries, since the U.S. is formally at war, their conduct can't really be analogized to an extra-legal hit squad....What's objectionable, in theory, is that the President can designate anyone as a terrorist and task JSOC with finding and executing them -- even if the person is not living in the war theatre and has never been charged with a crime. In practice, that's what presidents from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton have believed (the following from a 2001 report).

Senior intelligence officials confirm that a secret finding recently signed by President Bush, building on an earlier one by President Clinton, grant the CIA legal authority to conduct assassination operations against individuals designated as terrorists. As a result, the CIA is devising strategy and policy to that end, and is developing assets for assassinations within both the CIA and "uniformed military units," as well as foreign agents in Middle Eastern countries.

The outrage is likely a convenient smoke screen designed to take the focus off of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's accusation that the CIA "lies all the time." Target Dick Cheney assassination plot and the Dems might think they have a winner. Complain that the CIA targets al Qaeda and the Dems might think they have a winner...but maybe not. Just maybe we expect Congress to support every tactic possible to win these wars.

Bowe R. Bergdahl is Kidnapped Soldier in Afghanistan

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:41:00 +0000

Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl has been named by the Department of Defense as the kidnapped U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. A video released by the Taliban showed the 23-year-old soldier's i.d. tags.

Bowe R. Bergdahl

Pfc Bergdahl was found missing with unknown whereabouts on July 1st. On July 3rd, his status was changed to "missing-captured."

Bob Bergdahl, Bowe's father made this statement:

We hope and pray for our son's safe return to his comrades and then to our family, and we appreciate all the support and expressions of sympathy shown to us by our family members, our friends and others across the nation," Bob Bergdahl said in a statement issued through the Department of Defense. "Thank you, and please continue to keep Bowe in your thoughts and prayers.

On the video, Bowe Bergdahl says that he is from Hailey, Idaho, 160 miles east of Boise, ID. Pentagon reports say that his hometown is Ketchum, ID, about 12 miles north of Hailey.

The Facebook page for a coffee shop in Hailey, Zaney's River Street Coffee House, suggests many in the small town have known for some time that Bergdahl was in danger.

Join all of us at Zaney's holding light for Bowe Bergdahl," says a post dated July 8.

Bergdahl spoke of his girlfriend, his grandparents and a "very, very good family that I love back home." He said he is "scared," it is unnerving to be a prisoner." He also says he is afraid "I will not be able to go home."

You can read a Reuters transcript of the video here with the "off camera" prompts from his captors.

Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker, a U.S. military spokeswoman in Afghanistan points out that the Taliban is exploiting Bergdahl, in violation of international law. Of course, the Taliban is not bound by any law, and least of all international law. Back here in America, Democrats seem to be in a hissy fit that an unimplemented Pentagon program planned to kill al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq, who also are certainly not subject to international law. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are terrorist organizations and not Nations. It begs the question: Are we trying to kill Taliban leaders in Afghanistan? Or are we not?

For the story of how the U.S. Military is attempting to find Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, read Afghan Villagers Warned: Return Missing U.S. Soldier.

Byrd Billings Children Names Copyrighted: Byrd Billings Copyright Scheme

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:14:00 +0000

In early 2000, Byrd Billings copyrighted all the names of his children. Once copyrighted, he apparently claimed copyright infringements any time the government used those names. The Pensacola News Journal describes this as "one unexplained blemish" on Billings' reputation and they refer to it as a "bizarre scheme."

Byrd Billings

The documents, obtained from the Escambia County Clerk of Court and the Florida Department of Children and Families, reference "genocide acts," maritime law and "corporate fictions.'' He signed one purported affidavit "Byrd Billings, Agent, Attorney in Fact, With the Autograph, Non-Domestic."
DCF attorney Katie George said every time the agency addressed a letter to Billings that included his children's names, he would reply with an invoice demanding millions of dollars in copyright infringement.
Generally, he demanded silver coins or federal reserve notes of equal value. After nearly two years, Billings began addressing invoices to DCF employees at their homes, and a DCF lawyer sent Billings a sharply worded letter warning him that legal action against him was a possibility.

In the PNJ article, it only took the government sending a letter and using the name of a child for Billings to make monetary demands. The Billings (Melanie pictured above) reportedly received $1,000 monthly in child care aid from the government. I would have to assume that paperwork would fly between the government and the Billings referencing these children. "Bizarre" indeed.

A final letter from legal Council to Byrd Billings in 2005 stopped the Billings demands.

Ashley Markham, a Billings daughter, said her father had mentioned copyrighting the children's names but intended it only to protect their privacy.

Background and Related:
Ashley Markham is Byrd, Melanie Billings Daughter: Billings Children

Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

Kathryn Colbert is Billings Murder Tipster: Colbert Denied Reward

Pamela Long Wiggins is Arrested; Billings Safe Found?

Pamela Laverne Long is Person of Interest in Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. is Byrd, Melanie Billings Murder Organizer

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murdered: Billings Parents of 16 Children

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murder Arrests: Three Arrests in Billings Murders (video)

Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders:Fourth Arrest Made, New Details

Ashley Markham is Byrd, Melanie Billings Daughter: Billings Children

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:27:00 +0000

Ashley Markham is the biological daughter of Melanie Billings. It is unknown whether Byrd "Bud" Billings adopted Ashley, but she refers to him as "Dad." Byrd and Melanie Billings were murdered in their home on July 9th. The Billings had 17 children, 13 of whom were adopted. See updates as available.

Ashley Markham

Ashley Markham and her husband, Blue, (pictured above) will move into her parents home with all of the children and continue the legacy that Byrd and Melanie planned for their family. The home, said be valued at $700,000.00, has 9 bedrooms and completely equipped for the care of the children, most of whom are disabled with Down syndrome, autism and other developmental disabilities.

According to Ashley, the children have been split among family and friends as all concerned try to cope with the enormity of what has happened. With the funeral now behind them, the Markham's are preparing to move into the home where the murders happened.

The home, reportedly located in a rural setting in Beulah, Florida, has been undergoing a thorough scrubbing. The house was a crime scene and family and neighbors have been cleaning and painting. A security gate will be installed, new locks are on the property and carpeting and doors have been replaced.

When Byrd and Melanie Billings married about 18 years ago, each had two biological children. Ashley had a sister, Nikki who died in 2008 from complications of cerebral palsy. Melanie Billings reportedly adopted her first child with cerebral palsy so that Nikki would have a companion and sister much like herself.

Byrd Billings had a biological son and daughter at the time of the marriage, Michael and Melissa. A son adopted before Byrd married Melanie is believed to have committed suicide as an adult. Another adopted child is believed to have died in addition to Nikki and Byrd's son.

The Billings adopted 13 more children, with the latest adoption within the last year. Ashley said her parents received $1,000.00 a month in goverment aid for the care of the children.

With children that are autistic, they don't do well with change," Ashley said. "Where else are you going to find a house that is so well equipped?

Nine children were in the Billings' home the night of the murders, and it appears that only nine of the adopted children were still residing in the Billings' household.

From Ashley's MySpace page under "Heroes":

My mom and Dad! They have taught me about hard work, determination, love and most of all the importance of family. They have changed peoples lives and have provided for all us kids in every situtation! They are amazing people will hearts of GOLD. My sister Nikki, she was such a fighter. Although Nikki could not speak, she taught people about life and about love thruough her beautiful smile! She is now my guardian angel and is no longer in any pain! I miss you sweet girl!

Melanie Billings was a self-described MySpace junkie. Visit her website and see the family she was so proud of. There is no mistaking the love this family had for each other. The YouTube video below is from her webpage.

Melanie Billings (video)

Byrd Billings is Byrd "Bud" Billings: Billings' Businesses

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:44:00 +0000

Byrd Billings is know by many around Pensacola, Florida as "Bud" Billings. Reports are that Bud Billings owned an "adult entertainment" business in the 1990's. Billings opened the Backseat Lounge in Pensacola and sold the club in the mid-1990's.

Byrd "Bud" Billings and Melanie Billings

Interesting video here featuring a former employee of Byrd "Bud" Billings' strip club. Arety Kapetanis, who is now the owner of Arety's Angels praises both Bud and Melanie Billings for their professionalism and empathy:

Bud and Melanie both were very, very empathetic, caring people who really just wanted to be treated the way they treat other people and they treat other people with such great respect.

Whatever comes up with this investigation, I think it's important that people know that Bud and Melanie were probably two of the most generous, loving, considerate people with a lot of integrity.

The Billings also owned Worldco Financial Services and Purshu Autos.

To some, the business background of Byrd Billings added fuel to the speculation fire. He was a used car dealer and owned a finance company. He bankrolled nightclubs and was a partner in at least one adult entertainment club in Pensacola, the Back Seat, which has long been closed.

According to the Pensacola News Journal, Byrd "Bud" Billings is a native of Mississippi. He later lived in Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois and Greenville, MS, where he got into the used car business with Vince Gardinia who became a life-long friend and eventually moved to Pensacola to continue a business relationship there.

In Pensacola, Billings developed interests in a variety of businesses. Over the years, he staked claims in numerous bars, night clubs and used car dealerships — places that dealt heavily in cash.He later expanded into the three prongs of the used car trade — finance, sale and repossession, and later opened Worldco Financial Services, which offered loans to people and businesses who otherwise couldn't get credit.

Ashley Markham, the Billings' daughter has also worked in the family car business, and took over the managment when Bud Billings retired a few years ago. She said her dad was "a very smart businessman," and all the business were kept within the family. From Ashley:

Being in both the financing and repossession businesses has drawn suspicious eyes from some critics, but Ashley said the business always was above the board."We are a registered financial company," Ashley said. "The loans were all documented. We've been in business for 12 years. We had an audit done a few years ago, and every thing was fine.

My dad worked from 6 in the morning to 8 at night Monday through Saturday," Ashley said. "He wasn't a spender. My dad would drive a 1980 truck off the (dealership's) parking lot and wouldn't think twice about it.

Ashley Markham is the biological daughter of Melanie Billings.

Background and related:

Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

Kathryn Colbert is Billings Murder Tipster: Colbert Denied Reward

Pamela Long Wiggins is Arrested; Billings Safe Found?

Pamela Laverne Long is Person of Interest in Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. is Byrd, Melanie Billings Murder Organizer

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murdered: Billings Parents of 16 Children

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murder Arrests: Three Arrests in Billings Murders (video)

Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders:Fourth Arrest Made, New Details

Pamela Wiggins Arson? Pamela Coco Wiggins Arson Suspension

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:41:00 +0000

Pamela Wiggins, then known as Pamela Coco was a suspect in a 1992 Albany, Georgia arson case. She is currently charged with "accessory after the fact to murder," which can carry a sentence of up to 30-years in prison. Pamela Coco-Wiggins is out on bail. The arson case remains unsolved.

Pamela Coco Wiggins

Pamela Wiggins in 1992 was Pamela Coco and married to Charles Thomas Coco. The couple had a son, Casey Thomas Coco last known to be living in Charlotte, N.C. Coco and Wiggins divorced in September 1992. Mr. Coco is now deceased according to this report.

It is unclear whether the 1992 fire happened before or after the divorce.

"The way I understand it, someone went through this property with flammable liquids and set it on fire," Carswell [Albany Fire Chief] said. "It caused more than $300,000 worth of damage, according to the report."

Records show Pamela Coco and her husband Thomas Coco owned several properties in Dougherty County, Georgia at the time of the arson.

Update 7-21-09:
A maintenance worker at The Wharf at Orange Beach, AL recognized Pamela Long Wiggins photograph on television and called authorities. See video below.

Background on Coco-Billings and her part in the Billings murders, as well as a list of her aliases:
Pamela Long Wiggins Bail, Billings Murders: Pamela Wiggins Multiple Marriages?

Pamela Long Wiggins is Arrested; Billings Safe Found?

Pamela Laverne Long is Person of Interest in Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders

Pamela Wiggins Arrest (video)

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr.: Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. Criminal Counter Measure Expert

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:25:00 +0000

In 2008, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. told a Florida State Attorney that he was an expert in "criminal counter-measures." He said he could read the criminal mind but that he, himself, could not commit a crime. Gonzalez, Jr. is currently jailed and charged with open counts of murder in the July 9th killings of Byrd "Bud" and Melanie Billings in Beulah, Florida

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr.

According to a "confidential deposition," given by Gonzalez, Jr., and acquired by CBS News, concerning an unrelated case in Pensacola, Florida, he says that he was paid $150,000.00 "for providing intelligence services from January through April of 2008." Gonzalez, Jr. was "granted blanket immunity for his involvement."

In the deposition, Gonzalez claimed the following:

-- I had a colorful background and if you want to call it a misspent youth. I worked as a body guard for several people in the area and I did do some criminal countermeasures work.

-- I understand the criminal thought processes. I can help people to decide what’s the best measure they should take to protect themselves and their families and businesses.

-- I was interested in starting a company, UDT Institute. It stands for Ultimate Defensive Tactics Institute, which would provide criminal countermeasures training to wealthy individuals.

In the deposition, he also described himself as an advocate for victimized children. And interestingly said at one point, "I couldn’t commit a crime."

Left unsaid is: To whom did Gonzalez, Jr. provide "intelligence." Who paid Gonzalez, Jr. the $150,000.00 for intelligence? Why was immunity granted?

Background and related:

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. is Byrd, Melanie Billings Murder Organizer

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murder Arrests: Three Arrests in Billings Murders (video)

Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:44:00 +0000

Days after the murders and funeral of Byrd and Melanie Billings, the parents to 17 children, 13 of which were adopted, more mystery surrounds their deaths. Was this a robbery for cash, a robbery for drugs, or murders for revenge? Or could it have something to do with "human trafficking." The thought that a family with 13 adopted children could be involved in such evil is unthinkable. I'm keeping an open mind, but there is this...

From the St. Petersburg Times:

PENSACOLA — Byrd and Melanie Billings were "loving, caring, giving people," his adult daughter said this week.
The slain parents of 17 children, 13 of them adopted, "wanted to be the voice for children without a voice," said Ashley Billings Markham. "They wanted to give these children a chance, and they wanted to give them a childhood."
That deep desire may have been the motivation for a 1989 crime for which Byrd Billings, his former wife Cindy Reeve and another woman were sentenced to two years probation on charges of violation of adoption, fraud to obtain birth certificate and forgery of birth certificate.
Court records show that 20 years ago a debt-ridden and pregnant Pensacola woman named Vickie Taylor checked into Sacred Heart Hospital under the name Cindy Reeve. She delivered a baby boy June 4 and listed the father's name as Byrd Billings. Taylor told deputies she had agreed to the fraud in exchange for a $2,100 loan, so the Billingses could claim the baby as their own.
Sheriff's deputies learned of the plot when someone with knowledge of it called authorities, the documents say. A deputy found the baby, named Justin, when he went to interview Reeve and Billings.
All three pleaded nolo contendere, which means they did not admit guilt but agreed to a punishment.
According to the Pensacola News-Journal, the Billingses adopted a boy named Justin in 1989. He is now 20 and lives in Pensacola.
Prosecutors have not suggested the fraud had any bearing on the killing of Byrd Billings and his current wife, Melanie, a well-off couple with business ties to pawn shops and auto dealerships. The two were found dead in their spacious home July 9. Authorities have arrested seven people they believe invaded the house wearing commando clothes and shot the victims.

From War on You:

Byrd Billings was involved in an adoption fraud case involving a fake birth certificate and $2,100 back in 1989.

Court records in Escambia County show that Byrd Billings was involved in an adoption and birth certificate fraud case back in 1989 along with Cindy Reeve Billings, Byrd Billing’s second wife.

That’s when, according to court records, a 20-year old woman, Vickie Lynn Taylor checked in to Sacred Heart Hospital under the name Cindy Reeve. She had delivered a baby at home on June 4. While in Sacred Heart, she listed the father as Byrd Billings on the birth certificate.

After the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department got wind of the incident about ten days later, they interviewed Taylor who told them she agreed to the crime for a $2,100 loan from Billings. She said that the Billingses wanted to claim the baby as their own. That baby was named Justin.
The trio did not admit guilt, but pleaded nolo contendere. That plea means they agreed to be punished without actually admitting guilt. They were sentenced to two years probation.

When Billings divorced Reeve in 1993, his net worth was just $1,400. He had total case assets of just $100 and a monthly income of $1,190. Four months after that divorce, he was married to Melanie Billings.

This post wonders how Byrd Billings could be approved for an adoptive parent:

Then I see a conviction for adoption fraud, a history of being involved in the sex industry and three marriages and shake my head. Then I shake my head again since this just doesn't fit in with all the research I've done on home study best practices and methodology.

While we have the account of Byrd Billings and a wife from a previous marriage involved in adoption fraud, but I have no information about the other children in the Billings' family. Updates as available.

Background and related:
Byrd Billings is Byrd "Bud" Billings: Billings' Businesses

Kathryn Colbert is Billings Murder Tipster: Colbert Denied Reward

Pamela Long Wiggins is Arrested; Billings Safe Found?

Pamela Laverne Long is Person of Interest in Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. is Byrd, Melanie Billings Murder Organizer

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murdered: Billings Parents of 16 Children

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murder Arrests: Three Arrests in Billings Murders (video)

Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders:Fourth Arrest Made, New Details

Gerald Walpin Sues: Inspector General Walpin Sues, Kevin Johnson Scandal

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:23:00 +0000

Inspector General Gerald Walpin has filed a lawsuit to get his job back. Walpin was fired by President Barack Obama but the lawsuit was filed against the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) which is the umbrella corporation for AmeriCorps. Thank you to Always on Watch. Updates as available.

Gerald Walpin

CNCS employed Mr. Walpin, has been said to serve at the pleasure of the President, as well as said not to work for the White House. An Inspector General is essentially a watchdog - tasked with watching an assigned project and reporting unethical misdeeds. That's exactly what IG Walpin did. The problem is, he reported on the unethical misdeeds of one of Obama's friends.

Because Inspector Generals are non-partisan, Congress has laws mandating how the firing of an Inspector General should be handled. The idea is that an IG cannot be fired simply because someone doesn't like his reporting. Instead, Congress is to be notified 30-days before a planned firing and during that time, Congressional oversight investigates.

None of that happened with Gerald Walpin. He received a telephone call from a White House attorney one evening and was given one hour to resign. Walpin refused. He was was fired. Some in Congress complained that this is not the way IG's are handled, so the White House then claimed that Walpin was "confused and disoriented" at a CNCS board meeting.

Mr. Walpin's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District court for the District of Columbia, alleges that his firing was "unlawful," politically driven," "procedurally defective" and "a transparent and clumsily-conducted effort t circumvent the protections" given to inspectors general under the Inspectors General Reform Act of 2008. Named along with CNCS are Nicola Goren, acting CNCS CEO, Frank Trinity, CNCS general counsel and Raymond Limon, CNCS "chief human capital officer."

According to the Washington Examiner, Walpin has not asked for damages, other than payment of his attorney fees. He wants the Court to declare that his firing was unlawful and he wants to be re-instated to his previous position of Inspector General.

There are many elements to the Walpin firing. I can give you flavor of just a few of them and you'll "get it" immediately - Walpin blew the whistle on a friend of Barack and Michelle Obama. That friend is former NBA star Kevin Johnson. Mr. Johnson, who was elected Mayor of Sacramento, CA in November 2008, is accused of abusing the funds of his own non-profit...and more, there's much more to the Johnson story. Walpin was in the way, and he was in the way enough that the President did not follow mandated Congressional procedure to relieve him of his duty.

In the course of his investigation, Walpin found Johnson and St. HOPE had failed to use the federal money they received for the purposes specified in the grant and had also used federally-funded AmeriCorps staff for, among other things, "driving [Johnson] to personal appointments, washing his car, and running personal errands." Walpin came to the conclusion that Johnson and St. HOPE should be subject to suspension and debarment. But it was not Walpin's decision to make; there is another official at the Corporation whose job it is to make that call. In September 2008, after reviewing Walpin's evidence, the official decided to order a suspension, with the distinct possibility that it would lead to a permanent debarment.

With Walpin's findings, and with Johnson now in the Mayor's office, there was a real possibility that the city of Sacramento would not be eligible for federal funds due to Johnson's possible debarment. Panic broke out in the city of Sacramento.

Eventually, acting U.S. Attorney General Larry Brown worked a deal that essentially let Johnson off the hook and arranged a repayment of misused funds that everyone knew could not be repaid. Taxpayers once again had funded a charitable organization, and once again the taxpayer and those in need of the taxpayer funds were screwed. Walpin said that it was a "terrible deal" for the U.S. Government. Walpin protested and the next thing he knew, he was barred from all discussions, negotiations and settlement talks.

Updates as available.

Here's is background, and of special interest are Nos. 2, 3 and 8:
(1) Gerald Walpin Fired by President Obama: Inspector General Walpin Fired 6/12
(2) Gerald Walpin Firing Update: AmeriCorp $75 Million Misused: Michelle Obama Hires 6/14
(3) Kevin Johnson - St. Hope Scandal: Rick Maya Resigns 6/16
(4) Glen Beck - Gerald Walpin Video: IG Gerald Walpin 6/16
(5) White House Charges Walpin Confused, Disoriented 6/17
(6) Who is Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson? Gerald Walpin - Johnson Investigation 6/17
(7) Schwarzenegger Involvement: Kevin Johnson Investigation by Gerald Walpin 6/19
(8) U.S. Attorney General Larry Brown and CNCS Displeasure 6/20

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007636

Iraq Government Endangers U.S. Troops: Iraq Spins Security Agreement

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:28:00 +0000

The day after U.S. Military pulled out of Baghdad to the outlying areas, Iraqi military changed the planned strategy, re-interpreted the U.S./Iraq security agreement, and ordered U.S. troops not participate in the expected "joint patrols" inside Baghdad.

U.S. Soldier with Iraqi Police

BAGHDAD, July 17 - The Americans have been taken aback by the new restrictions on their activities. The Iraqi order runs "contrary to the spirit and practice of our last several months of operations," Maj. Gen. Daniel P. Bolger, commander of the Baghdad division, wrote in an e-mail obtained by The Washington Post.

"Maybe something was 'lost in translation,' " Bolger wrote. "We are not going to hide our support role in the city. I'm sorry the Iraqi politicians lied/dissembled/spun, but we are not invisible nor should we be." He said U.S. troops intend to engage in combat operations in urban areas to avert or respond to threats, with or without help from the Iraqis.

"This is a broad right and it demands that we patrol, raid and secure routes as necessary to keep our forces safe," he wrote. "We'll do that, preferably partnered."

U.S. forces see the stepped-up attacks against them linked to these restrictions. With tensions taunt between America forces and Iraqi military, GI's express doubts about Iraq's ability to protect the country:

The acrimony that has marked the transition period has sowed resentment, according to several U.S. soldiers, who said the confidence expressed by Iraqi leaders does not match their competence.

"Our [Iraqi] partners burn our fuel, drive roads cleared by our Engineers, live in bases built with our money, operate vehicles fixed with our parts, eat food paid for by our contracts, watch our [surveillance] video feeds, serve citizens with our [funds], and benefit from our air cover," Bolger noted in the e-mail.

Is Obama strong enough to give our Military commanders the cover to press for sound security, both for our soldiers, as well as Iraqis? Will we allow Iraq to spin the security agreement? Will we allow the reckless endangerment of our troops coming from less than sound strategy? This is another 'gird your loins' moment for this lank administration.

Read it here.

The photograph above was taken by DOD photographer, MC2 Edwin L. Wriston. "A U.S. Airman conducts range safety and firing training for Iraqi police....

Frank Lombard Fired by Duke: FBI: Lombard Child Molested by Others

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 03:17:00 +0000

Frank Lombard, the father who raped his own adopted child, molested his own child on live camera for the enjoyment of a prison inmate, and offered his child to a stranger to do the same, has finally been fired from Duke University.

Frank M. Lombard

While we've waited for Duke to do something, we now hear that Duke officials are cooperating with police and FBI.

Reports are that Lombard is charged with "attempting to induce someone to cross state lines to engage in a sexual offense." So far, I have seen no mention of charges of child rape, child molestation, or child abuse. This originally from heraldsun.southernheadlines.com

DURHAM -- The Duke University official charged with soliciting adults over the Internet to have sex with a 5-year-old boy told an undercover police officer that he had sexually molested the child himself multiple times, according to an arrest warrant.

If you are not familiar with the case, related links are listed below, but here's the terrible and short story: Frank Lombard was a Duke University professor. He was an Associate Director of the Center for Health Policy at Duke. He is believed to have adopted two Black boys. The child involved in this case is 5-years-old. There is no information as to the child's age at the time the abuse began.

Lombard lives with his partner, Ken Shipp, also a Duke employee at 24 Indigo Creek Trail in a planned community, Eno Commons, Durham, N.C. It is believed that North Carolina law allows only one gay or lesbian parent to legally be an adoptive parent, so Shipp's role within the family is unclear. Lombard was caught in an internet sting with a video chat with an undercover officer.

A search warrant filed for Lombard's house further outlines the case against him and includes a transcript of the chat between an undercover officer and "F.L."

In the chat, "F.L.” told the officer that abusing the child was "easier when he was too young to know what was happening and when he couldn't talk ...He had a little too much Benadryl. Was knocked out."

In a subsequent online chat, the warrant says, “F.L.” invited the officer to fly to Durham to have sexual contact with the child. He even suggested a hotel.

Lombard faces a federal charge of attempting to induce someone to cross state lines to engage in a sexual offense. He was being held without bond at the Durham County jail Friday. A conviction would carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Another inmate has told authorities that he witnessed "F.L." also known as cooper2 or cooperese, molest his son on live camera.

It is believed that Lombard is in a Durham, N.C. jail awaiting extradition to Washington, D.C.

Back to the charges. Maybe the snitch is being vetted. That's the only reason I can think of that would preclude charges for raping and molesting your own little boy. While he "pimped" his child across state lines, in my book that pales in comparison to what he, himself, did to his own child.

This from the FBI Washington Field Office press release of June 26, 2009:

Lombard, 42, is charged by complaint with a violation of 18 USC 2242(a); an offense that could result in a maximum sentence of 20 years.

From the press release, and about the snitch:

The complaint alleges Task Force members were told by a confidential source that he/she had witnessed on three or four occasions an individual, alleged to be Lombard, performing oral sex and other sex acts on a child believed to be under the age of ten. The confidential source indicted he was told that others had sexually molested the child. The source was also told that the individual’s live-in, male partner had not participated in the sexual abuse. The complaint alleges that Lombard subsequently told an MPD detective, posing on line as an interested party, that he had performed multiple sexual acts on his 5-year-old adopted child and that that the task force member could do the same if he flew to the Raleigh/Durham area. A warrant for Lombard’s arrest was then obtained.

This is the first time I've read that the snitch was told [allegedly by Lombard] that the little boy had been made available to others in the past.

Background and Related:

Frank Lombard 2007 Report of Molestation

Frank Lombard is Duke Professor Gay Adoptive Rapist Dad: MSM Doesn't Care

Frank Lombard is Duke Professor: Frank Lombard is Pedophile Commune Member

Frank Lombard Eno Commons Commune Developer is Sherri Zann Rosenthal

Frank Lombard Amazon Wish List Scrubbed from Web

Stimulus Brings Worst Unemployment in Central New York Since 1990

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:08:00 +0000

By Lonely Conservative

The Syracuse Post Standard reports that unemployment in Central New York is higher than it has been since 1990. See video below.

Unemployment in the area was 8.6 percent in June, higher than it has been in any June since at least 1990, when the Labor Department changed its methodology for calculating the rate.

“Right now, we’re feeling the full effects of the recession because the job losses have spread from manufacturing to the other sectors,” said Karen Knapik-Scalzo, an economist with the department. “It’s become more widespread now.”

The jobless rate was up from 8 percent in May and 5.4 percent in June of last year. It matched that of the state but was below the nation’s unemployment rate of 9.7%”

Not only has Central New York lost 4,900 jobs since last June, the government added 700 jobs, so the net loss to the private sector is even worse than it seems. We, the taxpayers, have to pay for those 700 new government jobs somehow.

And we’re the lucky ones. Michigan’s unemployment rate is higher than 15%! Wasn’t Porkulus – aka the Generational Theft Act – supposed to stimulate the economy to keep people from losing their jobs? That’s what Barack Obama told us, over and over again. Now he’s singing a different tune, and his penchant for constantly appearing in front of cameras is starting to hurt him. The GOP is capitalizing on his vanity. Good for them.

Keep talking Obama, keep talking.

A Global Race War? A Second Look

rogergardner@verizon.net (Roger W. Gardner) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:02:00 +0000

Some interesting precedents

In their ultimately thwarted attempt at achieving a South Pacific hegemony, from approximately 1895 until the end of WWII, Japanese leaders used the "Co-Prosperity Sphere" in its propaganda for the people both in Japan and in other Asian countries. To this end Japan held itself up to the Asian world as liberators from the oppressive yoke of the white colonialists. However, as more and more of these former colonies came under harsh Japanese rule they quickly became disillusioned with the bitter realities of the so-called Co-Prosperity Sphere. They soon discovered that they had merely switched masters, and their new overlords conducted themselves with great haughtiness and disdain to the local population and imposed a program of "Japanization" on the people with little or no regard for local customs and beliefs.

Similarly, in June of 1941, when Germany first invaded the Ukraine, the Wehrmacht were met with flowers from the local Ukrainian peasantry, being seen as prospective liberators from the scourge of Stalin's iron rule. Here, once again, it didn't take long for the true nature of Nazism to show its ugly face, and for the people to realize their tragic mistake. In both instances, tyrannical ideological regimes cynically allied themselves with troubled peoples, posing as allies and liberators. And in both instances they failed.

Historically, the Communist Party has of course attempted to align itself with the suffering and downtrodden peoples of this world in their crusade against the ruthless powers of capitalism, cynically manipulating the, often very real, grievances of the people to their own advantage.

Considering these precedents, it quickly becomes apparent that, regardless of the particular isms involved, these various tyrannies are only interested in achieving power. Raw, naked, political power.

Today, this same deadly scenario is playing itself out on the world's stage. Once again, another ruthless regime -- this time, in the guise of a religion -- is cynically manipulating the under-privileged peoples of this world, rallying them to their banner in their ongoing battle against the Judeo/Christian, capitalist West. And, once again, the results will be disastrous. - rg

A note from Radarsite. The following Radarsite article was written over a year ago, and necessarily contains some obvious anomalies. However, the questions it raises are, I believe, still powerful and pertinent.

-----------------------------------------------

A Global Race War?

Warning: This article has a PC rating of "X"

Are we in the beginning stages of a global race war?

Not yet, thank God. But consider this.

Islam, through the obvious successes of Al Qaeda and its affiliates in intimidating and embarrassing the West, has touched the heartstrings of many of the colored peoples of this world, and re enforced that seething undercurrent of post-colonial victimization that runs at varying depths throughout the Third World. Thus, thanks to the cynical machinations of the Islamists, our world is in danger of being divided once again -- as Japan and Germany both attempted to divide it in their own special ways, for their own special purposes -- between those supposedly exploited peoples of this world and their purported oppressors, who, they have once again convinced themselves, are the cause of all of their troubles -- past, present and future.

By ingeniously tapping into this latent but persistent strain of reverse racism, Islam has presented itself as a champion of the Third World in its never-ending battle to break free from the cruel shackles of white suppression. This is how this very real Clash of Civilizations is beginning to play itself out -- even here in America with the recently uncovered Wright/Obama anti-white crusade.

Unfortunately, the great and undeniable flaw in this seductive paradigm is that, with a few notable exceptions, whenever and wherever the black man, or, if you prefer, the man of color, has broken away from the yoke of overbearing white political oppression and achieved self-governance the consequences of this new found freedom have almost invariably been bloody and chaotic. Whether we look to post-colonial Africa, or those sordid post-colonial kingdoms and ruthless dictatorships of the Middle East -- or even our own American cities where the black majority has taken hold of the reins of government, the results are invariably the same: society self-destructs and the crime rate soars. Outside investments quickly dry up and corruption runs rampant. Whether the example is Haiti, Philadelphia, Rhodesia, Algeria or New Orleans, the same bloody post-colonial, post-white governance downward-spiralling scenario plays itself out.

This is such an explosive subject. It has become almost impossible to talk about it without creating a huge furor, or nowadays, without actually breaking some new multiculturalist law. Yet somehow to deal with the truths of our world, to even attempt to solve some of its most critical problems, we must find the courage to discuss these issues openly, honestly, and without malice.

What, then, is my point? Am I merely trying to prove that whites are somehow innately superior to the colored peoples of this world?
No.
But it is undeniable to all but the most committed ideologues that by almost any standard Western civilization has proven itself superior to a lot of other civilizations. What, then, is the proper message to those people in some of those other civilizations who feel disenfranchised and betrayed by history? Give up? Accept the inevitability of the white yoke forever? Learn to live with the fact that you were somehow born naturally inferior? Hell no! I repeat -- Hell no! This is the hopeless and deadly message of our enemies. This is the negative message of inverted racism. This is the darkness of Islam.

Our message is simply this: Cut out the crap. Start being truthful with yourselves and quit blaming others for all of your troubles -- the Crusaders, the white colonialists, the Christians, the Jews, the WASPS -- The victimization card only gives you a losing hand. If you attach yourself to the victim's cause, the cause of hatred and resentment and revenge, you will lose your God-given chance to succeed. Look at history and try to be honest. Did the victimization card ever really work? It certainly doesn't look that way to me. The victimization card has given us endless strife, a lot of wars and a few Indian casinos, but has seldom if ever helped a suffering people.

No, the way out of the darkness is to follow the light of truth. If your way hasn't proven successful, then dump it. Attach yourself to those other ways of thinking and acting that have proven to be successful. Go with the winners. The winners don't have colors, they have civilizations. Don't lay back and sulk with the losers. Are you listening, Palestinians? Don't plot revenge, plot success.

This whole volatile subject has nothing whatsoever to do with race or color, but everything to do with civilizations, and everything to do with truth.

Of course, this whole earth-shaking subject is to be considered taboo. We are forbidden to even broach this subject .[e.g. the latest Hate Crimes bill] We are all, we are being admonished every day, equal. All peoples are equal, all religions are equal, all races are equal. If one group of people gets ahead of another group of people in terms of its civilizational development it must have been perpetrated through some kind of trickery or malfeasance. Not by hard work or merit. Not by finding a system that works.

Damn it. Just as with the Japanese, Islam is succeeding by suppressing the truth of its real tyrannical and totally intolerant nature and presenting itself as the rallying banner of global victimization. And we, in the Judeo-Christian West, have yet to find a viable method to counter the deceitful foundations of this growing movement. All of the unsuccessful or disgruntled people of this world are now to become united under Islam in their struggle against all of the successful people of this world. In fact, in this new-fangled version of religious Marxism, individual success itself is now to be considered the ultimate evil. The price for this apparent unity demanded by Islam of all of its subjects and converts is the same price that all tyrants have demanded throughout the course of human history -- submission, or in another word, "Islam".

Are we, then, in the beginning stages of a global race war?

Not yet. But, take heed -- if Islam continues to seduce converts into their bleak world vision, it could soon become one. And then, God help us all, no matter what color.

McCaskill staffer flips off constitutents

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:00:00 +0000

By Lonely Conservative

Democrats keeping it classy – Claire McCaskill’s constituents were protesting the democrats’ health care bill and they wanted to urge Senator McCaskill to vote against Obamacare. Staffers locked the doors and pulled the blinds but one staffer still managed to flip them the bird.

Via Breitbart

Afghan Villagers Warned: Return Missing U.S. Soldier

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:24:00 +0000

An unnamed U.S. soldier is missing in Afghanistan and is known to be the victim of kidnapping. The U.S. Military wants the missing soldier back and has sent a sobering message to the residents in at least two villages in suspect areas. The leaflets contained a message and a warning to return our missing soldier.

Afghan Villages Warned

The graphic above shows the front side a leaflet produced at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan with this message on one side:

The papers show on one side an image of a soldier with his head bowed so that his face is not visible (above). A message in the local Pashtun language over the image says, "If you do not free the American soldier, then…"

Afghan Villages Warned (photo backside)

The second graphic above is the backside of the first and says:

…you will be targeted".

The military says the leaflet says "...you will be hunted," but some translators say the word also means "targeted."

Sources are inconclusive about how the leaflets got to the villagers: some reports say they were dropped from aircraft with the warnings seen in trees and on rooftops. A Military spokeswoman says they were delivered by hand, but says an aircraft leaflet-drop was made earlier to these villages notifying the people that a U.S. Soldier is missing and asking for information on his whereabouts:

U.S. Soldier Missing

The above graphic is not an actual picture the missing soldier. On the front it reads:

One of our American guests is missing.

The backside says:

Return the guest to his home. Call us at…,

Heart-wrenching appeals to the people who live among untold cruelty at the hands of those who are in possession of one of our own.

A Taliban militant said the U.S. Military has made three previous attempts to find the GI, but failed. He said the soldier is in a safe and secure place in a Taliban-controlled area. This spokesman said ransom demands, or an offer for a prisoner swap may be made, but warned that any attempts by foreigners to rescue him will lead to the soldier's death.

Reuters reports that Mawlavi Sangin, a Taliban commander, issued warnings to the U.S. that continued "harassment" of the villagers in the area may also lead to the soldier's death.

Reportedly, the U.S. Infantry soldier had just completed a shift and was off-duty when he walked off the U.S. base and left his body armor and weapon behind on June 30th. An anonymous U.S. military source said that communications by insurgents had been intercepted and it was believed that Taliban had the GI. Three Afghan nationals were abducted at the same time.

The Taliban commander, who spoke to Yousafzai [CBS correspondent] via satellite telephone from the region, said a group of militants cornered the American soldier and his Afghan counterparts near a U.S. military base and took them hostage.

But CBS News has learned that not long after the soldier disappeared, U.S. intelligence picked up radio chatter that he had been kidnapped. U.S. officials know he's already been sold to another group of Afghans - but no direct contact has been made with the kidnappers.

This is believed to be the first abduction of a member of the U.S. Military in the almost-8-years since the War on Terror began. While leaflet-drops are 'business as usual' in these areas, those targeted have been the insurgents. This time villagers are warned. It's a different ballgame. Read the entire article here.

U.S. Department of Defense Graphic credit: CBS News.

Youtube Rendition of Manufactured Crisis Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Simpson) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:30:00 +0000

Pretty creative! Someone in McCain/Palin was thinking. Too bad no one saw it.

Pamela Long Wiggins Bail, Billings Murders: Pamela Wiggins Multiple Marriages?

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Pamela Long Wiggins posted $10,000.00 bail and went to her residence in Gulf Breeze, FL today, to the same house where she buried the safe belonging to Byrd and Melanie Billings. The Sheriff's Department is in possession of her red minivan, in which she transported the safe as well as the guns used to murder Mr. and Mrs. Billings. See update below with new video.

Pamela Long Wiggins

Wiggins was a passenger in the minivan while the guns and the Billingses' safe were inside the vehicle. She "had knowledge these weapons were used by the suspects during the commission of the home invasion (and) double homicide," the arrest report said.

Pamela Wiggins has at least two men claiming to be her husband: Hugh Wiggins who reportedly talked to investigators and told them his wife had buried the safe under a pile of bricks in the backyard, and Jimmy Malden, Jr., who told Good Morning America he has been trying to divorce Pamela for years.

Malden says 'his wife' is prone to brag about her wealth, and social status, as well as some "henchmen" types that she was acquainted with. He confirmed that Pamela Wiggins has numerous aliases:

Pamela Wiggins, Pamela Malden, Pamela Long and Pamela Laverne Long Coco

Ms. Malden-Long-Coco_Wiggins is said to be a real estate agent or property manager who owns at least 6 houses in three states, and the yacht, Classy Lady where she was located by investigators, and believed to be hiding-out. A marina manger told investigators that Wiggins' yacht disappeared from a previous dock and Wiggins still owed $3,000 in rent, which she has apparently not paid.

Billings family attorney, Crystal Spencer, announced today that the safe contained medications for their children with disabilities, family documents and jewelry of "sentimental" value.

A red minivan belonging to Pamela Wiggins was left near the Billings home, believed to aid in the escape of the perpetrators.

Wiggins was a passenger in the minivan while the guns and the Billingses' safe were inside the vehicle. She "had knowledge these weapons were used by the suspects during the commission of the home invasion (and) double homicide," the arrest report said.

The above minivan was an additional to the red van seen on surveillance video in the yard of the Billings' home.

Update 7-20-09:
Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

Background and Related:
Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

Kathryn Colbert is Billings Murder Tipster: Colbert Denied Reward

Pamela Long Wiggins is Arrested; Billings Safe Found?

Pamela Laverne Long is Person of Interest in Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. is Byrd, Melanie Billings Murder Organizer

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murdered: Billings Parents of 16 Children

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murder Arrests: Three Arrests in Billings Murders (video)

Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders:Fourth Arrest Made, New Details

Pamela Long Wiggins Arrest

Cure For Radiation Sickness

noreply@blogger.com (Findalis) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:34:00 +0000

by Findalis

What started out as a cure for radiation sickness resulting from cancer therapy, could become a weapon against the effects of a dirty bomb or nuclear weapon detonated by a terrorist group.

Medication that can protect humans against nuclear radiation has been developed by Jewish-American scientists in cooperation with a researcher and investors from Israel. The full story behind the dramatic discovery will be published in Yedioth Ahronoth's weekend edition.

The ground-breaking medication, developed by Professor Andrei Gudkov – Chief Scientific Officer at Cleveland BioLabs - may have far-reaching implications on the balance of power in the world, as states capable of providing their citizens with protection against radiation will enjoy a significant strategic advantage vis-à-vis their rivals.

For Israel, the discovery marks a particularly dramatic development that could deeply affect the main issue on the defense establishment's agenda: Protection against a nuclear attack by Iran or against "dirty bomb" attacks by terror groups.

Gudkov's discovery may also have immense implications for cancer patients by enabling doctors to better protect patients against radiation. Should the new medication enable cancer patients to be treated with more powerful radiation, our ability to fight the disease could greatly improve.

Read the full story here.

The implications for the world are enormous. Victims of a Radiological attack could be effectively treated for the effects of Radiation Sickness, thus the terror effect of such an attack would be minimized.

Countries that don't have access to this drug would be at a disadvantage. Countries that threaten nations with nuclear attack who have this drug in their possession are neutralized. In effect, this drug silences Kim Jong Il of North Korea. For although he has a nuclear weapon, with this drug available, the short and long term effects upon the human body is no longer a major worry.

The FDA is expected to approve this drug within a few years. Hope for cancer patients and for the rest of us who worry not if but when some nutcase or terror group gets a hold of nuclear material and tries to destroy a city with it.

Biden AARP Townhall: Biden Spend Money Now on Health Care

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:11:00 +0000

Joe Biden met with an AARP Townhall and said the administration's health care plan had to "become law," or the nation will go bankrupt. The he described how the plan will work. Give this man a teleprompter - puhleeeees!

Joe Biden and AARP audience member

They’ll be a deal in there so there’s competition, so what you’ll have in there is you’ll have the ability to go in there and say, ‘Now look, this is the policy I want. This is the one,” Biden said.

And those people who can’t afford to get in there, up to a certain income, we’re going to subsidize them, you get in there and we’ll help you pay for it,” Biden said

And Liberals make fun of how Sarah Palin "talks?"

See a video here and read "the rest of the story."

Photo credit: Penny Starr CNSNews.com

Pamela Long Wiggins is Arrested: Billings Safe Found?

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:01:00 +0000

Just reported, an object has been found on The Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama where Pamela Long Wiggins, or Pamela Laverne Long Wiggins was found yesterday. Eight people are now under arrest in connection with the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings. Billings safe found? 11: 16 a.m. authorities are now confirming that the Billings safe has been found. See updates below with new video.

Pamela Long Wiggins

The "object" is speculated to be the safe taken from the Billings' home. FOXNews showed a covered object being removed from the The Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Long-Wiggins was returned to Escambia County, Florida yesterday and arrested last night on charges of "an accessory after the fact to felony murder," in connection with the murder of Byrd and Melanie Billings.

Update 7-16-09 11:19 a.m. CDT:
From press conference:

The safe has been found and is being processed.

Sheriff Morgan says that there are other "people of interest" being investigated that be of substance...or not, to the Billings murders. Mr. and Mrs. Billings, to the "best of" Sheriff Morgan's "knowledge" are not being investigated by the DEA (evidently rumors are swirling about this), although the DEA is involved with someone or some thing connected to the murders.

Authorities say that they still believe some one other than those now in custody is being sought in connection with the Billings' security system.

State Attorney Eddins says guns have been found and they believe they have the murder weapon(s).

The Sheriff believes that additional motives will be found, other than just robbery.

Update 7-20-09:
Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

Background and Related:
Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

Pamela Long Wiggins Bail, Billings Murders: Pamela Wiggins Multiple Marriages?

Kathryn Colbert is Billings Murder Tipster: Colbert Denied Reward

Pamela Laverne Long is Person of Interest in Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. is Byrd, Melanie Billings Murder Organizer

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murdered: Billings Parents of 16 Children

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murder Arrests: Three Arrests in Billings Murders (video)

Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders:Fourth Arrest Made, New Details

Pamela Long Wiggins is Arrested (video)

Kathryn Colbert is Billings Murder Tipster: Colbert Denied Reward

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:37:00 +0000

Kathryn Colbert says she is the tipster that notified the Escambia Sheriff's office of a red van she believed might be connected to the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings. Eight people are now under arrest in the Billings murders. See updates below.

She was right. Her neighbor was Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Sr., the first person arrested for the murders. The Gonzalez, Sr. home was across the street from Ms. Colbert, a 78-year-old woman.

You can read the all the details here.

Now here's the rest of the story: Colbert watched three men work on the red van in Gonzalez, Sr.'s front yard.

There were so many people coming in and out. It was strange," Colbert said of Gonzalez Sr.'s Palm Court home. "They just walked in like they lived there."

So when the photo of the red van was flashed across the country, it meant some to Kathryn Colbert. She called the Crimestopper tip line on Saturday morning after the Thursday night murders, but as you might expect, the line was busy. She called the Sheriff's office direct and gave someone there her information.

There is a $3,000.00 reward from Crimestoppers. Ms. Colbert will not receive the reward because her tip did not go through Crimestoppers. That's all well and good, but here's the quote of the day:

Crime Stoppers director Jeff Van Camp said that because Kathryn Colbert's tip came through the Sheriff's Office, she is not eligible for the $3,000 reward. He also claimed that someone else might have given the Sheriff's Office the same tip."

We're taking her word for it, but all I know is you've got to call Crime Stoppers to get a reward," Van Camp said. "She should have had a little patience."

Mr. Van Camp needs to apologize to Kathryn Colbert, a citizen who was doing the most she could do to help find the murderers of Byrd and Melanie Billings. Since when is "patience" a virtue when notifying authorities that a killer may be living across the street.

Update 7-20-09:
Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

Background and Related:
Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

Pamela Long Wiggins Bail, Billings Murders: Pamela Wiggins Multiple Marriages?

Pamela Long Wiggins is Arrested: Billings Safe Found?

Pamela Laverne Long is Person of Interest in Byrd, Melanie billings Murders

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. is Byrd, Melanie Billings Murder Organizer

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murdered: Billings Parents of 16 Children

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murder Arrests: Three Arrests in Billings Murders (video)

Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders:Fourth Arrest Made, New Details

Health Care, Civil Rights, Language, Workforce Corps - the Connection

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:21:00 +0000

The U.S. House of Representatives has worked-up their 1000 page health care bill. Who will read this mammoth bill? Rep. Steny Hoyer, the House Majority Leader, says "if every member pledged not to vote for it if they hadn't read it in its entirety, I think we would have very few votes." No joke!

Here is what Democrat health care looks like:

Democrat Health Care Plan
Click to enlarge

Did you notice the Office of Civil Rights - in the health care plan schematic? Did you notice the Office of Minority Rights in the health care plan schematic? Did you notice the Language Demonstration Program? Did you notice the Public Health Workforce Corps? Did you notice the Nurse Education & Training reporting to the Labor Department. How about Cultural & Linguistic Competence Training. Very interesting is the Health Affordability Credits - I'm guessing no cost to you if you have enough credits. I'm guessing the rest of us will pay for you.

Health Care Question 1: will Congress commit to give up their current health care program, which you and I are paying for now, and submit to whatever Congress presses on the rest of America. Assuming the answer is no...

Health Care Question 2: Why will Congress not submit to the same health care plan that will be pressed upon the rest of Americans?

Regardless the fact that it is the U.S. Constitution that delineates our individual rights, this Bill will make health care a "right," courtesy of employers, the well-to-do, and medical providers. That's not America.

Rushing to pass the Bill before Americans learn what is in it, and so that Congressmen and Congresswomen can leave the heat of Washington, D.C. for summer vacation (know as yet another "recess"), President Obama wants the legislation through both the House and Congress before recess, saying yesterday that we "have no choice but to change the health care system...."

By Karl Rove in the Wall Street Journal:

It was a sobering breakfast with one of the smartest Republicans on Capitol Hill. We can fix a lot of bad stuff President Barack Obama might do, he told me. But if Mr. Obama signs into law a "public option," government-run insurance program as part of health-care reform we won't be able to undo the damage.

I'd go the Republican member of Congress one further: If Democrats enact a public-option health-insurance program, America is on the way to becoming a European-style welfare state. To prevent this from happening, there are five arguments Republicans must make... Read more.

Health Care Question 3: Why do we not offered the same health care plan that Congress has?

If this 1000 page monster bill is passed as it is, here's what we get:

The legislation calls for a 5.4 percent tax increase on individuals making more than $1 million a year, (who already pay 90 percent of all income taxes)

A gradual tax beginning at $280,000 for individuals

Employers who don't provide coverage would be hit with a penalty equal to 8 percent of workers' wages, with an exemption for small businesses.

Individuals who decline an offer of affordable coverage would pay 2.5 percent of their incomes as a penalty, up to the average cost of a health insurance plan.

If you are reading this and you do not fall into any of the categories above, be assured that every dollar of your health cost will be passed on to you in some way - and you won't even know what hit you.

Democrats have a 1000-page bill but no cost estimates. Figures are being bandied-about, and you know the actual cost will be triple those estimates - which are about $1.5 TRILLION dollars over 10 years.

From the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), courtesy of American Spectator:

Democrat Health Care Projected Cost

It's important to keep in mind that the most costly aspects of the legislation involve providing subsidies to individuals to purchase health care ($773 billion) and to expand Medicaid ($438 billion), but it takes several years for those provisions to kick in. As you can see from the chart below, that means that the costs start out relatively modest but ramp up over time. In the first three years of the plan the cost of the subsidies and Medicaid expansion is just $8 billion; in the first five years, it's $202 billion; but in the last five years, it's $979 billion. Put another way, 17 percent of the spending comes in the first five years, while 83 percent comes in the second five years. What this means is that the American people see $1 trillion over 10 years and they think that means the bill would cost about $100 billion a year -- but the reality is more than double that. In the final year of the CBO estimates, 2019, the spending hits $230 billion.

Michelle Malkin points out that Democrats will likely try to exempt all union workers from paying for the plan, and you and I will pay for their health care. In addition, you and I will pay for health care for 10 million foreigners - non-Americans, and that number is probably low.

Perhaps you saw Michael Cannon on Glen Beck today. The chart at the top of this post was featured on "big screen." I looked through some of Cannon's writing on health care at the CATO Institute. He is director of health policy studies for CATO. In Does Barack Obama Support Socialized Medicine?, he first defines "socialized medicine:"

Socialized medicine exists to the extent that government controls medical resources and socializes the costs. Notice that under this definition, it is irrelevant whether we describe medical resources (e.g., hospitals, employees) as "public" or "private." What matters-what determines real as opposed to nominal ownership-is who controls the resources. By that definition, America’s health sector is already more than half socialized, and Obama’s health care plan would socialize medicine even further.

Reasonable people can disagree over whether Obama’s health plan would be good or bad. But to suggest that it is not a step toward socialized medicine is absurd.

Also from CATO Institute's Michael D. Tanner:

President Obama is right when he says that the U.S. healthcare system needs reform. Although this country provides the finest care in the world, our healthcare system has serious problems. It costs too much. Too many people lack health insurance. And quality can be uneven. The president and his supporters in Congress would have you believe that the only choice is between their plan — which amounts to a government takeover of the healthcare system — and the broken status quo. That is a falsehood.

Tanner admits that the "free-market" approach to current health care has failed.

There are two key components to any free-market healthcare reform. First, we need to move away from a system dominated by employer-provided health insurance and instead make health insurance personal and portable, controlled by the individual rather than government or an employer.

In May 2009, Tanner predicted what we are likely to see from ObamaCare (commentary in brackets [] is Maggie's):

1) At a time of rising unemployment, the government would raise the cost of hiring workers by requiring employers to provide health insurance to their workers or pay a fee (tax) to subsidize government coverage. [Result: fewer jobs available]

2) Every American would be required to buy an insurance policy that meets certain government requirements. Even individuals who are currently insured — and happy with their insurance — will have to switch to insurance that meets the government's definition of "acceptable insurance." [see the restrictions and mandates in the first chart above]

3) A government-run plan similar to Medicare would be set up in competition with private insurance, with people able to choose either private insurance or the taxpayer-subsidized public plan. Subsidies and cost-shifting would encourage Americans to shift to the government plan. [You will lose the plan you have now...count on it - no matter what you are so emphatically told by President Obama]

4) The government would undertake comparative-effectiveness research and cost-effectiveness research, and use the results of that research to impose practice guidelines on providers — initially, in government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, but possibly eventually extending such rationing to private insurance plans. [Rationing - courtesy the New York Times - fill-in the blanks:

Public health insurance should pay up to $_______for a treatment that would extend a patient's life for one year.

Saving the life of one teenager is equivalent to saving the lives ______ 85-year-old.]

5) Private insurance would face a host of new regulations, including a requirement to insure all applicants and a prohibition on pricing premiums on the basis of risk

6) Subsidies would be available to help middle-income people purchase insurance, while government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid would be expanded.

7) Finally, the government would subsidize and manage the development of a national system of electronic medical records. [Surely you do not think your health records would remain private]

The following video is a place holder for Glen Beck's discussion with Michael Cannon of the CATO Institute on July 15, 2009, which is not available as yet. The video below features Beck and Cannon and discusses why Wal-Mart has suddenly decided to support the employer-paid insurance option.

The last health care questions: Do we need Civil Rights in our health care legislation? Do we need language mandates in our health care legislation? Do we need a Workforce Corps in our health care legislation? Thank you to American Power who has many excellent links to information you should know about. Scoot over there, follow some links, brush up and get on the phone to your Representatives and Senators. Let's defeat the urge to get this done immediately, and do it right. The point is, don't give up on other options.

Health Care - Glen Beck and Michael Cannon

Here some information you need to know from Maggie's Notebook contributor, Stanford Matthews at blog@MoreWhat:

The House healthcare bill which passed in committee and will be on the floor for the full house vote in a week or two includes the following:

After one year of the date the bill is passed, employers will not be allowed to add employees to their plans.

This will kill private insurance and force people to the government program. Those who remain in private plans will not be able to afford them if no one else is allowed in. The static pool of insureds will cause the cost of coverage to raise to levels no one can afford.

Just another reason to contact your elected reps and demand this legislation be abandoned.

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. is Byrd, Melanie Billings Murder Organizer

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:45:00 +0000

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. is considered the "organizer" in the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings in Beulah, Florida on July 9th. Seven persons have been arrested in those murders, including Gonzalez, Jr. who is being held without bond. A person of interest, Pamela Laverne Long was named by the Sheriff's Department today. See updates below.

Leonard Patrick Gonzales, Jr.

Gonzalez, Jr's father, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Sr. is also under arrest. Apparently, Gonzalez, Sr. "confessed" and told of his son's part in the murders. Gonzalez, Jr. says he did not commit the crimes and that his father's confession should not be considered because the father is not mentally healthy:

With the exception of the statements that have been made, coerced, bullied or manipulated out of a mentally ill person, there is no hard evidence that links me to the scene of the crimes that occurred July 9," said Gonzalez Jr., whom investigators have called the slayings' "organizer."

Gonzalez, Jr. is being held without bail on two open counts of murder. He asked to be released on his own recognizance and he wants to clear his good name, according to this pnj.com report.

With a criminal history that includes seven arrests and a stint in state prison, Escambia County Judge Thomas Johnson revoked Gonzalez Jr's. $1 million bond and ordered him held in jail without bond.

Reports about Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr., 35, are mixed. Some residents in the area say they are shocked. He and his wife, Tabatha, taught self-defense to children and women in the area.

Others, said to be former landlords and a neighbor, describe him as a "pistol-waving nutcase" who was always "late with the rent."

Neighbor Damon O'Donnell said Gonzalez pointed a gun at him in anger shortly after moving in following Hurricane Ivan. The incident happened when Gonzalez came home one afternoon and found hurricane debris at the curb, he said.

He just went off. He went and grabbed a pistol and came over and started threatening me, saying that I'd better get my ... stuff out of his yard," said O'Donnell, a former Marine sharpshooter. "He ranted and raved and stormed up and down the street. He didn't fire. I just figured he was a nutcase."

One day he'd be your best friend, and the next day he'd be wanting to shoot at you," said O'Donnell, who has lived on the street for 15 years. "One time, he was out here with all of his kids in the woods (behind the house). I asked him what was going on. He said, 'We just watched "Red Dawn," and we're staging commando raids, in case we ever have to do commando raids.' "

Gonzalez, Jr. and his family no longer live in the house next door to Mr. O'Donnell. Landlords Larry and Jo Ann Gers rented to Gonzalez, Jr. and the Gers now live in that house. After Hurricane Ivan, the Gers said:

We heard a church on the radio that was advertising families that desperately needed to rent," Jo Ann Gers said. "They said this family had five children and needed a place, so we rented it to them. They lied from the beginning.

The Gerses now believe Gonzalez lied about having had a home destroyed by Ivan, about where he worked and about what he did for a living. He also failed to tell them about having a criminal record.

Jo Ann Gers said Gonzalez, Jr. sublet a storage shed on the back of the property without permission. She said the family was "all using the bathroom in the woods." When the rental agreement expired, the Gers had to get the assistance of the County Sheriff's office to move the family off of the property. There was about $3,000.00 in damage left behind.

While Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. is considered the "instigator" and "organizer" of the Billings murders, The Pensacola News Journal says that "Gonzales enjoyed a positive public reputation."

His nonprofit Project FIGHTBACK taught thousands of children martial arts self-defense, garnering him praise and accolades from many corners of the community.

Update 7-15-09 4:20 p.m. CDT:
Gonzalez, Jr. says he is "socially prominent" and won the Seville Sertoma Club's Service to Mankind Award.

Update 7-16-09 10:20 a.m. CDT:
Eight persons are now under arrest in connection with the murders. The latest is Pamela Laverne Long Wiggins.

Update 7-16-09 11:19 a.m. CDT:
From press conference:

The safe has been found and is being processed.

Sheriff Morgan says that there are other "people of interest" being investigated that be of substance...or not, to the Billings murders. Mr. and Mrs. Billings, to the "best of" Sheriff Morgan's "knowledge" are not being investigated by the DEA (evidently rumors are swirling about this), although the DEA is involved with someone or some thing connected to the murders.

Authorities say that they still believe some one other than those now in custody is being sought in connection with the Billings' security system.

State Attorney Eddins says guns have been found and they believe they have the murder weapon(s).

The Sheriff believes that additional motives will be found, other than just robbery.

Update 7-20-09:
Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

Related and Background:
Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

Byrd Billings is Byrd "Bud" Billings: Billings' Businesses

Pamela Long Wiggins Bail, Billings Murders: Pamela Wiggins Multiple Marriages?

Kathryn Colbert is Billings Murder Tipster: Colbert Denied Reward

Pamela Laverne Long is Person of Interest in Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murdered: Billings Parents of 16 Children

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murder Arrests: Three Arrests in Billings Murders (video)

Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders:Fourth Arrest Made, New Details

Pamela Laverne Long is Person of Interest in Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Pamela Laverne Long is a "person of interest" in the Billings murders, according to law enforcement. A better photo will be up as soon as available. Updates below on Pamela Laverne Long has been located. Pamela Laverne Long Wiggins has been arrested. See arrest video below.

Pamela Laverne Long

Police and Sheriff Departments are looking for Ms. Long, who has seemed to disappear from the area since the murders, and FOXNews is saying Long is "currently in hiding or on the run." She is said to be a prominent resident of Pensacola, perhaps the owner of at several properties and possibly several antique stores. Authorities emphasized that Pamela Laverne Long is a "person of interest" in the Byrd and Melanie Billings' murders, and not a suspect at this time. Authorities are believed to want to speak to Pamela Laverne Long as a "witness."

Brian Wilson at FOXNews was in the Sheriff Department's news conference at noon today in Pensacola. Wilson is reporting that Long rented a property to Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr., who is said to be the "instigator" of the crime.

Adding to the mystery, Sheriff Morgan mentioned this odd fact:

Morgan said it is significant that the surveillance camera was not disarmed at the time of the robberies, which he has described as "well planned" and well executed." Morgan said he believes it was someone's job to disable the equipment, but that person failed to do so.

It is not clear whether authorities believe Long might have been responsible for disabling the security equipment, but they believe someone was responsible for that task but failed to perform.

Authorities made it clear today that they do not want to "harass" Ms. Long but they do want to talk to her as a person of interest in the Billings murders. Stay tuned for updates.

Update: 7-15-09, 2:02 p.m. CDT
Brian Wilson from FOXNews says that Pamela Laverne Long and Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. were often seen in each other's company. She owned properties and businesses and there are liens on some of those entities, indicating she was possibly having financial problems.

The security system in the Billings home was activated at the time of the murders, confirming suspicions that someone was charged with disarming the system, but failed to do so.

Update 7-15-09 2:40 p.m. CDT:
FOXNews has just reported that Pamela Laverne Long has been located. When her photo was shown this morning, the Sheriff's office says the phones "started ringing off the hook." More details coming. Other remarks included that the circumstances of where Long was located are "very interesting," but those details are not yet available.

Update 7-15-09 4:10 p.m. CDT:
Pamela Laverne Long was found at a marina at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama. She is returning to Escambia County with investigators, but according to Sheriff David Morgan, she is returning "of her own volition."

Other names for Pamela Laverne Long are: Pamela Wiggins, Pamela Malden, Pamela Long Link, Pamela Laverne Long Coco.

Update 7-15-09 4:16 p.m. CDT:
Pamela Laverne Long was found on a "yacht" known as "Classy Lady," with an unidentified man at Dock "L" at The Marina at The Wharf in Orange Beach, AL.

Update 7-15-09 6:05 p.m. CDT:
FOXNews just confirmed that Pamela Laverne Long is a "realtor of some note" and well known in the community.

Update 7-16-09 9:35 a.m. CDT:
Authorities are now identifying Pamela Long as Pamela Laverne Long. She was arrested Wednesday night, July 15th at about 8:30 p.m. Eastern time and charged as "an accessory after the fact to felony murder," in connection with the Billings murders.

Update 7-16-09 10:20 a.m. CDT:
Eight persons are now under arrest in connection with the murders. The latest is Pamela Laverne Long Wiggins.

Update 7-16-09 11:19 a.m. CDT:
From press conference:

The safe has been found and is being processed.

Sheriff Morgan says that there are other "people of interest" being investigated that be of substance...or not, to the Billings murders. Mr. and Mrs. Billings, to the "best of" Sheriff Morgan's "knowledge" are not being investigated by the DEA (evidently rumors are swirling about this), although the DEA is involved with someone or some thing connected to the murders.

Authorities say that they still believe some one other than those now in custody is being sought in connection with the Billings' security system.

State Attorney Eddins says guns have been found and they believe they have the murder weapon(s).

The Sheriff believes that additional motives will be found, other than just robbery.

Update 7-20-09:
Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

Related and Background:
Byrd Billings Human Trafficking?

Pamela Long Wiggins Bail, Billings Murders: Pamela Wiggins Multiple Marriages?

Kathryn Colbert is Billings Murder Tipster: Colbert Denied Reward

Pamela Laverne Long is Person of Interest in Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. is Byrd, Melanie Billings Murder Organizer

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murdered: Billings Parents of 16 Children

Byrd Billings, Melanie Billings Murder Arrests: Three Arrests in Billings Murders (video)

Byrd, Melanie Billings Murders:Fourth Arrest Made, New Details

Pamela Laverne Long (video)