West Milwaukee man charged after leaving his paraplegic girlfriend stranded, and in need of hospitalization

From JSOnline:

Daniel C. Stanford (Photo: Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office)

The boyfriend of a paraplegic woman in West Milwaukee has been charged with two felonies after allegedly causing her to get evicted from her home after stealing her money and neglecting her so much she was hospitalized for weeks to treat bed sores.

Daniel C. Stanford, 24, of West Milwaukee has been charged with forgery and recklessly subjecting an at-risk individual to abuse.

He faces up to 18 and a half years in prison if convicted, according to online court 

documents. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

According to the criminal complaint:

The victim, a woman who became a paraplegic after a car accident in 2010, said Stanford was her live-in boyfriend and doubled as her professional financial assistant for her healthcare.

She told investigators that over a six-month period, Stanford neglected many of his duties as the woman’s primary caretaker. He failed to regularly rotate her to avoid bed sores, change the dressing on her wounds frequently enough, conduct motion exercises for her legs and provide her with proper nutrition and cleanliness.

Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/southwest/news/west-allis/2019/09/12/west-milwaukee-man-charged-neglecting-paraplegic-girlfriend/2300837001/

Open Blog - Friday

Be careful.

'Courageous' parents are credited with leading to a drug bust police believe is the biggest to date involving counterfeit vaping cartridges

From JSOnline:

Tyler Huffhines (Photo: Kenosha County Sheriff's Office)

Police are crediting the parents of a Wisconsin high school student for coming forward with information that led to a massive drug bust involving an operation that manufactured thousands of counterfeit vaping cartridges loaded with THC oil every day.

Officials said the investigation started after parents caught their son in possession of vaping cartridges with THC. They brought him to the Waukesha Police Department in early July in an effort to hold him accountable, officials said.

The probe reportedly led back to two Kenosha County brothers — Tyler and Jacob Huffhines — and a major drug operation running out of a condominium in an upscale neighborhood that officials said was rented under a fake name.

"These parents were very courageous for what they did," Waukesha Police Capt. Dan Baumann said Wednesday. "If it wasn’t for these parents coming through and holding their son accountable, I don’t think we'd be here today giving you the information and the gravity of this vaping epidemic that's going on in the nation right now. … I’m grateful for these parents."

Read more:  https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2019/09/11/vaping-courageous-parents-lead-massive-vaping-cartridge-bust/2290224001/

10 Parties That Got Ridiculously Out Of Hand

Open Blog - Thursday

Enjoy.

Time for the Federal Tyrany to be Abolished!

Embrace your extremists

Because you're going to be defined as one sooner or later.

Earlier this month, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution declaring the National Rifle Association (NRA) to be a "domestic terrorist organization." Some of us laughed at the absurd move and simply wrote it off by thinking "It's San Francisco, they're all nuts over there," but the sentiment is actually more popular in the Democratic Party than you might expect. In fact, nearly a third of Democrats believe that the National Rifle Association (NRA), the largest gun rights organization in the country, should be declared a terrorist organization, and that it should be against the law for Americans to become members.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that nearly one-out-of-three Likely Democratic Voters (32%) favor declaring the gun rights group a terrorist organization in the community where they live. Fourteen percent (14%) of Republicans and 20% of voters not affiliated with either major party agree. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of Democrats say Americans should be prohibited by law from belonging to pro-gun rights organizations like the NRA, a view shared by 15% of Republicans and 10% of uanffiliateds.

Among all likely voters, 23% favor declaring the NRA a terrorist organization in their home community, while 18% think it should be against the law to belong to pro-gun rights groups like the NRA.

When nearly a third of a political party believes that an organization supporting gun rights is a "terrorist organization" and should be illegal to join, it makes you wonder what percentage also oppose free speech, freedom of religion, and other rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution.

They have to go back. And if they have nowhere to go back to, the states, once united, must divide.

 

From: http://voxday.blogspot.com/2019/09/embrace-your-extremists.html

Boston-Foreplay-Long Time

Man breaks up with girlfriend, robs her at Racine Public Library

From CBS 58:

RACINE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A Racine man is charged after allegedly robbing his ex-girlfriend at the Racine Public Library.

According to the criminal complaint, a woman and her boyfriend were arguing at the Racine Public Library on September 9.

During the argument, the man allegedly broke up with the woman. He then got up, pulled her purse away from her, and fled the scene.

Security video shows the man taking a wallet out of the purse.

The man allegedly made off with $40 and the woman's food stamps card.

He was later located intoxicated at the hospital.

He now faces charges of felony theft.

From:  https://www.cbs58.com/news/man-breaks-up-with-girlfriend-robs-her-at-racine-public-library

Schneider: Lake County residents, businesses are ‘underwater literally’ because of Foxconn development

From Chicago Tribune:

The owner of Libertyville-based Pizzeria Deville, John Durning, testifies Friday morning during a field hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Small Business in Wheeling about the impacts of the July 2017 floods on his business. (Emily K. Coleman / Lake County News-Sun)

our to 6 inches of black water, tainted with grease and human waste, filled the basement kitchen and party room of Libertyville-based Pizzeria Deville.

It was July 12, 2017, the day after 7 inches of rainfall had swamped the area, and while owner John Durning said the initial cause was thought to be a freak storm combined with an ill-equipped sewer system, that was only part of the problem.

The other piece relates to new development in the area, and local, state and federal officials need to find ways to mitigate the impact of that development, Durning testified Friday morning during a hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Small Business.

"There has not been a major rain storm since that I have not sat awake in bed or driven directly to the restaurant to see if it's happening again," Durning said.

The hearing, held Friday morning at the Wheeling Village Hall, drew about 80 attendees and focused on downstream impacts from the Foxconn development just over the state line in Wisconsin, particularly on small businesses and how the federal government’s small business disaster assistance program can help them.

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, the only congressman in attendance, said local hearings are “relatively rare” but serve as a way to make sure “important voices” are heard from people who can’t afford, either the time or financially, to travel to Washington, D.C.

This year saw a new rainfall record set for the month of May, and rivers have topped their flood stage four times so far, Warner said.

The combination of increasing rain and more development means a higher risk of flooding, more severe flooding and poorer water quality, Warner added.

He said he’d like to see Wisconsin treat the Des Plaines River as its own watershed instead of as part of a more regional watershed, so that mitigation work related to roadway projects has downstream impacts.

Private development like Foxconn has been allowed to pay a fee instead of physically mitigating the impact of filled-in wetlands, according to Warner.

Read more:  https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/ct-lns-schneider-foxconn-hearing-st-0720-20190719-xvbfxcwhk5fhtfounknm6fzh3a-story.html

Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends [Official Music Video]

Rocket attack on US Embassy in Afghanistan on 9/11 anniversary

A plume of smoke rises near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. A blast was heard shortly after midnight on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. (AP Photo/Cara Anna)

A rocket exploded near the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan early Wednesday, the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

A plume of smoke rose over central Kabul shortly after midnight and sirens could be heard. Inside the embassy, employees heard this message over the loudspeaker: "An explosion caused by a rocket has occurred on compound."

Officials gave the all-clear about an hour after the blast and reported no injuries. The NATO mission, which is nearby, also said no personnel had been injured.

The attack was the first major action in Kabul since President Trump announced Monday that peace talks with the Taliban to end America's longest war are "dead." Over the weekend,  Trump abruptly canceled planned meetings with Afghan and Taliban leaders at Camp David. The Taliban had claimed responsibility for two car bombings last week, one of which killed an American soldier.

 Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Al Jazeera that Trump would regret turning his back on peace talks. "We had two ways to end the occupation in Afghanistan. One was jihad and fighting, the other was talks and negotiations," said Mujahid. "If Trump wants to stop talks, we will take the first way and they will soon regret it."

The 9/11 anniversary is a sensitive day in Afghanistan's capital and one on which attacks have occurred. A U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan shortly after the 2001 attack toppled the Taliban, who had harbored Usama bin Laden, the Al Qaeda leader and attacks mastermind.

In the nearly 18 years of fighting since then, the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan soared to 100,000 and dropped dramatically after bin Laden was killed in neighboring Pakistan in 2011.

Read more: https://www.foxnews.com/world/explosion-erupts-near-us-embassy-in-afghanistan-just-minutes-into-the-anniversary-of-9-11

Blood drive Wednesday to commemorate 9/11

From The Journal Times.com:

Pictured above is an example of the remembrance cards people will receive from Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin if they donate blood on Wednesday, Sept. 11.
Submitted image

MOUNT PLEASANT — Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin is holding blood drives across the state on Wednesday to honor those who lost their lives in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, including first responders.

“Those who work at Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin remember the overwhelming, heartfelt response by thousands of blood donors following the attack on the World Trade Center,” the company wrote in a press release.

“Not only on the day of the tragedy, but on the days that followed, blood donors lined up to donate in a gesture of humanity, patriotism and community, many waiting in line for several hours.”

Versiti spokesperson Katie Koeppel stated in an email that 1,571 people donated at Versiti centers on Sept. 11, 2001 and 1,439 more donated on Sept. 12. According to Koeppel, that is three times more donors than on a typical day.

All nine Versiti centers in Wisconsin are participating in the drive. The Mount Pleasant location, 1120 Sunnyslope Drive, has scheduled a blood drive from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Those who donate blood on that day will receive a remembrance card with the image and story of one of the nearly 3,000 who died in Sept. 11 attacks, including the 343 firefighters and 71 law enforcement officers.

To donate, call 877-232-4376 or go to versiti.org.

From:  https://journaltimes.com/news/local/blood-drive-wednesday-to-commemorate/article_07b2f04c-4f1c-5d20-8fbc-7adc0c616b04.html#comments

9/11: Second plane hits South Tower

Never forget.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my loved ones!  How are you?  Well, I guess we can't complain about not getting enough rain anymore.  Too bad we didn't get it in August.  My tomatoes, though, did just fine. Señor Zanza took care of them.  We have a bountiful harvest.  Of course, almost everyone has home grown tomatoes this time of year.

Speaking of the time of year, don't mis the Micro Harvest Moon tonight.  Read more about it here: http://www.jtirregulars.com/2019/09/a-majestic-micro-harvest-moon-is-coming.html

Week one of the Irregular Fantasy Football League is over.  Here are the standings.  Click them to make them readable:

Unfortunately, I didn't do that well.  Even Mr. OrbsCorbs is above me.  Just wait till next week.  I'll murder the bums.  Oh, even though I'm a psychic, I don't use my powers in this game.  At least, not yet.  Ha-ha.

The nonsense continues at Racine's City Hall.  Now they want to raise the deductibles and costs for those insured through the city.  They want to do it to "save money."  If they really wanted to save money, they would stop spending millions of dollars on debacles like Machinery Row and spending more money on studies and consultants.  And get rid of the city administrator's job, and cut Mayor Butterball Mason's many assistants.  The waste that comes from city hall is overpowering and illegal.  STOP wasting our money on garbage.  Fools and crooks, that's what city hall is full of.

How about that 73 year old woman who killed her 82 year old neighbor with a brick?  (http://www.jtirregulars.com/2019/09/maryland-woman-73-charged-with-killing.html)  Oh my.  What has this world become?  When people in their seventies start murdering those in their eighties, it's time for something to be done.  By the way, bricks don't kill people, people kill people. Ahem.

The Journal Times has a story about a young man walking around North Beach in his pajamas with his genitals hanging out.  (https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/pajama-clad-teen-allegedly-exposes-self-at-north-beach/article_3e67d7f2-eed2-56e3-879a-65727de933d7.html)  Stuff like this is becoming par for the course here.  Racine is full of deviants and criminals.  What a sad city.

I received an email from Mr. OrbsCorbs this week.  He complained about the traffic, both vehicular and human, near his home.  He said that during an intense thunderstorm yesterday morning, he was tailgated by a truck.  That truck turned off, only to be replaced by an even bigger truck tailgating him.  He also complained about the volume of cars.  What am I supposed to do about it?  I'm not a traffic cop.  I can put the Zoltar Curse on a bad driver, but I must be present to do it.  I'm not showing up there in the predawn when he does his shopping.  Get a gun, Mr. OrbsCorbs, and wave it around at the other drivers.  You'll either get shot or arrested, or both.  Then you won't have to worry about traffic.

Today is the 18th anniversary of 9/11.  Be sure to say a prayer for all of those who perished in that tragic incident.

That's it, my dears.  Enjoy the warm weather while we have it.  Of course, the overall trend in temperatures will be downward.  Fall is beautiful, but it can be brisk.

madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

Be kind and respectful to each other.  It's the only way to change this world.  I love you all.
________________________ 
Please donate: paypal.me/jgmazelis  If you don't like PayPal, send me a note at madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com and I'll send you my street address so you can send a check or money order.  Thank you.

Open Blog - Wednesday

Have a great day.

Alleged labor trafficking victim tells of mistreatment in Racine County

From The Journal Times.com:

This tip about farm laborers at Borzynski Farms being held “preso,” Spanish for prisoners, was received in 2016 by the state Department of Workforce Development. DWD's investigation did not uncover labor trafficking, but a federal investigation resulted in criminal charges against five people associated with the farm labor contractor who hired the workers. Yellow highlighting added by Wisconsin Watch.
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

ALEXANDRA HALL and SARAH WHITES-KODITSCHEK Wisconsin Public Radio

In 2016, “Roberto” legally came to the United States for the same reason many immigrants do — to earn a living and a slice of the American dream. But Roberto, a native of southern Mexico, says he suffered a nightmare of coercion, financial exploitation, threats and mistreatment while working on a Georgia farm and, later, at cabbage patches in southeastern Wisconsin owned by Borzynski Farms.

Roberto arrived in the United States legally under an H-2A visa, which allows seasonal farm laborers to work for specific employers. Roberto says he was forced to pay a fee and turn over the deed to his parents’ property to an intermediary in Mexico as security for his continued work in the United States.

When Roberto arrived in Georgia, the situation was not at all what the recruiter had described. There were hundreds of workers — all men, all from Mexico — living together in cramped barracks and isolated from nearby towns, he said.

 “The same day you arrive, that same day they ask you for your passport. They take all of your personal documents,” Roberto said of the contractors, who hired out workers to farms growing squash, cucumbers and cilantro in southern Georgia.

 

No talking to strangers

 

The boss warned Roberto and the other workers that there were ground rules.

“He tells us to get it in our heads that we came to work,” Roberto recalled. “No matter what, they don’t want us talking to any strangers — people that are not from the work site. And that we couldn’t leave either — work, and then back to the house.”

Roberto — not his real name — is among 14 men from Mexico who were allegedly victimized by a labor-trafficking scheme that transported legal temporary farm workers from Georgia to work illegally at Borzynski Farms in Mount Pleasant, according to an indictment in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced May 22.

He spoke exclusively to Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Watch in 2017, before the indictment, and has asked through his attorneys to remain anonymous to avoid potential retribution. At their request, WPR and Wisconsin Watch delayed publication of the interview to avoid compromising the investigation.

Five family members from Garcia & Sons, a farm labor contractor from Moultrie, Georgia, have been charged with labor-trafficking related counts. They are Saul Garcia, 49; Saul Garcia, Jr., 26; Daniel Garcia, 28; Consuelo Garcia, 45; all of Moultrie, Georgia; and Maria Remedios Garcia-Olalde, 52, a Mexican national. Attorneys for the Garcias declined requests for an interview.

Two of the defendants — the elder Saul Garcia and Garcia-Olalde — also were indicted on obstruction charges for allegedly withholding or falsifying evidence, including trying to keep one of the alleged victims from testifying before a federal grand jury. A trial date has not been set.

The federal case developed after the state Department of Workforce Development investigated the farm in 2016. The UMOS Latina Resource Center in Milwaukee relayed a tip to the state agency that the workers were being held like “prisoners,” according to records obtained under the state public records law.

But spokesman Ben Jedd said the agency was unable to substantiate the allegation after interviewing each worker. DWD did issue a warning to the elder Saul Garcia for preventing workers from cooperating with efforts to investigate the working conditions.

Records indicate federal investigators had already begun their work before DWD ended its inquiry, but it remains unclear who contacted federal authorities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Milwaukee declined to describe the origins of the case, which was investigated by the FBI, the U.S. departments of Labor and Homeland Security and the Racine Police Department.

Jedd said DWD, under Gov. Tony Evers’ administration, is “evaluating our current programs and providing educational awareness to our employees” to better detect labor trafficking.

Farm ‘disheartened’ by allegations

 

The owners of Borzynski Farms said they knew nothing of the conditions under which the men worked or that they were allegedly trafficked.

“Borzynski Farms is disheartened that its fields and facilities may have been used by Garcia & Sons to exploit or cause harm to any worker,” the farm’s attorney, Stephen Kravit, said in a statement.

Borzynski Farms said in a statement to multiple media outlets in May that it contracted with Garcia & Sons, whose chief financial officer is listed as Saul Garcia, for harvesting services during the time period covered in the indictment. Borzynski Farms did not respond to a request for comment from The Journal Times.

The farm, which also has operations in Texas, Illinois and Georgia, grows produce including cabbage, sweet corn, leafy greens and green beans.

Borzynski's Farm Market in Mount Pleasant sells produce grown in Wisconsin, including cabbage, sweet corn, leafy greens and green beans. A federal indictment alleges 14 men from Mexico were forced to work illegally in nearby fields owned by the Borzynskis in 2016. The owners of the farm said in a statement that they had no knowledge of the alleged trafficking.
Coburn Dukehart

Read more:  https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/fainting-and-freezing-in-the-fields-alleged-labor-trafficking-victim/article_b5d83bac-a671-5b92-8b35-26ebdce99d5a.html

Man says he 'was unaware' he wasn't allowed to possess firearm, despite felony conviction

From The Journal Times.com:

ADAM ROGAN adam.rogan@journaltimes.com

RACINE — A man accused of illegally trying to purchase a firearm last year has pleaded guilty to felony possession of a firearm by a felon.

Jonathan Shelton, 40, of the 900 block of Monroe Avenue in Racine, was convicted of burglary in Cook County, Ill., in January 1999. As a felon, he’s not allowed to own or even hold a firearm.

But on Aug. 13, 2018, he allegedly entered Dunham’s Sporting Goods in Regency Mall, 5600 Durand Ave., and attempted to purchase a handgun. Security footage recorded that day showed Shelton handling a gun at Dunham’s.

Shelton said during a plea hearing Tuesday morning he “was unaware” that, as a result of that conviction, it would’ve been illegal for him to handle a gun.

On Tuesday, a felony charge of false swearing in a government setting was dropped.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 13. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $25,000.

From:  https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-says-he-was-unaware-he-wasn-t-allowed-to/article_008cd492-8d8c-5be6-86ab-1883eab6fcb3.html#1

Was UW-P scam preventable? Ex-employee, university differ as to level processes in place to thwart fraud

From The Journal Times.com

:

TERRY FLORES Lee Newspapers 

 KENOSHA — A former University of Wisconsin-Parkside employee believes an email phishing scam which defrauded the institution of more than $300,000 could have been prevented.

The college was lacking formal written processes in place for detecting such fraud at the time it occurred, according to Debi Rigney, former lead accounts payable specialist in the university’s business services department.

Rigney quit her job last month after 5½ years after she claims she was placed on “unpaid suspension” for five days in late July and issued a performance improvement plan after the university was defrauded.

According to documents related to her suspension, which Rigney shared with the Kenosha News, university officials faulted her for not developing “clear, secure and effective” accounts payable processes that they said directly led to the breach.

The university learned of the scam June 19 when a bank notified it of an issue with a new account. According to the university, an employee had changed the bank account routing numbers of two UW System vendors, after having been fooled by the email phishing scam.

According to Rigney’s personnel documents, an investigation determined that the banking information was changed by a Parkside graduate between May 1 and May 14, for two different vendors for the amounts of $125,000 and $190,000. The requests were then placed in an accounts payable box.

Rigney, who was on family medical leave at the time the scam occurred, said another employee had covered for her while she was gone.

According to the document, the employee reportedly followed what the employee believed the process to be for receiving and making vendor requested changes. That employee was also punished, Rigney claimed.

Read more:  https://journaltimes.com/news/local/was-uw-p-scam-preventable-ex-employee-university-differ-as/article_27e234cd-92e1-58ab-b048-0927c35c3865.html

Dead bugs reportedly found in Starbucks drink from Highway 20 store

From The Journal Times.com:

A photo, taken Friday, appears to show at least a dozen dead bugs inside a Skinny Mocha from Starbucks, 5658 Washington Ave. The photo was taken by Sara Lyle, who issued a complaint. Starbucks quickly worked to correct the issue, a health inspection report shows.
Photo by Sara Lyle, via Facebook

MOUNT PLEASANT — When Sara Lyle took a sip of her Starbucks Skinny Mocha on Friday morning, she wasn’t expecting to find a bunch of dead bugs in her cup. But that’s what she said she found.

"My coffee was about three-fourths of the way gone before I felt a bug in my mouth," she told The Journal Times. "And then I had a bad feeling."

Lyle said she had thought there had just been some solid coffee grounds in her coffee. But when she lifted the lid, she found what appeared to be at least a dozen dead bugs hanging on the walls of the cup and floating in the coffee.

 Lyle made a Facebook post about it, warning her friends to “Avoid Starbucks on Highway 20,” the location at 5658 Washington Ave.

"I definitely wouldn't want another drink from there," she told The Journal Times, although she did accept a $20 refund card as an apology from Starbucks.

The Facebook post went locally viral, which surprised Lyle considering she'd meant only to warn her friends about the potential health issue. The post picked up more than 1,100 reactions, nearly 500 comments and 5,200 shares in four days. One man commented: “If this is true they should rename it ‘Starbugs.’”

Lyle called the Central Racine County Health Department at around 11:30 a.m. that day. By the time an inspector arrived at the Starbucks, staff was already addressing the complaint.

According to a CRCHD inspection report, by the time an inspector arrived that day, staff had already thrown out the mix used to make Lyle's coffee, and had rinsed and sanitized the equipment used to make the drink.

After completing its inspection, the inspector advised Starbucks’ staff check all dry mixes and coffee beans before using them. However, the inspection “did not find any evidence of bug contamination of the food or food contact surfaces.
”

In a statement, Starbucks said: “We’ve connected with Ms. Lyle to apologize and learn more about her experience. Upon receiving Ms. Lyle’s complaint we immediately engaged a health inspector to visit the store. This independent investigation found no evidence of pests in the store. We are committed to providing a clean and safe environment in our stores.”

Lyle said she was told by Starbucks employees that the store had been dealing with a bug issue, although Starbucks' statement indicates that it believes there aren't any pests left at the store.

The following day, Lyle said she was told by a Starbucks representative over the phone that it would be "looking in to" who was employed at the store.

A manager at the Starbucks declined to comment on this story.

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/dead-bugs-reportedly-found-in-starbucks-drink-from-highway-store/article_49c20a02-a38b-5874-a75b-beb2a7f4cd92.html#1

Opioid crackdown forces pain patients to taper off drugs they say they need

Hank Skinner and his wife, Carol, are no strangers to pain, having collectively experienced multiple illnesses and surgeries. Hank relies on a fentanyl patch but is now being forced to lower his dosage. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)

By Joel Achenbach and

Lenny Bernstein

September 10 at 10:54 AM
 

Carol and Hank Skinner of Alexandria, Va., can talk about pain all day long.

Carol, 77, once had so much pain in her right hip and so little satisfaction with medical treatment she vowed to stay in bed until she died.

Hank, 79, has had seven shoulder surgeries, lung cancer, open-heart surgery, a blown-out knee and lifelong complications from a clubfoot. He has a fentanyl patch on his belly to treat his chronic shoulder pain. He replaces the patch every three days, supplementing the slow-release fentanyl with pills containing hydrocodone.

But to the Skinners’ dismay, Hank is now going through what is known as a forced taper. That’s when a chronic pain patient has to switch to a lower dosage of medication. His doctor, Hank says, has cut his fentanyl dosage by 50 percent — and Hank’s not happy about it. He already struggles to sleep through the night, as Carol can attest.

“He’s moaning, he’s groaning, he’s yelling out in pain,” Carol says.

“Why am I being singled out? I took it as prescribed. I didn’t abuse it,” Hank says.

He is part of a sweeping change in chronic pain management — the tapering of millions of patients who have been relying, in many case for years, on high doses of opioids. With close to 70,000 people in the U.S. dying every year from drug overdoses, and prescription opioids blamed for helping ignite this national catastrophe, the medical community has grown wary about the use of these painkillers.

Chronic pain patients form a vast constituency in America and millions of them take opioids for relief. Changes in medical guidance covering opioids have left many of them frustrated, confused and sometimes howling mad. They feel demonized and yanked around.

Hank Skinner has been tapered gradually over the course of the year. The situation is worse for people forced to cut back their medication too quickly. Even medical experts who advocate a major reduction in the use of opioids for chronic pain have warned that rapid, involuntary tapering could harm patients who are dependent on these drugs.

There is little doubt among medical experts that opioids have been prescribed at unsound and dangerous levels, particularly in their misuse for chronic pain. But at this point there’s no easy way to dial those dosages back. Long-term use of opioids creates dependency. Tapering can cause extreme pain from drug withdrawal, regardless of the underlying ailment.

The United States is now in the midst of a “national experiment” as misguided as the one it conducted 20 years ago, when doctors put millions of patients on opioids with little understanding of the consequences, says Tami Mark, senior director of behavioral health financing and quality measurement for RTI International, a North Carolina think tank. She has conducted one of the few formal studies of “forced tapering” of opioid patients.

Read more:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/opioid-crackdown-forces-pain-patients-to-taper-off-drugs-they-say-they-need/2019/09/10/3920f220-c8da-11e9-a4f3-c081a126de70_story.html

Racine could dedicate $19.2 million for home repair loans

Racine Mayor Cory Mason

Scott Paulus

By Sean Ryan  – Reporter, Milwaukee Business Journal

4 hours ago

Racine would raise more than $19.2 million in low-interest or forgivable loans for home repairs under a proposal Mayor Cory Mason’s office aims to have approved this month.

From: https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2019/09/10/racine-could-dedicate-19-2-million-for-home-repair.html

Distraction: Magician sneezes his head off

John Bolton was fired, and the price of oil instantly fell

New York (CNN Business)Oil prices fell swiftly on Tuesday after President Donald Trump fired Iran hawk John Bolton as national security adviser.

The surprise exit of Bolton prompted speculation that the tensions between the United States and Iran could ease, or at least that the chance of a military conflict had decreased.

 

Bolton was a strong proponent of the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran. That campaign was built on tough sanctions that caused Iran's oil exports to plunge.

 

US oil tumbled as much as 2.2% to $57.30 a barrel immediately after Trump tweeted out the firing of Bolton. Crude bounced off those lows and was recently trading around $57.75 a barrel.

 

Read more:  https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/10/investing/john-bolton-oil-prices/index.html

Former Judge Tracie Hunter dragged out of the courtroom, ordered to serve six months in jail

This is a long video.  Skip to the last minute to see the fireworks.

Milwaukeeans are trying to get a big payday during the 2020 DNC by renting their properties

From JSOnline:

Milwaukeeans are hoping for a big payday from the Democratic National Convention in 2020 by renting out their homes to attendees, journalists and support staff.

More than 350 properties are available on short-term rental site Airbnb in the Milwaukee area during that week next July. And many are trying to make a lot.

One host on the platform is advertising a condo on Old World Third Street — close to the epicenter of the event at Fiserv Forum — for $7,000 a night.

That's astronomically higher than what is normally charged for the five-star rated condo that sleeps 11 guests in two bedrooms with two bathrooms. To rent the property in June of 2020, it's listed for $351 a night.

To be sure, the short-term rentals will be needed to house some of the 50,000 people who will come to the city for the convention July 13 to 16, 2020. Housing assignments for the state delegations were announced last month with 2,926 hotel rooms in Wisconsin and 2,841 hotel rooms in Illinois.

Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2019/09/10/2020-dnc-milwaukeeans-trying-get-big-pay-day-airbnb/2167093001/

He Had a Kill List With Thousands of Animals On It

Alan Wilson targeted endangered animals and kept a score of all the animals he had shot, trapped or poisoned (Image: SSPCA/Daily Record)

• by: Care2 Team
• recipient: Scottish Authorities

61,079 SUPPORTERS

65,000 GOAL 

 

Alan Wilson is a 61-year-old former game keeper in Scotland. He's also an animal serial killer with no remorse. Wilson made a "kill-list" of thousands of animals that he brutally murdered. Yet, somehow, he will not serve one single day in jail for his crimes against animals.

Sign the petition if you think Alan Wilson must be held accountable for his crimes.

The list including cats, hedgehogs, foxes, goshawks, buzzards and stoats. He would murder them and then place them in a "stink pit" to rot where they would attract more animals which would then also be killed. He was committed to kill just about anything that moved, showing a horrifying lack of respect and care for a life.

When he was caught, he was also found to be in possession of a banned pesticide that is dangerous to animals and humans. As we know, animal abuse often turns into or accompanies human abuse. This is just another reason that someone this careless about life should not be allowed to roam free among people and animals.

Even worse? Authorities suspect his kill-list is not even a full account of all the animals he has mercilessly killed. Many of the animals he killed were even legally protected species and he set illegal traps as well. He has been charged with animal cruelty and will have to do a lot of community service.

But that kind of punishment won't keep him from killing more animals like an actual prison sentence would. That's why we are joining activist in Scotland in calling for a prison sentence for Alan Wilson. Will you join us?

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/145/104/275/?z00m=32004923&redirectID=2931558452

Maryland woman, 73, charged with killing neighbor, 82, with brick at senior center

A 73-year-old woman in Maryland has been charged with killing her 82-year-old neighbor with a brick, officials in Prince George's County said Monday.

The woman was killed sometime before 7:15 a.m. Sunday in the town of Bladensburg, a community of around 9,000 northeast of Washington, D.C.

Chun Yong Oh is accused of striking Hwa Cha Pak multiple times with a brick, the Prince George's County Police Department said in a statement. She then called 911 to report the murder, according to police.

Read more:  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/maryland-woman-73-charged-killing-neighbor-82-brick-senior-center-n1051791

Trapped crew members rescued from capsized cargo ship

A US priest, a Philippine village, and decades of secrecy

From The Journal Times.com:

TALUSTUSAN, Philippines (AP) — The American priest's voice echoed over the phone line, his sharp Midwestern accent softened over the decades by a gentle Filipino lilt. On the other end, recording the call, was a young man battered by shame but anxious to get the priest to describe exactly what had happened in this little island village.

"I should have known better than trying to just have a life," the priest said in the November 2018 call. "Happy days are gone. It's all over."

But, the young man later told The Associated Press, those days were happy only for the priest. They were years of misery for him, he said, and for the other boys who investigators say were sexually assaulted by Father Pius Hendricks.

Read more:  https://journaltimes.com/news/world/a-us-priest-a-philippine-village-and-decades-of-secrecy/article_2df8a39e-36c2-53b2-948c-68fddfe6469b.html#comments

Open Blog - Tuesday

Hello.

Apple says Foxconn violated Chinese temporary staff rule, as supply chain ramped up iPhone 11 production

The Chinese Labor Watch group released a lengthy report alleging several violations of Chinese law against Foxconn, the key iPhone assembler. Apple said it investigated and denies most of the allegations but did say that it found Foxconn’s iPhone factory workforce was made up of 50% temporary labor, way above the 10% rule according to the law.

Although Apple nor Foxconn will say explicitly, this is clearly a result of the usual supply chain rush to manufacture Apple’s new iPhone models, believed to be called iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, ready for the September sales season.

Apple said that it is working closely with Foxconn to resolve the issue, but Chinese Labor Watch claim that Apple is allowing Foxconn to continue using the workers despite it technically breaking Chinese law. Presumably, Apple and Foxconn are looking to correct the balance but an immediate change to the labor supply would be too disruptive to iPhone production.

The labor watch organization had claimed that Foxconn was requiring workers to do overtime shifts. Apple conducted its own investigation and said it could not find evidence to support these claims, saying that all overtime was voluntary.

Student intern workers are not allowed to do overtime. Nevertheless, Apple and Foxconn found a small number voluntarily working extra hours (to earn extra money) and say these cases have been corrected. During the iPhone X production season in 2017, there was a much larger outbreak of student overtime.

Read more:  https://9to5mac.com/2019/09/09/iphone-11-chinese-labor-laws/

‘Someone’s Gotta Tell the Freakin’ Truth’: Jerry Falwell’s Aides Break Their Silence

At Liberty University, all anyone can talk about is Jerry Falwell Jr. Just not in public.
“When he does stupid stuff, people will mention it to others they consider confidants and not keep it totally secret,” a trusted adviser to Falwell, the school’s president and chancellor, told me. “But they won’t rat him out.”

That’s beginning to change.

Over the past year, Falwell, a prominent evangelical leader and supporter of President Donald Trump, has come under increasing scrutiny. News outlets have reported on business deals by Liberty University benefiting Falwell’s friends. Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen claimed that he had helped Falwell clean up racy “personal” photographs.

Based on scores of new interviews and documents obtained for this article, concerns about Falwell’s behavior go well beyond that—and it’s causing longtime, loyal Liberty University officials to rapidly lose faith in him.

More than two dozen current and former high-ranking Liberty University officials and close associates of Falwell spoke to me or provided documents for this article, opening up—for the first time at an institution so intimately associated with the Falwell family—about what they’ve experienced and why they don’t think he’s the right man to lead Liberty University or serve as a figurehead in the Christian conservative movement.

In interviews over the past eight months, they depicted how Falwell and his wife, Becki, consolidated power at Liberty University and how Falwell presides over a culture of self-dealing, directing university resources into projects and real estate deals in which his friends and family have stood to make personal financial gains. Among the previously unreported revelations are Falwell’s decision to hire his son Trey’s company to manage a shopping center owned by the university, Falwell’s advocacy for loans given by the university to his friends, and Falwell’s awarding university contracts to businesses owned by his friends.

“We’re not a school; we’re a real estate hedge fund,” said a senior university official with inside knowledge of Liberty’s finances. “We’re not educating; we’re buying real estate every year and taking students’ money to do it.”

Liberty employees detailed other instances of Falwell’s behavior that they see as falling short of the standard of conduct they expect from conservative Christian leaders, from partying at nightclubs, to graphically discussing his sex life with employees, to electioneering that makes uneasy even those who fondly remember the heyday of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., the school’s founder and Falwell Jr.’s father, and his Moral Majority.

In January, the Wall Street Journal reported that in the run-up to Trump’s presidential campaign, Cohen hired John Gauger, a Liberty University employee who runs a private consulting firm, to manipulate online polls in Trump’s favor. Not previously reported is the fact that, according to a half-dozen high-level Liberty University sources, when Gauger traveled to New York to collect payment from Cohen, he was joined by Trey Falwell, a vice president at Liberty. During that trip, Trey posted a now-deleted photo to Instagram of around $12,000 in cash spread on a hotel bed, raising questions about his knowledge of Gauger’s poll-rigging work. Trey did not respond to requests for comment.

Read more:  https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/09/jerry-falwell-liberty-university-loans-227914

Heat wave expected this week. Muggy, too.

From JSOnline:

A warm front is forecast to push its way into Wisconsin and boost temperatures into the mid-80s along with humid conditions, according to the National Weather Service.

Monday is expected to be relatively balmy with a high of 72 in the Milwaukee area, though dew points will begin creeping up later in the day. But then it'll get hot.

High temperatures Tuesday are expected to hit 86 degrees with dew points around 70.

As a rule, dew points of 60 to 65 start to feel sticky, with 65 to 70 feeling really humid.

An area of low pressure approaching from the Great Plains will sweep into Wisconsin on Monday followed by a switch in wind direction from the south, funneling hot air into the region, Sarah Marquardt, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Sullivan, said Sunday evening.

Read more:https://www.jsonline.com/story/weather/2019/09/08/wisconsin-weather-hot-muggy-days-forecast-week/2259810001/

Open Blog - Monday

Promise?

Instead of prosecuting alleged child rapist, charges dropped, in part because of possible deportation

From The Journal Times.com:

RACINE — Two men accused of raping the same 12-year-old girl have had charges brought against them in the past year, and each faced a maximum sentence of at least 60 years in prison. They also are facing deportation.

One of their cases was dismissed in March in part because the suspect, 38-year-old Juan Ramon-Pacheco, was likely going to be deported to Mexico, according to court documents reviewed by The Journal Times, although he  remains in jail as of Friday.

The other suspect, Lorenzo Bernabe-Lucas, 29, who allegedly impregnated the 12-year-old, was charged Wednesday with first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. He is being held in the Racine County Jail on an immigration detainer, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling confirmed.

Dismissing the first case

Despite "a fair amount of reluctance" from Racine Circuit Court Judge Mark Nielsen, he approved the Racine County District Attorney’s Office request to dismiss charges against Ramon-Pacheco on March 22.

Nielsen, while dismissing the two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 13, characterized the motion to dismiss the case thusly: “This defendant (Ramon-Pacheco) is going to be deported and won’t be our problem,” he said, according to a court transcript. “(It) simply makes our problem, Mexico’s problem, I suppose.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detainee locator indicates Ramon-Pacheco has not yet been deported and was being held at the Kenosha County Detention Center as of Friday.

Bernabe-Lucas is from Guatemala and had entered the U.S. illegally, according to Shawn Neudauer, a public affairs officer for ICE. Ramon-Pacheco is a Mexican national.

Nielsen said he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to dismiss the charges, but deferred to the judgment of the District Attorney’s Office and approved the motion anyway.

“I have seen a lot weaker cases proceed to trial,” Nielsen said on March 22. “I am trying to understand why (the prosecutor) wants me to dismiss other than the fact that the gentleman will be deported ... In this case: an accusation of sexual assault of a child. You appear to have a fair amount of pretty clear evidence that he committed these crimes.”

Representing the state via the District Attorney’s Office, Assistant District Attorney Diane Donohoo argued that by dropping the charges, even if Ramon-Pacheco were considered to be a danger, public safety wouldn't be at risk considering Ramon-Pacheco could be deported. As of Friday, Ramon-Pacheco was still being held at Kenosha County Jail, more than five months after charges against him were dropped.

"He will be subject to deportation proceedings. He has been in custody for a substantial period of time here," Donohoo said on March 22. "Given all of that, I believe that it is in the best interests of the victim and it does not harm the public that this case be dismissed at this time."

The District Attorney’s Office has not replied to requests for comment on this story.

After Nielsen questioned Donohoo on why weaknesses weren’t revealed “long ago” — Ramon-Pacheco had been in custody since Sept. 12, 2018 — Donohoo said that she doubted a jury would convict, despite having testimony from the victim saying that Ramon-Pacheco had raped her multiple times.

Nielsen dismissed the case with “a fair amount of reluctance,” he said, partially because he didn’t feel deportation would be effective in protecting the public.

“I have a fair amount of experience from my prior federal practice with how effective deportation is, which is to say that generally means they won’t be back for months,” Nielsen said before dismissing the case on March 22, according to the court transcript. “But why are we dismissing this case? … I mean, it’s a sexual assault of a child.”

Read more: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/instead-of-prosecuting-alleged-child-rapist-charges-dropped-in-part/article_1ca88686-b4c7-5e36-9d45-e99fd1fb6dd7.html


This is why Racine is a toilet: ineffectual, wishy-washy judges who always side with the criminals.  As Nielsen said himself, this guy will be back in months.  Then he will rape more children.  What a fucked up judiciary.  Our judges should be rounded up and deported.

Security News This Week: An Unprecedented Cyberattack Hit US Power Utilities

Photograph: Ullstein Bild/Getty Images

Let's not overplay this: There was no blackout, and it's not even clear that it was a specifically targeted attack. But hackers did use firewall vulnerabilities to cause periodic "blind spots" for grid operators in the western US for about 10 hours on March 5. It's the first known time a cyberattack has caused that kind of disruption—which, again, did not affect the actual flow of electricity—at a US power grid company. The incident was originally referenced in a Department of Energy report in April, but only in vague terms. A new North American Electric Reliability Corporation document described it in more detail, including the type of vulnerabilities that let hackers compromise the web portals in question. No need to panic about this incident specifically, but given the extent to which Russia and others continue to probe the power grid, it's an unsettling reminder that weaknesses are out there.

Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/power-grid-cyberattack-facebook-phone-numbers-security-news/

Wisconsin Cannabis Expo

From The Shepherd Express:

Click here to sign up today for our Cannabis Connection email newsletter. You'll be the first to hear when tickets go on sale for the Wisconsin Cannabis Expo and more about the event. Cannabis Connection is your bi-weekly guide to stay informed about the growing availability of legal cannabis products in Milwaukee and what's happening at the state level with respect to Wisconsin's movement towards legalization, what's happening in other states and in the rest of the world.

Read more:  https://shepherdexpress.com/shepherdevents/wicannabisexpo#//

Microsoft the Musical

Madison restaurant owner has no plans to change Pho King Good name

Ting Cai Zhou is calling his Vietnamese noodle restaurant Pho King Good and has no intention of changing its name.
SAMARA KALK DERBY, STATE JOURNAL

A Madison restaurateur who is calling his Vietnamese noodle restaurant Pho King Good has no intention of changing its name after learning it includes words that sound obscene when spoken together.

“He didn’t mean to say a dirty word, that’s not his meaning or his main purpose,” said Shuai Yuan, who translated for his friend Ting Cai Zhou, who speaks little English and owns the proposed restaurant.

Ting insists he had no idea that the name was controversial until a reporter pointed out that “pho” — the popular Vietnamese soup pronounced “fuh” — plus “king” sounds to English speakers like an expletive.

Read more:  https://madison.com/wsj/entertainment/dining/restaurants/madison-restaurant-owner-has-no-plans-to-change-pho-king/article_7916746e-2e5a-577b-989d-5fa687b6de0b.html