Stupid Is, Stupid Does

I've often said that if criminals put as much effort into doing good and they do when they are bad, then the world would be so much better.  Case in point: this CNN story talks of a woman in Oregon who won $1 million in the lottery, however, she made the purchase using a stolen credit card.

Is putting down a buck to much to ask here?  Lady, you're short $1 million because you were being a criminal.  And, you're going to jail!  I want to say you're just star-crossed, but, the reality is you're a moron.  I've never, ever heard of something like this happening.  Just think: if you had four quaters, or a dollar, 100 pennies, etc, and bought this ttk the right way, you could have hired a decent lawyer to prevent you from going to jail.   But, as the subject says: Stupid Is, Stupid Does. 

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Police: Winning lottery ticket purchased with stolen credit card

MEDFORD, Oregon (AP) -- A woman bought a winning lottery ticket worth $1 million with a stolen credit card and could wind up with nothing if convicted, police said.

Christina Goodenow, 38, of White City in southern Oregon faced numerous theft-related charges, forgery and possession of methamphetamine, said authorities, who searched her home Thursday. The card belonged to a deceased relative, they said.

If convicted of any of the charges, Goodenow will not be able to collect prize money from the winning ticket, said police Lt. Tim George.

Oregon Lottery officials refused to discuss specifics of the case because an investigation is still under way.

"I'll be fascinated to see how this shakes out," Lottery spokesman Chuck Baumann said. "In my 12 years with the Oregon Lottery, this is the first time I've encountered something like this."

Goodenow purchased the winning ticket October 9 using a credit card that had belonged to her mother-in-law, who died more than a year ago, police said.

Goodenow traveled to Oregon Lottery headquarters in Salem on October 12 to accept an installment payment of $33,500. The $1 million grand prize is paid out over 20 years.

Detectives began tracking Goodenow on Wednesday after learning that she had used the credit card to purchase several items, including the ticket.

A search warrant served at her home Thursday turned up some methamphetamine, but little money, George said.

"Our investigation is still trying to determine what happened to the $33,500," George said.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/28/lottery.creditcard.ap/index.html    

Shame On You, Wal-Mart

CNN reported today that an internal memo from Wal-Mart's headquarters was leaked stating, among other things, that it "could hold down spending on health care and benefits by hiring more part-time workers and encouraging healthier, more productive employees."  Essentially they're saying ,"It's bad enough that we have to pay for your associate's healthcare, but here's a a great way to solve that problem.  Just encourage everyone to work part-time, so we don't have pay them healthcare, and lets' not hire anyone with health problems.  They'll just clutter our bottom line." 

It's not like the bulk of employees at Wal-Mart earn a lot of money.  I don't see any Wal-Mart cashiers making $100 K a year, or having a diversified portfolio.  Point is, they make barely minimum wage for a company that is making hundreds of millions of dollars a day, yet, this company is still wants to make their bottom line look better but cutting health benefits.   I'm majoring in Business Management in college, but I haven't come across a course that taught how to humiliate bottom-rung employees.  That's just bad business, Wal-Mart.   The article does go on to state other options Wal-Mart is proposing to allow associates to create "consumer-driven health plans with Health Savings Accounts that would go toward paying higher deductibles", but this is still a burden on the employees, and will probably cause them to pay more for their health benefits.   Bottom-line: Wal-Mart doesn't want to care for it's employee's healthcare.  I wonder if those in upper management at Wal-Mart will also have to pay more for their health benefits also.  I think Sam Walton would be pissed if he knew this was happening.

 

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Wal-Mart memo: Unhealthy need not apply
Document sent to retailer's board by VP offers means of cutting benefit costs and shoring up image.
October 26, 2005: 4:32 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN) - A Wal-Mart vice president has suggested to the company's board of directors that it could hold down spending on health care and benefits by hiring more part-time workers and encouraging "healthier, more productive employees," according to an internal memo obtained by CNN.

CNN obtained the 12-page memo, written by Susan Chambers, ahead of the board's November meeting, from the Web site of Wal-Mart Watch, a strong critic of Wal-Mart's labor practices, which says the memo was sent to its offices.

Wal-Mart posted the memo on its Web site early Wednesday.

As the world's largest retailer and largest U.S. nonunion private-sector employer -- with more than 1.3 million "associates" in its U.S. stores -- Wal-Mart has been a lightning rod for criticism about its wage and benefits policies, and has been hit by lawsuits alleging gender discrimination. It also has drawn fire for allegedly stifling small businesses and squeezing its vendors.

In the memo, Chambers wrote that a survey of employees had shown that "associates are satisfied overall with their benefits [but] they are opposed to most traditional cost-control levers," such as higher deductibles.

"Most troubling," she wrote, "the least healthy, least productive associates are more satisfied with their benefits than other segments and are interested in longer careers with Wal-Mart."

Chambers acknowledged that the company's benefit offering "is vulnerable to at least some of" the criticism leveled at it, "especially with regard to the affordability of coverage and associates' reliance on Medicaid."

Chambers' memo proposes a number of ways that Wal-Mart could hold down spending on health care and benefits while minimizing damage to its reputation. Those proposals include nine "limited-risk initiatives" and five "bold steps."

The initiatives include increasing the number of part-time employees while making it easier for part-time employees to become eligible for benefits and offering a variety of benefits from which employees may choose.

Chambers also mentioned a plan already under way to add health clinics to stores.

The "bold steps" called for Wal-Mart to institute "consumer-driven health plans" with Health Savings Accounts that would go toward paying higher deductibles; restructuring the retirement program to put more money into health care and less into retirement; redesigning employment at Wal-Mart "to attract a healthier, more productive workforce"; making strategic investments to counter criticism; and improving communications about the company's benefits offering.

There was no date on Chambers' memo, but on Monday Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott discussed the need to increase the federal minimum wage and a new "value option" health-care plan aimed at making insurance more available to employees.

Scott told company directors and executives that he was urging Congress to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour "and take a look at ... other legislation that can help working families."

Tracy Sefl, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Watch, told CNN/Money Tuesday that Scott's comments on raising the minimum wage were "laughable and out of left field."

Scott also discussed a new health-care package with lower premiums for Wal-Mart workers.

The new "value option" plan, which will be introduced Jan. 1, offers insurance coverage for $23 a month "and kids covered for less than 50 cents per day ... no matter how many children," Scott said.

"We will offer this plan for $11 a month, with children covered for less than 30 cents per day, in some markets," he said, "and we are working to offer these savings nationally."

Under the new plan, a $1,000 deductible won't kick in until an employee or family member has seen a doctor three times. The first year carries a $25,000 insurance cap, and there are out-of-pocket payments ranging from $300 for prescriptions to $1,000 for hospital stays.

Health Savings Accounts, created by the federal government last year, would help with deductibles.

Sefl told The New York Times that the company's new plan is a "healthy person's plan [that] doesn't fully address the needs of a majority of their work force."

Currently, fewer than half of Wal-Mart's workers are covered by company health insurance, compared with more than 80 percent at Costco (down $0.82 to $47.10, Research), its leading competitor, the paper said. The company declined to estimate how many additional workers would be covered under the new plan.

Chambers said in her memo that the recommended changes would still leave "a significant number of associates and their children" qualified for Medicaid.

"Because many of these programs will offer more generous health insurance than Wal-Mart provides, many associates will still choose to enroll in Medicaid, leaving the door open for continued attacks" from the company's critics, she wrote.

But, she said, those working on the problems believe the advantages of their proposals outweigh the risks.

Shares of Wal-Mart (up $0.19 to $45.58, Research) were up nearly 1 percent in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/26/news/fortune500/walmart/index.htm

Have you seen this Village Person?

The dancing cop from The Village People is on the loose!!!  This is pretty serious, considering that he's now listed on America's Most Wanted's webpage!  Wow!  Dude went from being a world-famous dancing cop, to a wanted fugitive.  If you see him please contact your local police.

 

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Village People "Cop" Wanted

 

Victor Willis played the Cop for the Village People from 1977 to 1979

Authorities in California are now searching for one "cop" who's on the wrong side of the law. Victor Edward Willis, who played the part of the policeman in the 1970s band the Village People is wanted on charges of possession of narcotics. Police say Willis skipped out on a court hearing on October 21, 2005, and now a California judge has issued a warrant for his arrest.

Willis was due in San Mateo County Superior Court for sentencing in a drug case. But, authorities say he never showed.

According to officials, Willis was arrested in July after getting caught at a traffic stop allegedly holding crack cocaine, a loaded pistol and drug paraphernalia in his convertible Corvette. Then, cops say Willis posted $100,000 bail and was released.

Macho Man Takes Off

The Village People had major hits, including "YMCA" and "Macho Man"

Willis' lawyer, Kenneth Quigly has told a California newspaper that his client bailed because he "is scheduled for surgery." Quigley said he first learned of Willis' plan to ditch the mandatory hearing after Willis left a message on his voicemail.

Willis was convicted in 1990 of drug posession and was acquitted of rape in 1993.

Disco Pioneer

Willis cofounded the Village People in 1977. He co-wrote and sang lead on the band's biggest hits, including "YMCA," "Macho Man" and "In the Navy," where he was known as the Cop. Willis left the band in 1979.

 

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=35412

Er.....ok......

Not sure how to comment on this story, other than to say "er....ok...."

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Man Gets 33 Years to Match Larry Bird's Jersey

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 20) - A man got a prison term longer than prosecutors and defense attorneys had agreed to - all because of Celtics great Larry Bird.

The lawyers reached a plea agreement Tuesday for a 30-year term for a man accused of shooting with an intent to kill and robbery. But Eric James Torpy wanted his prison term to match Bird's jersey number 33.

"He said if he was going to go down, he was going to go down in Larry Bird's jersey," Oklahoma County District Judge Ray Elliott said Wednesday. "We accommodated his request and he was just as happy as he could be.

"I've never seen anything like this in 26 years in the courthouse. But, I know the DA is happy about it."

 

http://articles.news.aol.com/sports/article.adp?id=20051020114009990009

You can't be a justice if you can't pay your BAR dues

Forget that she may overturn abortion, or that she has never been a judge.   The issue I have with Harriet Miers is that she forgot to pay her bar dues, causing her law license to be "suspended in the District of Columbia earlier this year".   Somehow I can't see someone becoming a Supreme Court Justice when they forget to pay their bar fee.  Would you want a lawyer to represent you who forgets to pay their bar fees?  Even Dan Fielding paid his bar fee! (You know, Dan Fielding?  Night Court?  Was a hit on the 80's?)  Her forgetfulness scares me.  What if she forgets to show up for court?  Lord knows what else she's forgotten to do.......

 

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http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/18/miers.ap/index.html

Miers supported ban on most abortions

Supreme Court nominee pledged to support pro-life group in 1989

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers pledged support in 1989 for a constitutional amendment banning abortions except when necessary to save the life of the mother, according to material given to the Senate on Tuesday.

As a candidate for the Dallas city council, Miers also signaled support for the overall agenda of Texans United for Life -- agreeing she would support legislation restricting abortions if the Supreme Court ruled that states could ban abortions and would participate in "pro-life rallies and special events."

Miers made her views known in a candidate questionnaire the White House submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to hold hearings on her Supreme Court nomination next month. The one-page questionnaire was filled out, but unsigned, although the Bush administration affirmed its authenticity.

"The answers clearly reflect that Harriet Miers is opposed to Roe v. Wade," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat and only woman on the Judiciary Committee. "This raises very serious concerns about her ability to fairly apply the law without bias in this regard. It will be my intention to question her very carefully about these issues."

GOP Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn of Texas, who support Miers, say the questionnaire was written while Miers was a politician, and she would leave political decisions behind as a judge. "That information is interesting, and some people may draw their own conclusions from it, but I believe that Harriet Miers will be the type of judge who will not attempt to pursue a personal or political agenda from the bench," Cornyn said.

That view was echoed at the White House where presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said that Miers answered the questions as a candidate during the course of a campaign.

"The role of a judge is very different from the role of a candidate or a political officeholder," McClellan said.

"Harriet Miers, just like Chief Justice (John) Roberts, recognizes that personal views and ideology and religion have no role to play when it comes to making decisions on the bench," he said. "Your role as a judge is to look at all the facts and look at the law and apply the law to that case."

The questionnaire also revealed that the White House was considering Miers for its first Supreme Court nomination along with now-Chief Justice John Roberts.

"When Justice Sandra Day O'Connor first announced her desire to retire, I was asked whether my name should be considered," she said in the questionnaire. "I indicated at that time that I did not want to be considered."

Qualifications questioned

The document surfaced as the White House struggled to reassure conservatives who have been critical of Miers' appointment, depicting her as a crony of President Bush who lacks the background or qualifications to sit on the high court.

There was fresh evidence of trouble for Miers during the day, when Sen. David Vitter, R-Louisiana, issued a statement saying, "My top questions are: does she have a consistent and well-grounded conservative judicial philosophy and what objective evidence is there of it from her life's work?"

Miers, 60, meanwhile, continued meeting privately with senators during the day, part of a round of courtesy calls that precede the opening of confirmation hearings.

"With her conservative judicial philosophy, she understands that judges must not legislate from the bench," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the conservative American Center for Law and Justice and a Miers supporter. "And while she may hold personal views that underscore the value of human life, it would be wrong for those views to be used against her in the confirmation process."

The 1989 questionnaire was designed to gauge candidates' views on the drive to ban most abortions, either by constitutional amendment or by state law in the event the Supreme Court overturned a 1973 ruling that established abortion rights.

"If Congress passes a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution that would prohibit abortion except when it was necessary to prevent the death of the mother, would you actively support its ratification by the Texas Legislature," asked an April 1989 questionnaire sent out by the Texans United for Life group.

Miers checked "yes" to that question, and all of the group's questions, including whether she would oppose the use of public moneys for abortions and whether she would use her influence to keep "pro-abortion" people off city health boards and commissions.

The swing vote

The abortion issue hangs over Miers' nomination much as it did over the appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts earlier this year. The situations are different, however -- Roberts replaced the late William Rehnquist, who voted to overturn the 1973 abortion ruling. Miers would succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has voted to uphold it.

"A candidate taking a political position in the course of a campaign is different from the role of a judge making a ruling in the judicial process." said Jim Dyke, a White House spokesman.

Miers' nomination has been met with skepticism from some conservatives, who say she has little by way of a record to establish her views on abortion, affirmative action and other issues. The Texans United for Life questionnaire is additional evidence of how Miers feels about abortion, with some of her supporters assuring conservatives that they believe she would overturn the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.

Miers also bought a $150 ticket to a Texans United for Life dinner in 1989 and took a leadership role in trying to get the American Bar Association to reconsider its abortion-rights position in 1993.

No assurances on Roe

Senators say Miers has insisted that she has not given anyone any assurances that she would overturn Roe v. Wade if given the chance.

"She said nobody knows my views on Roe v. Wade. Nobody can speak for me on Roe v. Wade," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, on Monday, referring to the case that guaranteed women's constitutional right to an abortion, setting a legal precedent that abortion foes have been trying to overturn ever since.

In the questionnaire that she turned in the Judiciary Committee, Miers answered "no" to questions asking whether anyone during the nomination process discussed specific cases or legal issues with her to get an assurance on her positions. She also answered "no" to whether she told anyone how she might rule if confirmed.

Miers also revealed that her law license was suspended in the District of Columbia earlier this year for non-payment of bar dues. "I immediately sent the dues to remedy the delinquency," she wrote. "The nonpayment was not intentioned, and I corrected the situation upon receiving the letter."

Chewbacca To Become An American

Yes, Star Wars dorks.  The big fuzzball from outer space is about to become an American citizen.   That's the impression I got when I saw the headline for this story.  Of course Chewbacca isn't real (although, I did get to say hi to him at the Star Wars ride at Disney in '97, so maybe he is "real"), but the actor that plays him is.   British actor Peter Mayhew "will be among 441 people from 77 countries who will become naturalized Americans in a ceremony in Arlington, Texas."  Of course, while becoming an new American, he is also quoted in this story as saying "Whatever people say about America, it is still one of the most wonderful countries in the world, despite the politics, religion and everything else that goes on."

Dude, you're a wookie!  You should be thrilled that you're becoming one of us.  I'd rather be an American than flying around outer space in a flying Yugo with a wanted fugitive.  Yes, Han Solo was a fugitive.  Now, say the pledge and keep yourself shaved.  Welcome to America.

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'Chewbacca' to become an American British-born actor married to Texan

  Mayhew played Chewbacca in the original "Star Wars" trilogy and in "Episode III."

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a Wookiee named Chewbacca growled and howled his way through "Star Wars" movies. On Monday, the actor who played him will take the oath to become an American citizen.

British-born Peter Mayhew will be among 441 people from 77 countries who will become naturalized Americans in a ceremony in Arlington, Texas.

Mayhew, 60, played the fur-covered warrior Chewbacca in the original "Star Wars" trilogy of the 1970s and 1980s, and the latest movie, "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."

"I got married to a Texan lady. That more or less decided it," said Mayhew, who has been married to his wife, Angelique, for six years.

In most cases,an immigrant must be a legal permanent resident for five years before becoming a citizen. The wait is three years if the person marries a U.S. citizen. He also must pass history, English and civics exams.

"I've always been interested in the cowboys and the history of the West and the history of America, so it wasn't so bad," Mayhew said in a telephone interview Wednesday. He was being driven by his wife to buy a suit for the occasion. It will be the conventional type -- not the brown, furry sort.

"I am feeling very happy about it," Mayhew said. "Whatever people say about America, it is still one of the most wonderful countries in the world, despite the politics, religion and everything else that goes on."

"I know that I have the best of both worlds with the dual nationality," he said.

When he takes his oath to become an American, Mayhew said he'll recite what he can remember and "it will be a Chewie growl for the other parts."

 

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/13/citizen.wookiee.ap/index.html

Not the smartest tool....

The key word here is "tool".  Apparently, this "tool" received relief checks from local churches here in Tulsa while pretending to be in need.  Why would she do this?  Well, if a picture is a worth a thousand words, this picture would be full of words that relate to stupidity:

From NewsChannel 8:
Woman Accused of Obtaining Money Meant For Evacuees
Location: Tulsa
Posted: October 03, 2005 7:41 AM EST
URL: http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/1005/265333.html

Tulsa - A Tulsa woman is accused of taking money meant for hurricane evacuees.

Police arrested 30-year-old Misty Dawn Nelson on two fraud complaints.

Investigators say Nelson had 15-hundred dollars in relief checks sent to her apartment. And, while they believe Nelson did not tell people she was an evacuee, she led a local church to believe she needed help.

Nelson was booked into the Tulsa County Jail on complaints of obtaining money by bogus check.

http://www.ktul.com/printarticle.hrb?a=p&f=n&s=265333&f1=loc&stat=ktul