November 24th will be the 40th anniversary of a Northwest plane being hijacked by a man calling himself Dan Cooper and more commonly known today as D.B. Cooper.
The FBI hopes to have solved the case before the 40th anniversary as they have a new suspect whose fingerprints they are currently testing.
This could be just another promising lead that fizzles out as there is a chance the item the FBI is testing may not even have fingerprints still on the item.
Still, it is good to know the FBI has a lead that could lead to the arrest of the suspect, if he is still alive.
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!! DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHO WON THE HOH ENDURANCE CONTEST ON BIG BROTHER 13 LAST NIGHT
It was no surprise that the Big Brother 13 program last night focused on the fight at the house meeting on Wednesday. The meeting exposed Danielle to behind a move to backdoor Jeff. Danielle called Rachel an idiot and Brendon didn’t take kindly to the attack on his fiancée.
Parts of the fight were shown on the live show last night on CBS. That drama made the upcoming HOH endurance competition even more important for Danielle to win. If a veteran won HOH, she would be out of the game next week,so it was imperative that she win the endurance. Something told me she would win since she looked determined to win it. She had lasted about 8 or 9 hours in an endurance competition during Big Brother 8, so knew she was likely to win.
The house guests were on a wall with skis on and holding on to a peg in the wall. The wall began to move to a downward angle, making it more difficult to stay on.
Alex and Lawon fell off in the first 15 minutes.
Brendon fell off 15 minutes later at 7:30.
Jeff was the last man to fall at 7:45 leaving Jordan, Shelley, Kalia, Porsche and Danielle in the competition.
Jordan fell five minutes after Jeff at 7:50
Porsche lasted 20 minutes longer than Jordan falling off at 8:10
Shelley was the last of the house guests linked to the veterans to fall at 8:20 after 80 minutes
Kalia gave it to Danielle at 8:30 with Danielle lasting 90 minutes.
Jeff Wins $10,000
While Jeff was on the wall, he said he was jumping off if Brendon didn’t get the snowball with $10,000. So he jumped off the wall and won the $10,000. Jeff probably didn’t win any points with Brendon and Rachel by taking the money, instead of trying to win HOH, leaving the veterans subject to eviction.
Adam’s snowball was not so good. Now he will have to wear an elf suit. Brendon won a have-not card, which apparently will keep him from being a have-not the next time he is on the losing side of a have-not competition.
Men Lasted Half As Long As Women
The men lasted only 45 minutes, while Danielle stayed on the wall for 90 minutes. It is almost like the veteran men weren’t worried about winning. Shelly lasted 35 minutes longer than the men.
It seems like the endurance competitions don’t last as long as they used to. Kaysar worked out a deal with Jenny in Big Brother 6 during a 13 hour endurance that backfired when Jenny didn’t keep her word.
Nobody Cheered For Danielle and Kalia
Danielle and Kalia were not being cheered on during the endurance competition, which tells me they may be up for eviction the next the time veterans win HOH, since currently Porsche and Shelley are still with the veterans. That leaves Kalia and Danielle in the opposing side and maybe Lawon. Adam and Lawon seem to be floaters, so no telling how they would vote.
The bad thing for the veterans is that two of them won’t be able to vote with the two on the block. Adam and Lawon hold the key to how the next vote goes, depending who they side with.
Danielle Tells Jordan That Jordan and Jeff Are Safe
After the endurance ended Danielle told Jordan in the house, that she was not sending Jeff and Jordan home next week. She had also asked Jeff to keep her safe the following week, in return for her not putting them up for eviction later today.
I am sure a lot of the house guests will be happy if Brendon-Rachel are nominated for eviction. He can’t seem to have a conversation with anyone, without calling that person a liar. He does not have a good social game or he would have not launched into the attack on Kalia, when Kalia was still on their side. His behavior pushed her over to the other side, even if she did vote with the veterans last night.
Rachel and Danielle Apologize To Each Other
Rachel and Danielle had a talk after the endurance competition, with them apologizing to each other. I doubt anything that Brendon and Rachel say or do now will save them from being nominated today.
Rachel and Brendon talk to Porsche, wondering if Danielle would put up with Kalia. That would be a stupid move and doubt Danielle would even consider that, since Kalia seems to be solidly in with Danielle now. Why should she nominate her closest ally in the house, now that Dominic is gone?
Rachel Threatens Danielle
Rachel talks to Danielle and tells her that if she puts up Brendon and Rachel, that she won’t vote for Danielle if she is in the final two. Danielle does not like being threatened, saying she would vote for the better person in final two, not for the one she liked the most.
After the meeting with Danielle, Brendon is furious that Rachel talked to Danielle without him being there. While they are trashing Danielle, Danielle is hearing every word, which probably insured they will be nominated for eviction later today.
Jennifer Lopez may be returning for a second season of American Idol.
The latest reports say that Jennifer Lopez may be returning for Season 11 of American Idol. Lopez reportedly earned $12 million as a judge for Season 10. If this report is true, then she would be earning even more than Ryan Seacrest, who is reportedly earning $15 million, as the host of American Idol.
Paula Abdul a couple of years ago asked for a raise, but she apparently left the show when the raise wasn’t forthcoming. So it is puzzling why Lopez would be offered a $22.3 million raise. It is a lot of money considering the judges are needed for a few auditions in major cities, before starting the season in January. However, those shows have already been recorded previously.
Lopez was a huge upgrade over Ellen Degeneres, who looked as lost as a goose in a caboose, in her year as a judge. She hemmed and hawed around before making her decisions on the contestants. She also tried to be funny and that didn’t work either.
In my opinion, the judges in Season 10 were the best set of judges, since the show began. Steven Tyler and Lopez judged the contestants well, with concise analysis of their singing. Randy Jackson was busy being Randy Jackson with all his sayings like “You nailed it dawg”, “You blew it out of the box”, “You are in it to win it”, “It was a little pitchy”, “It just didn’t do it for me,” and his dreaded “yo-yo” which more times than not meant he didn’t like the rendition of the song.
All in all, the three judges last season did a great job and I really felt that the judges cared about the contestants. It was nice to not hear the snarky comments of Simon Cowell. He crossed the line, when he was on the show, criticizing overweight singers, the clothes they wore and generally was not a nice person.
His rudest comment was when he told a contestant that they needed to pack their suitcase, because they were going home. It will be interesting to see how watchers of the X-Factor will accept Simon Cowell, after seeing the much kinder American Idol judges.
Back to Lopez, we may not know for a while whether she will return for a second season, but it would be nice to have a fall and winter with no changing of the judges.
This man makes a marriage proposal in the middle of a Powerpoint presentation.
You would think after all these years, that the ways of proposing marriage would have been exhausted. However, this is the first Powerpoint proposal that I know of.
The proposal turned a ho-hum presentation into a day neither he or his future wife will ever forget. The others attending will never forget it either.
Matt McDonald tells in his blog about the day he was arrested, which turned out to be his last day of freedom, before being arrested.
Like Matt related in the blog, he had stopped selling oxycodone eight months before he was arrested. He was at work for a meeting when he was arrested. He talks about seeing his parents in the courtroom at the trial.
It turns out that being on Big Brother 9 was not a good thing. He would never have met Adam Jasinski, the winner that year who may or may not have ratted Matt out, to avoid a longer prison sentence. Jasinski got him started selling drugs, but apparently McDonald had second thoughts about it after selling drugs, then eventually stopped selling.
His past caught up with him though and he is paying the price now for selling the oxycodone. Hopefully, McDonald will be released soon and given a chance to get his life in order. His posts from jail are very interesting and gives us an idea of what prisoners have to face, in their day-to-day lives behind bars.
He focuses in the blog a lot on the fact that the indictment said the United States vs. Matt McDonald, feeling the whole country was against him.
Matt McDonald of Big Brother 9 has been moved from county jail to a detention center in Rhode Island. He spent 15 months in the county jail and in is previous blog had said he was eager to be moved to a federal prison.
He was sentenced to three years for distribution of oxycodone, while his fellow Big Brother 9 house guest Adam Jasinski was sentenced to four years for the same offense. Jasinski not only was selling oxycodone, but failed to report his $500,000 winnings to the IRS. Guess he was thinking they wouldn’t notice he had won the money on a show being nationally televised.
McDonald is still following Big Brother and mentions that he hopes to watch the show that night. Big Brother contestants are usually forgotten a year later, but McDonald has attracted a lot of attention four years after leaving the Big Brother house…only in a negative way.
He ends his blog with a quote from mobster Whitey Bulger who had been on the run from the law, for many years before being captured recently:
When I get some more paper I’ll write again…but for now I’ll leave you with a little quote from our “good friend” Whitey Bulger… “It takes a strong person to reach inside himself and say I’m here because of me.”
Rachel had everything rolling her way on last night’s live show of Big Brother 13. Her enemy Cassi was sent home by a 9-0 vote, then she won HOH for the second time. I doubt if there was much excitement, from other house guests, when asked who wanted to see her HOH room?
It is a mystery why she was so anti-Cassi, since Cassi never did anything to warrant such hatred. She even went to Rachel and Brendon separately to find out why they disliked her so much. Rachel came up with her usual snide remarks, then when Cassi talked to Brendon, he turned the whole thing around to make it look like Cassi was lying. Cassi was just being inquisitive and all she got in return was more disgusting behavior from Rachel and Brendon.
Rachel is hated so much by the other house guests that the first time a newbie wins HOH, she will be going out the door the next week. She has alienated every house guest by her behavior, even Brendon is not happy with her behavior. She plays by far, the worst social game ever in Big Brother history.
It is a good thing Rachel and Brendon weren’t married, before the Big Brother 13 season started. Brendon has a full-time job trying to calm Rachel down, when things don’t go her way.
Dominic and Daniele need to be watched, since they may team up with Rachel and Brendon. If that happens I still look for most of the newbies to team up with Jeff and Jordan. Dominic is a smart player. No other newbie is looking like they are doing any game playing. Adam may be a better game player after the partners are broken up.
Rachel is providing all the drama for a second season in a row. CBS was thinking they would at least have drama with Rachel and Evil Dick in the house. When Evil Dick left the house, they left it up to Rachel to turn up the drama. CBS will have to come up with a major twist, once Rachel leaves, because when she walks out the door, the drama should end as soon as the door closes. Let’s hope CBS doesn’t bring her back in the house, if she leaves.
Jeff and Jordan need to keep an eye on Rachel and Brendon. I wouldn’t be surprised if they backdoor them if they get the chance. The worst case scenario for fans who don’t like Rachel, would be for Brendon to win HOH, insuring another week of Rachel in the HOH room as a tenant, since she can’t win two weeks in a row.
Jordin Sparks has sold four million copies of her "No Air" single collaboration with Chris Brown.
Jordin Sparks, who was the Season 6 American Idol winner has done what no other contestant has ever done. She sold four million digital copies of her “No Air” duet with Chris Brown, the most sold by any American Idol contestant.
Sparks won in 2006 when 36 million fans tuned in to see the finale. In comparison, only 20 million watched the finale this year.
When Sparks won in 2006 she was the youngest at 17, to ever win the coveted title of American Idol.
Forbes Magazine lists Carrie Underwood as the biggest earner among former American Idol contestants as she took in $20 million in 2010, far eclipsing the sales of Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry who earned $6 million.
Fantasia was next earning $4 million and Sparks was right behind her earning $3 million.
Scott McCreery received a check for $250,000 for winning Season 10, but Season 7 winner David Archuleta was given a check for $360,000.
However, Ryan Seacrest earned $61 million last year which is more than the Top 10 earners among American Idol contestants made combined. He earned $15 million as the host but that is only a small part of his earnings, since he is earning money, as a disc jockey, host for the E channel’s Entertainment News and is producing reality television shows.
Something is wrong when Seacrest is paid $15 million for hosting American Idol while Scotty McCreery gets a measly $250,000 check. The fans tune in to see the contestants, not Seacrest so it wouldn’t hurt Seacrest to take a pay cut, so the winner would receive a larger check.
The new X-Factor show debuting this fall on FOX, is paying their winner $5 million which is 20 times more than McCreery earned for winning American Idol. The Voice which recently concluded their first season only paid their winner $100,000, but they have a much shorter season. The X-Factor winner will receive a check 50 times the $100,000 check that The Voice winner receives.
The complete article and list of the leading earners among American Idol contestants in 2010:
Rachel Reilly lost it after the veto competition as veteran's alliance is showing signs of crumbling.
Rachel has to be the worst social game player in Big Brother history as she was so intent on wanting to get rid of Cassi , that she is not even considering that Dominic is the only newbie that is making an effort to win.
Instead she was begging Jordan to nominate Cassi and Shelly, neither of whom is a threat to the veterans. Shelly even voted the way the veterans wanted her to vote last week on eviction night.
Then Dominic won the veto competition and Rachel went ballistic on Jordan because Rachel went on slop for two weeks, so she could continue in the veto competition, but Jordan didn’t because Jeff told her it wasn’t worth it to go on slop.
So Rachel makes a pithy comment about the HOH wasn’t trying to win and Jeff put Rachel in her place when she jumped on Jordan.
Brendon tried to calm down Rachel who went to cry in the bushes after the confrontation with Jeff. Of course the newbies were loving every minute of the meltdown by the veterans.
We should have known Rachel’s ego couldn’t handle losing a competition and now she is wanting to go it alone, which is suicide in the Big Brother game. Instead of being with Jeff, Jordan and Daniele she would be only with Brendon.
You would think that Rachel had learned her lesson from last year, that you keep to yourself what you are thinking about the other house guests.
It is safe to say that the first time a newbie wins HOH, she will be out the door since she will be the target if Brendon and her are put on the block.
Rachel takes the game too personally. She has to change her whole game plan, or she will be the first veteran out of the house. I thought Rachel would at least stay with the veterans till all the couples were broken up, but now she may have ruined any chance that might happen with her behavior after the veto competition.
Unless someone changed sides, it looks like after tonight assuming Cassi goes home that it will be Dominic and Lawon the only newbies still with the newbies, against Kalia, Porsche, Shelley, Adam, Jeff, Jordan, Brendon, Rachel and Danielle with the veterans. Since there will be 10 voting tonight for eviction, the vote should be 8-2. If not, somebody has gone back on their word. Dominic and Lawon probably don’t know of all the deals the newbies have made, so probably will vote for Cassi to stay.
Rachel better hope the veteran’s alliance wins HOH tonight, but then if a newbie in the veterans alliance wins, they might still nominate a veteran couple to make it look like they are not working with the veterans.
Lyndon B. Johnson shown with Jackie Kennedy taking the oath of office after President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated earlier that day in Dallas, Texas.
The long list of enemies assassinated President John F. Kennedy had at the time of his death showed he had made a host of enemies, while in office in two years and ten months of being president.
The following list may leave out someone unintentionally, because it is not easy to remember all of his enemies. Some people may not regard some of these people or organizations as JFK’s enemies, but to me they had reasons to have him assassinated.
President Lyndon B. Johnson – When Lyndon B. Johnson was defeated in the 1942 race for the U.S. Senate, he was losing in the vote count. However, 202 votes mysteriously turned up in alphabetical order with all the votes being for Johnson. The election judge admitted 35 years later in 1977 that the 202 votes were fraudulent. The voters whose names were on the fraudulent ballots were all deceased.
The reason I even mentioned the 1942 Senate race is that LBJ was not that happy being a second banana to the Kennedys, when he accepted the nomination to run for Vice President in 1960. The 1942 race also shows that LBJ would do whatever it takes to win an election.
I am not saying that LBJ orchestrated the assassination of JFK, but he had the clout to make it happen if he wanted. One obvious fact is that nobody profited more from the assassination of JFK than LBJ. He went from being a pawn in the Kennedy administration with little or no power, to becoming the most powerful man in the United States.
The following paragraph may or may not be true, but if it is true LBJ was in the middle of the planning of the JFK assassination:
There is no doubt that of all the individuals who personally benefited from the Assassination of JFK, Lyndon B. Johnson was highest on the list. Johnson is the answer to the proverbial question Cui bono or who benefited? Johnson is known to have attended a final pre-assassination meeting on November 21, 1963 at Dallas oilman Clint Murchison’s home. Two separate witnesses have independently verified that LBJ was present at the meeting including his former mistress Madeline Duncan Brown who stated on multiple occasions and in various venues that LBJ told her on the night of November 21, 1963 “after tomorrow those Kennedy boys will never make a fool of me again.” – JFK Assassination Conspiracy Update
Cuban Freedom Fighters – The invasion of the Bay of Pigs in Cuba was doomed from the start because of news articles like this being printed:
JAN 10, 1961: The New York Times publishes a front page story entitled “U.S. Helps Train an Anti?Castro Force at Secret Guatemalan Air?Ground Base.” Written by Paul Kennedy, the article reports that “Commando?like forces are being drilled in guerrilla warfare tactics by foreign personnel, mostly from the United States.” – National Security Archive
This is tantamount to printing in the New York Times that the Allied Forces are preparing for an invasion at Normandy, France. This must be the fault of the CIA to have leaked this sensitive information so Cuba would be aware of the impending attack.
It must be noted that President Dwight D. Eisenhower was still in office when the plan to invade Cuba was instituted. Despite JFK”s eagerness to blame the CIA for the crushing defeat of the invasion force, the president is ultimately the one that must accept the blame.
By his failed invasion, JFK infuriated Fidel Castro and the Cuban Freedom Fighters who abandoned them as they fell into the clutches of Castro’s henchmen and many of them were executed.
Fidel Castro – It was a huge coincidence that on the same day JFK was assassinated, Rolando Cubela Secades an employee of Fidel Castro was handed a poisoned pen by CIA agents in Paris, for Secades to use to kill Castro.
Castro had to know of the assassination plots against them, so naturally he would assume that JFK was behind the plots. It was clear that Castro had caused JFK to go through the October missile crisis of 1962. The Russians finally blinked, but it was Castro who allowed them to set up their missiles, just 90 miles from our shore.
His ex-lover Marita Lorenz smuggled a cold cream container with poison pills inside. However, Castro discovered the plot and gave her a gun to shoot Castro, but she couldn’t pull the trigger.
Those were just some of the assassination attempts against Castro. If there was anyone that had reason to assassinate JFK, it would be Castro.
American Mafia – There were many angry mobsters not happy with the way Robert F. Kennedy was prosecuting Mafia chieftains. The two names I have heard mentioned the most were Sam Giancana and Carlos Marcello as the masterminds behind the JFK assassination.
Judith Exner was reportedly the mistress of President Kennedy and the girlfriend of mobster Sam Giancana.
Judith Exner was introduced to President Kennedy by Frank Sinatra. Exner’s activities were being watched closely by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who was using his knowledge of the affair to potentially blackmail the president to protect his job security. That explains why he was FBI director for so long, since he had blackmail material on every president he served.
Exner was a girlfriend of Giancana, so her affair with JFK may have been one more reason that Giancana reportedly conspired to kill JFK. It was 12 years after the assassination before Exner was publicly linked to JFK, but apparently Jackie Kennedy knew about the affair while JFK was still alive. The following paragraph from anusha.com infers that Jackie knew what was going on:
Exner has been treated unfairly by history. She never sought to capitalize off the fact that she was JFK’s mistress. She kept this hidden for years. Jackie knew about her, of course. Once, when Jackie found a woman’s pink panties in her pillow case, she turned to JFK in bed and said, “Would you find out who these belong to, because they are not my size?”
Louisiana mobster Carlos Marcello had a huge motive for assassinating JFK, since JFK’s brother Robert the attorney general, had Marcello deported to Guatemala.
Marcello made the following statement which shows that he was serious about having JFK assassinated:
In September 1962, Marcello told private investigator Edwin Nicholas Becker that, “A dog will continue to bite you if you cut off its tail…,” (meaning Attorney General Robert Kennedy.), “…whereas if you cut off the dog’s head…,” (meaning President Kennedy), “… it would cease to cause trouble“. Becker reported that Marcello, “clearly stated that he was going to arrange to have President Kennedy killed in some way“. Marcello told another informant that he would need to take out “insurance” for the assassination by, “…. setting up some nut to take the fall for the job, just like they do in Sicily”. – Wikipedia
The above statement shows that Marcello wanted JFK dead so his death would deter his brother from pursuing his vendetta against organized crime figures in the United States. The assassination played out just like Marcello mentioned in that a patsy named Lee Harvey Oswald took the fall, while the ones planning the job celebrated.It is just too much of a coincidence for me that Oswald was killed by Ruby who had close connection with the Chicago mobsters.
The FBI investigated Marcello after the assassination and came to this conclusion:
After Kennedy’s assassination, the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated Marcello. They came to the conclusion that Marcello was not involved in the assassination. On the other hand, they also said that they, “… did not believe Carlos Marcello was a significant organized crime figure,” and that Marcello earned his living, “… as a tomato salesman and real estate investor.” As a result of this investigation, theWarren Commission concluded that there was no direct link between Ruby and Marcello. – Wikipedia
It is ludicrous that the FBI would state that Marcello was not a significant organized crime figure. Even more preposterous is that they said he made his living as a tomato salesman and real estate investor. Then to cap it off the Warren Commission said that Jack Ruby and Marcello had no direct link.
FBI – The FBI may not have fired the shots that killed JFK, but J. Edgar Hoover had information about a plot to assassinate JFK just 13 days before the assassination, but apparently did nothing to act on that information. Retired FBI agent said that Joseph Adams Milteer had told William Somersett, a FBI informant on tape that the best way to kill JFK was to shoot him from an office building with a high-powered rifle. It is not surprising to me that Milteer is not even mentioned in the Warren Commission Report.
The FBI agent asks if there were plans to assassinate JFK and Milteer replied that they were in the works. Milteer was shown in the crowd at Dealey Plaza, the day of the assassination. Why would he be there to see JFK since he hated JFK? It tells me that he wanted to see for himself that JFK had been assassinated.
Adams also says he has information from FBI reports verifying that Lee Harvey Oswald, not only didn’t fire any shots from the Texas Schoolbook Depository Building, but was seen in the break-room at the exact time of the shooting.
Knowing that the FBI director Hoover, who was no fan of the Kennedys, had this information and sat on it tells me he was not intent on stopping the assassination. Why didn’t Hoover pass on this information to the Secret Service so they would be extra cautious on November 22, perhaps going so far as to leave the roof closed on the presidential limousine?
Hoover almost certainly knew about JFK”s connection with Judith Exner and Marilyn Monroe, but with Kennedy dead he didn’t have to use that information, since his job was safe.
CIA – The CIA had motive to assassinate JFK or let someone else assassinate him unimpeded, because only two years earlier JFK had vilified the CIA after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. The president had said the air strikes were not vital, which doomed the invasion. However, he was intent on blaming the CIA, saying he wished he could shatter the CIA into a thousand pieces. Several high level CIA officials handed in their resignations, including CIA director Allen Dulles.
So now the CIA has the motive to assassinate JFK, because he showed he was mad enough at the CIA to possibly even dismantle the most secretive intelligence organization. If the CIA was involved in trying to assassinate Fidel Castro, it would not be surprising, that they would entertain thoughts of assassinating the president who had dissed them publicly.
Secret Service – There are some that think that the Secret Service was involved in the assassination and Roy Kellerman in particular. Kellerman reportedly turned around to the front after looking back and seeing JFK had been shot, rather than responding immediately. Conspiracy theorists also say Kellerman took JFK”s body from Parkland Hospital by force.
William A. Greer the Secret Service agent driving the limousine, slowed down and then brought the limousine to a stop. It is thought that the stopping enabled the killer or killers time to make the fatal head shots.
It is difficult to believe that the men hired to protect the president would play a part in his assassination. I can’t see why any of the Secret Service agents would have motive to assassinate the president. It is because of this fact, that I rule out any involvement of the Secret Service in the assassination.
KGB – Any list of possible conspirators would have to include the KGB, since Russia had been more or less forced to withdraw their missiles from Cuba only 13 months before the assassination. This had to be the main motivating factor for them to be a participant in his assassination.
There was no doubt that Khrushchev was angered at JFK for placing him in the position, where he had to withdraw Russians missiles from Cuba as can be seen in the following portion from scientciapress.com.
According to Ion Mihai Pacepa, at the time deputy director of foreign intelligence for Gheorghe-Dej’s Romania, in his book Programmed to Kill: Lee Harvey Oswald, the Soviet KGB, and the Kennedy Assassination [1], Dej was visiting Moscow at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Pacepa writes:
“According to Dej’s account, when Khrushchev finished reading that cable [from the KGB in Washington saying that Kennedy had ordered a naval quarantine of Cuba], his face was purple. He looked inquiringly at [KGB chief] Semichastny, and, when the terrified general nodded, Khrushchev ‘cursed like a bargeman’. Then he threw Semichastny’s cable on the floor and ground his heel into it. ‘That’s how I’m going to crush that viper,’ he cried. The ‘viper,’ Dej explained in telling the story, was Kennedy.
Goading himself on, Khrushchev grew increasingly hysterical, uttering violent threats against the ‘millionaire’s whore’ and his CIA masters.” – Scientiapress.com
Lee Harvey Oswald reportedly gave the Soviets the intelligence they needed to down the U-2 plane of Gary Powers in 1960. Powers himself said Oswald could have been the one that gave the Russians intelligence they needed to down his plane.
The KGB more than likely knew that Oswald intended to assassinate JFK, but did nothing to inform Washington of the impending assassination, since it removed JFK from the scene after JFK had shamed Premier Khrushchev the year before during the Cuban missile crisis.
Summary: This November 22 will be the 48th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It will be six more years till the last files pertaining to the JFK assassination will be released.
It is amazing that President Kennedy could have incurred the wrath, of so many enemies in less than three years after being elected.
The Warren Commission took the easy way out and concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone on November 22, 1963, to kill the president of the United States.
Oswald’s own statements after being arrested, if they are considered to be truthful, imply that he was only a patsy, which inferred that there was at least one other person involved if not an entity like the CIA or FBI. Evidently, the Warren Commission did not think Oswald was being truthful, because they ruled out any conspiracy theory.
If Oswald was a patsy, he was perfect for the job. He had moved to Russia after being discharged from the Marines, which could have gave him access to the KGB. Even though the KGB was suspicious of Oswald, they knew he could be used to further their plans of assassinating President John F. Kennedy.
The fact that Oswald was in the Texas School Book Depository Building, by itself doesn’t mean he was the one that pulled the trigger that day. With the shooter surrounded by boxes, it was not likely the shooter was ever seen while shooting. It has been assumed all these years that Oswald killed Officer Tippett. He may have but after reading the following article, I am not so sure it was Oswald:
48 years have passed since President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, but there are many who are not willing to accept the Warren Report conclusion that Oswald acted alone.
The fact that Allen Dulles, the former CIA director was on the Warren Commission, skewers the report beyond recognition considering he was there to steer the commission from probing too much into CIA documents related to the assassination.
Even President Lyndon B. Johnson said in this statement, probably without thinking that he was saying the Warren Commission Report was not completely truthful about Oswald acting alone.
Lyndon Johnson, president:“I’ll tell you something about Kennedy’s murder that will rock you…..Kennedy was trying to get Castro, but Castro got to him first.” - from How CIA Plot to Kill Castro Backfired, 2 Aug 1976, by Harry Altshuler, quoting Howard K. Smith interview of LBJ.
That statement tells me that he thought Oswald did not act alone, if he was blaming Castro for JFK’s assassination, since Fidel Castro wasn’t in the Texas School Book Depository Building the day of the assassination. LBJ is insinuating that Castro was involved and by doing that he is saying that some of Castro’s people may have planned the assassination of JFK with the Cuban government making sure Oswald had what he needed to assassinate President Kennedy.
The following Warren commission members later rejected the lone gunman theory:
Richard Russell, Senator and former Warren Commissioner:“We have not been told the truth about Oswald.” - Whitewash IV, by Harold Weisberg, p. 21.
Hale Boggs, Majority Leader and former Warren Commissioner:“Hoover lied his eyes out to the Commission – on Oswald, on Ruby, on their friends, the bullets, the guns, you name it…” - Coincidence or Conspiracy?, by Bernard Fensterwald Jr. and Michael Ewing, p. 96. The quote comes from an unnamed aide to Congressman Boggs. The book also quotes Bogg’s wife Lindy, through a colleague, as saying “He wished he had never been on it [the Commission] and wished he’d never signed it [the Report].”
John Sherman Cooper, Senator and former Warren Commissioner:“On what basis is it claimed that two shots caused all the wounds?…..It seemed to me that Governor Connally’s statement negates such a conclusion. I could not agree with this statement.” - The Zapruder Film, by David Wrone, p. 247. Cooper was commenting on a draft of the Warren Report. Wrone is citing the papers of J. Lee Rankin, wherein Cooper’s written comments appeared.
This website has a wealth of information about the many different conspiracy theories:
History-matters.com also has a page that tells where the witnesses thought the shots were coming from and several said they came from the grassy knoll:
This page also from History-matters.com shows how the government and non-government witnesses differed on how many heard shots from the grassy knoll with non-government witnesses outnumbering government witnesses 143-73. However the non-government witnesses who thought there was gunfire from the grassy knoll was 44, while the government witnesses only 8 thought the gunfire came from the grassy knoll.
The Mary Fennelly Foundation website has the most complete archive of documents, phone calls, photos, essays, audio and video of any JFK assassination site I have seen:
There are so many conspiracy theories that we know that we know they can’t all be true. We may never know what actually happened on November 22, 1963 other than President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. However, we can formulate in our minds, from what we read, that we think happened.
This article has too much information to read at one time, so might be a good page to bookmark for future reference, especially to the links at the end of the article.
Big Brother 13 rookies not playing the smartest game this season.
It looks like the Big Brother 13 rookies have left their thinking caps at home. It looks like the twist of adding veterans from Big Brother 8, Big Brother 11 and Big Brother 12 was too much of a shock, causing them to lose their senses.
Some of the newbies formed an alliance called The Regulators, which lasted about as long as a box of Twinkies for a family of four.
Evil Dick Exits Game Early
Even though the veterans lost Evil Dick almost immediately after the first show aired, the veterans took it in stride. That is all except Brendon Villegas, who ranted and raved about how they had lost before they got started. I could understand Brendon being worried since the veterans were now outnumbered 8-5.
Thankfully, Jeff Schroeder calmed Brendon down, giving him a pep talk, in effect telling him all was not lost yet. Next thing you knew the veterans had Kalia Booker, Shelly Moore and Porsche Briggs on their side. It even looked like they had convinced Adam Poch to go to their side, but he voted for Keith to stay, which was opposite of what the veterans wanted.
Keith Throws Veto Competition While On the Block
Keith helped evict himself, thinking he had the numbers on his side and threw the veto competition. Unless my memory fails me, I can’t recall anyone on the block throwing the veto competition, since it is only way someone nominated for eviction can remove themselves from the block.
Porsche was on the block so she couldn’t vote, but Kalia and Shelly switched sides to vote with the veterans to get rid of Keith. The vote to evict was 6-4 so the veterans whittled the advanage of the newbies to 7-5. With another newbie going home this week, the advantage of the newbies will shrink to 6-5.
Newbies Puzzled Over Who Switched Votes
It was funny the way some of the newbies were trying to figure out who voted with the veterans. The ones that switched didn’t give themselves away, so the other newbies still don’t know for a fact who switched their votes.
Jordan Lloyd who won HOH is a lot more into the game than when she was on Big Brother 11 two seasons ago. Now that Adam sees there are some newbies playing for themselves, he is telling the veterans he messed up last time and wants to join with the veterans. His thinking is that he will last longer in the game with the veteran’s protection, until it is time for everyone to fend for themselves.
Newbie Not Likely to Win the $500,000
When the newbies started linking up with the veterans, they made it less likely that a newbie will win the $500,000 in September. If the veterans win HOH next week, it should finish off any chance the newbies will be a force in the game.
The five veterans now apparently have Porsche, Adam, Shelly and Kalia on their side giving them an edge of 9-3 with Dominic Briones possibly coming over to the veteran’s side. That leaves Cassi Colvin and Lawon Exum as the only ones of the newbies still not linked with the veterans.It is hard to believe the newbies have squandered a 8-5 advantage into an apparent 10-2 (if Dominic switches sides) disadvantage assuming the newbies will continue to work with the veterans and vote the way they are told.
The newbies have broken the cardinal rule of sticking together as long as they have the advantage in numbers. Instead they started bailing out the first week and The Regulators are not regulating anything.
Brilliant Game Play By Veterans
Only problem for veterans is that they have promised too many people they will be safe. That means they may be voting off some newbies who were told they were safe. The play by the veterans has been brilliant overall though.
However, Rachel has to watch what she says and not make the game personal. She is the kind that will vote someone out if she doesn’t like them rather than vote out someone, that is more of a threat. Brendon will have to keep an eye on Rachel 24/7 or she could cause some of the newbies to join forces with each other. She doesn’t need to repeat her “Hang on to your life vests floaters” again this season.
Unless the newbies regroup as an alliance between now and next Thursday, the veterans have everything going their way. The Dominick-Danielle friendship has to be watched by the veterans as these two could throw a wrench in the plans of the veterans, but then there are only two of them and they won’t have much power this early in the game. However, if Dominick wins HOH this Thursday, we could see one of the veterans going home the following week. Still not sure, if he would be so in with the veterans to nominate a newbie couple for eviction.
Puerto Rican nationalists being held by police after shooting five members of Congress.
Four Puerto Rican nationalists entered the U.S. Capitol on March 1, 1954, four years after other nationalists had tried to assassinate President Harry Truman at Blair House.
The nationalists proceeded to the gallery and started shooting at the members of the House of Representatives, from the gallery. They started firing at the representatives and five of them were injured including Alvin M. Bentley (R-Michigan), Clifford Davis (D-Tennessee), Ben F. Jensen (R-Iowa), George Hyde Fallon (D-Maryland) and Kenneth A. Roberts (D-Alabama).
Lebron only pointed her pistol at the ceiling, since she didn’t want to hurt anyone but eyewitnesses said she had problems holding the gun steady and it jerked upward, while Figueroa’s pistol jammed, so Miranda and Flores were the only two shooters to hit the representatives.
The four nationalists shooting at the representatives were Lolita Lebron, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Andres Figueroa Cordero and Flores Rodriguez.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower commuted their death sentences, with each assailant being sentenced to 70 years in prison. Figueroa Cordero was the first released in 1978 due to having terminal cancer. President Jimmy Carter released the other three in exchange for Cuba releasing CIA agents being held in Cuba. However, Carter denied this which makes it a mystery why he would release the attackers after only serving 25 years of a 70 year sentence.
It is hard to believe that the four attackers could walk into the U.S. Capitol with firearms without being detected, but this was before it was common to have metal detectors in government buildings.
Cordero asked to be immediately executed after being brought to court, but that request was denied.
Dorothy Kilgallen was born July 3, 1913 in Chicago, Illinois. She started writing her Voice of Broadway column for 146 syndicated papers.
She hosted the radio program Dorothy and Dick on WOR in New York City which was first broadcast in 1945. Her husband Richard Kollmar co-starred on the program. Kollmar was known for portraying Boston Blackie on the old-time radio show with the same name as the character he portrayed.
The show was on the air for 18 years before it ended in 1963. Meanwhile she was one of the panelists on What’s My Line a CBS television show hosted by John Daly which began in 1945. She appeared on the show until her untimely death in 1965.
Kilgallen was active in newspapers, radio and television simultaneously, so was well-known long before she interviewed Jack Ruby. She hated country music with a passion and when some stars of the Grand Ole Opry appeared at Carnegie Hall, she called them “hicks from the sticks”. Patsy Cline didn’t take kindly to her words and said ” And if I have the pleasure of seeing that wicked witch, I’ll let her know how proud I am to be a hick from the sticks.”
Published Ruby’s Testimony Before Made Public
Her five minute private interview with Ruby is supposedly the only interview he gave without the presence of sheriff’s deputies. Somehow she got hold of the transcripts of Ruby’s testimony before the Warren Commission, then had them published before the Warren Commission Report was published.
J. Edgar Hoover considered Kilgallen a threat and had her moves watched closely for 25 years before the assassination. Kilgallen charged that the mafia had been recruited by the CIA to assassinate the Cuban leader Fidel Castro. That was later proven to be true.
Ruby Met With Officer Tippett Before Assassination
The most shocking revelation revealed by Kilgallen was that Jack Ruby, J.D. Tippett (the police officer who was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald) and two other men had met at the Carousel, Ruby’s nightclub three weeks before the assassination. This makes me wonder just what Oswald and Tippett were talking about before Oswalt fatally shot Tippett.
Kilgallen Found Dead With JFK Notes Missing
The JFK assassination notes of Kilgallen were gone, when her body was found on November 8, 1965. She had bragged to many people that she was about to blow the JFK assassination case sky high with the information she had.
Even in death, there was controversy surrounding her autopsy. James Luke the medical examiner who spent 45 minutes at the death scene did not sign the death certificate, as Dominick DiMaio another medical examiner signed the name of James Luke.
No Official Cause of Kilgallen’s Death
No official cause of death has been determined, with it possibly being a combination of Seconal and alcohol causing the death. It is still not known whether it was suicide or accidental. There is also a possibility she may have had a heart attack concurrently with the effects of the barbiturates.
Since no witnesses were present at her death, that we know of, it may be that she was forced to take the overdose by the same people that took her JFK assassination notes.
The following paragraph from Wikipedia’s article on Kilgallen tells me she learned something that not even her husband would discuss after her death:
One of two known comments Richard Kollmar made about his first wife after her death was later recalled by Bob Bach, who booked the mystery guests for What’s My Line?. At Bach’s home several hours after her funeral, the television producer asked the widower to discuss his wife’s interest in the assassination, and Kollmar replied, “Robert, I’m afraid that will have to go to the grave with me.”
November Marks 48th Anniversary of JFK Assassination
In conclusion, this November will mark 48 years since the death of President John F. Kennedy in Dealey Plaza and 46 years since the death of Dorothy Kilgallen who apparently knew too much about that day, for her enemies to let her die of old age.
The day JFK was assassinated, I was a 19 year old soldier working in the company post office in Hawaii, when I heard the news of his death on the radio in the post office. I will be 67 when Nov.22 comes around this year. However, I have no more idea of what truly happened that day, than what I knew 48 years later except a U.S. president was assassinated on the streets of Dallas, Texas.
I have a feeling many people with knowledge of what really happened that day have died, many mysteriously, but as the years go by fewer and fewer of them are left. Someone 40 years old on that day would be 98, if still alive. Anyone 50 or older then probably have already taken any secrets they knew underground with them.
JFKresearch.com has more information on the life and death of Dorothy Kilgallen that may help fill in some of the gaps.
Jordan Lloyd is the new HOH after Keith Henderson was the first house guest to be evicted during the Big Brother 13 season.
Keith Henderson may have made one of the biggest blunders in Big Brother history by throwing the Veto competition while he was on the block. His partner Porsche Briggs also threw the competition, almost certainly making it the first time both members up for conviction threw a competition, that if they had won would have extended their stay on the show. Julie Chen called out Keith on why he would try to throw the competition and he replied that he thought he had the votes. He should have known that you never assume anything on Big Brother.
Surprisingly two of the rookie players voted to evict Keith, even though he was a newbie. Kalia Booker and Shelly Moore were the two that voted to evict Keith.
Two Rookies Flipped Votes
The veteran players had to be ecstatic to know that two of the rookies voted against their own player. The rookies now hold a 7-5 edge in the competition, but will have two of their players on the block, meaning only five of them will be able to vote. Only four veterans can vote, with Jordan not being allowed to vote as HOH.
After next week’s eviction the rookies will only have a 6-5 edge. The loss of Evil Dick Donato really hurt the veterans. If he had stayed both the rookies and veterans would have six players remaining in the game after next week’s eviction.
Julie Chen surprised Daniele Donato by asking why she didn’t say “I love you” to her dad when she had the chance. However, while voting in the diary room Daniele said she did love her father, but she probably wouldn’t have said it, if not for Julie bringing up the subject.
Brendon Tells Rachel to Tone Down Behavior
Brendon Villegas and Rachel Reilly battled again last night after Rachel told Cassi Colvin that she liked Porsche. Brendon told Rachel she is making them a target by her behavior. Rachel seems to have a penchant for stirring up trouble, instead of concentrating on game play. Brendon will have his hands full, trying to rein in Rachel’s aggressive behavior, or she may be the first veteran player to be evicted.
Jordan more than likely will put up Dominic Briones and Adam Poch for nomination. Both of them may be told by the veterans that they will be safe, then one or the other will be evicted, depending on the outcome of the Veto competition. Latest plans by the veterans if Dominic and Adam win the Veto competition is to put up Shelly and Cassi in their place.
However, with Big Brother things can change in a hurry and the next eviction is six days away. The rookies know that two of their own voted to keep Porsche instead of Keith and have been trying to figure out who those voters were.
Cassi and Dominic think they have figured out that Kalia and Adam were the ones that flipped their votes. Cassi would be shocked if she knew her partner Shelly was one of the two that flipped their votes.
Loss of Evil Dick Could Affect CBS Ratings
Big Brother 13 may see a ratings dip with the departure of Evil Dick Donato. Rachel is now the only real villain this season, so far at least. If she goes home early in the season, the show will be left with a house full of people who get along well. That scenario is the worst nightmare for CBS. Adam seems to be the only loose cannon on the rookies side, but may not last long in this season.
Jeff and Jordan should draw a lot of fans as long as they remain in the game, but the rookies so far, have no villain to speak of. Instead the rookies are positioning themselves to be able to join forces with the veterans or remain with the rookies. The rookies alliance crumbled last night with the two flipped votes.
The game could turn into a rout for the veterans, which would not help ratings in the least. Drama is what attracts viewers and there could be very little drama if Rachel, Jeff and Jordan were to leave early in the game.
Jeff More Involved in Gameplay This Season
Jeff Schroeder is more involved in the game than he was in Big Brother 11, when he and Jordan were almost like bystanders, for a good part of that season. Jordan is a lot smarter than she is putting on and like Jeff has learned from being on Big Brother 11.
It impressed me when Brendon almost lost it and wanted to hit someone when Evil Dick left the show, then Jeff showing himself to be the veteran he is said to not give up hope and to keep winning HOH week after week. The flipping of two votes and Jordan winning the HOH, should tell Brendon that the veterans are in this to win it.
Big Brother 13 producers have brought a whole new dynamic to the show, pitting eight rookies against six grizzled veterans of the CBS reality show.
However the veterans lost one of their best competitors in “Evil Dick” Donato almost immediately after the game started. Neither Evil Dick or CBS has revealed what the reason was for him to leave, other than that it was a personal matter.
With the veterans at a 8-5 disadvantage after the loss of Evil Dick, they will have to play the game even harder to whittle down the edge by the rookies.
The veterans are trying to lure some of the rookies to their side, but it is too soon to tell if any of the rookies will actually switch sides. After tonight’s eviction vote, it may be clearer if any of the rookies actually switched sides, or they just told the veterans what they wanted to hear.
One thing for sure after tonight’s vote, is that the rookies will have a 7-5 advantage. If Evil Dick had stayed, the rookies would only have a 7-6 edge after tonight’s eviction. It is imperative that the veterans win tonight’s HOH competition, or they could be at a 7-4 disadvantage after next week’s eviction.
There should be 10 voters tonight with six rookies and four veterans casting votes. That explains why the veterans are intent on converting some of the rookies to their side. If the veterans lose HOH tonight that means 9 voters will vote next week with only three votes for the veterans and six votes for the rookies, unless some rookies come over to the veteran’s side.
It is almost a foregone conclusion that no veterans will be going to the rookie’s side, so it is a matter of the veterans talking the rookies into joining with the veterans.
It made no sense to me why Keith Henderson and Porsche Briggs would throw the veto competition, knowing they were both up for eviction. If either had won, they would have saved themselves from being evicted. I just don’t understand why they thought throwing the competition would be to their advantage.
President Truman was living in Blair House when Puerto Rican nationalists tried to get past security guards to assassinate Truman.
President Harry S. Truman was living in Blair House in 1950 while parts of the White House residence of the president were being rebuilt due to structural problems.
It is clear to see in the photo above, that Blair House was not close to being a secure residence, like the White House. It was at this time that Puerto Rican nationalists were upset that Puerto Rico was a territory, while they advocated the independence of Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rican Nationalists Decide To Assassinate Truman
Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo were two activists in the nationalist movement. They had met in New York City and when Torresola’s sister (unnamed) and Elio the brother of Collazo was arrested in a failed uprising in Puerto Rico to gain independence for the nationalists.
This is when Torresola and Collazo decided to assassinate President Truman, in an attempt to spotlight attention on the Puerto Rican nationalist movement. They watched the activity around Blair House before making their assassination attempt.
Oscar Collazo walked up the steps and attempted to shoot White House Police Officer Donald Birdzell in the back, but he had failed to cock his handgun, pulled the trigger again and shot Birdzell in the right knee as Birdzell turned around to face Collazo. Secret Service Special Agent Floyd Boring and White House Police Officer Joseph Davidson joined the fray, opening fire on Collazo with their service revolvers.
Then Griselio Torresola, who was walking down Pennsylvania Avenue toward Blair House, spotted an officer Leslie Coffelt inside a guard booth and shot him four times with his German Luger pistol which would eventually kill Coffelt.
Torresola then saw Joseph Downs, a White House plainclothes policeman and shot him three times. Downs still was able to get inside Blair House and slammed the door preventing Torresola from entering Blair House.
Then Torresola saw his partner Collazo, about to be shot by Donald Birdzell, so he shoots Birdzell in his left knee, crippling Birdzell who had been shot in his right knee by Collazo.
President Truman Only 10 Yards From Shooter
President Truman awakened by the shooting from a nap, did an incredibly stupid thing, by opening his bedroom window. He was only 10 yards from Torresola at the time.
This assassination attempt has been more or less forgotten 61 years later, but for one day in November of 1950 the President of the United States could have easily been killed, if one of the shooters had noticed him looking out his bedroom window 10 yards from the shooter.
Officer Leslie Coffelt was shot and killed by Griselio Torresola but Coffelt would later kill Torresola before dying four hours later.
Officer Coffelt who had been shot earlier in the guard booth by Torresola fired and hit him killing him instantly. Coffelt died four hours later so Torresola and Coffelt killed each other.
Collazo was arrested and sentenced to death but President Truman commuted his sentence to life imprisonment. President Jimmy Carter commuted his sentence to time served and Collazo was returned Puerto Rico to live 15 more years before his death in 1994.
This assassination attempt has been more or less forgotten 61 years later, but for one day in November of 1950 the President of the United States could have easily been killed, if one of the shooters had noticed him looking out his bedroom window 10 yards from the shooter.
Matt McDonald shown about the time he was on Big Brother 9.Matt McDonald shown in a mug shot after being arrested.
Matt McDonald who was known as Matty on Big Brother 9 is now in a federal prison in Massachusetts. He was convicted of conspiring with Big Brother 9 winner Adam Jasinski to sell Oxycodone.
Jasinski used a large portion of his $500,000 winnings to buy Oxycodone, then conspired to enlist McDonald in the drug selling operation.
When Big Brother’s premiere show is shown each year, the house guests are shown getting the news about being selected for the show.
For Jasinski and McDonald it was only the precursor of bad news for the duo. They might not have the money they received from their drug operation, but at least they wouldn’t be spending years in prison for selling illegal drugs on the streets. Being chosen to be on Big Brother 9 was the worst thing that ever happened to them.
Big Brother house guests for the most part are never heard from again after the shows for that season are over. But for Jasinski and McDonald made the news for all the wrong reasons.
McDonald has also been arrested for beating up his pregnant girlfriend, which tells me he has little respect for women.
The following post from McDonald’s blog on June 22, 2011 seems to be genuine, but he may be in a position where he will write anything, if it means an earlier release from prison.
The language he uses is not family friendly, so want to forewarn anyone that might be offended so they can refrain from reading the next two posts.
This post tells more about his day-to-day life behind prison bars. For some reason, he is looking forward to a transfer federal prison, but he better be careful what he wishes for.
In conclusion, McDonald seems to be repentant for what he did in the past, including flooding the streets withOxycodone. He seemed to be a jerk on Big Brother 9, but his posts do show a different side of McDonald. One can only hope he has truly learned by his mistakes and that they won’t be repeated when he finishes his three-year sentence.
CBS made a shocking announcement on Friday, that Evil Dick Donato has left the Big Brother house due to a personal matter. The other house guests had to be happy, to know he was gone.
His departure came only one day after the premiere of Big Brother 13 last night. The combination of having two of the most volatile house guests returning to the show in Evil Dick and Rachel Reilly would have probably sparked the ratings. With Evil Dick gone, Rachel may not be able to draw viewers like Evil Dick.
Big Brother 13 returns tonight, after what was a fairly boring Big Brother 12 season. The cast for Big Brother 12 got along well for the most part, which was a nightmare for the producers. When the drama queen of Big Brother 12 Rachel Reilly was voted off the show, the producers brought her back into the house to stir up the house and it worked.
This year’s show will be different in that only eight of the house guests have been identified prior to the airing of the first show. There are reports that some house guests from the past will be returning to fill out the cast, which should cause tonight’s show to be one of the highest rated shows ever.
Jeff Schroeder and Jordan Lloyd the winner of Big Brother 11 have been rumored to be returning for this season. However we won’t know for sure until tonight’s show, when the other house guests should be revealed.
TV Guide has an excellent preview of the show and profiles of the house guests and includes photos of each houseguest. Those from Louisiana will be interested to know that Shelly Moore, 41 who lives in Prairieville, Louisiana will be one of the new eight house guests.
My grandson Matthew hitting his first home run in a Texas Little League game in ninth year of youth baseball.
Friday, July 1, 2010 will always be a red-letter day for my grandson Matthew. He hit his first home run over the fence after playing youth baseball for nine years. Most importantly, the home run gave his team, the Groves National League All Stars, a 1-0 lead in a game in which they would defeat the Bridge City All Stars by a 3-0 score.
His home run brought back memories of the Little League game about 54 years ago when I hit a ball over the fence, only to have it caught by the center fielder who reached over the fence to catch it. That was the only time I ever hit a ball that far before or after that long out.
More Special Than Mantle, Maris Home Runs
So it made it even more special when Matthew hit his first home run. I have seen Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris hit home runs in a baseball game, in Kansas City in 1962. That was nothing, though compared to the feeling when the ball went over the fence and disappeared last Friday night.
It was the only run in the game that scored as a result of a hit and gave the Groves National League All-Stars a lead that they would not relinquish. It was also one of three hits recorded by Groves.
The home run was even more remarkable, when considering the opposing pitcher throws 75 MPH and pitched a great game to hold Groves to three runs. However, Matthew’s teammate Nathan pitched an even better game allowing four hits while throwing 44 strikes in 58 pitches according to the boxscore posted on the Bridge City website.
Matthew Started At Early Age
It is not surprising that Matthew was swinging a plastic baseball bat as soon as he learned to walk. By the age of four he was playing Wee Ball which is the step before Tee Ball in Louisiana.
He has always played with a smile on his face and just enjoys being on the baseball diamond. He has been on several All Star teams and his Tioga, Louisiana All Star team played in the state championship game one year and lost to a very good pitcher. Matthew batted 1.000 in the state championship game and only one other player even got a hit off that pitcher.
Plays APBA Baseball Board Game Like His Grandpa Did 53 Years Earlier
When I played a full season of major league games using my APBA Baseball board game in 1959, I never thought that my grandson would be playing the same APBA game 53 years later. He keeps extensive stats for each player including assists.
The difference was that when I played the game, there were only 16 major league teams, playing a 154 game schedule. Matthew’s game has 30 teams playing a 162 game schedule.
Dreams of Being a Major Leaguer Someday
Matthew hopes to become a major league baseball player someday. I hope his dream comes true. It isn’t easy to become one of the 750 players playing in the major leagues today. However, Matthew doesn’t mind hard work and has a good work ethic. I can remember when he would want me to keep throwing him grounders and flies, even though it was hard to even see the ball with no lights in the yard.
He would stand in the yard across the street, so I could throw him long fly balls so he could get used to catching them. He has played either shortstop or third base for the last few years and pitched four innings of no-hit baseball earlier this season.
I only hope I live long enough to see Matthew achieve his dream of playing in the majors, but time may be running out for me, since I am 67 and most players don’t reach the majors till they are 21 or 22. That would make me close to 80 before he could make it.
One thing for sure is that I will never discourage him from pursuing his dream. I just hope he follows his dream to the major leagues, whether I am around to see it happen or not.
It seemed like to me that Nancy Grace went overboard with her criticism of the not guilty verdict in the Casey Anthony trial.
I can understand her disappointment in knowing that Casey Anthony who probably did kill her daughter Caylee is going to walk free, maybe as early as this week.
Reasonable Doubt
However, the American justice system still specifies that a juror must not vote guilty if there is a reasonable doubt. There was more than enough reasonable doubt to not send Casey Anthony to her death.
The prosecution erred in asking for death penalty, given the fact that there was no slam dunk evidence presented to the jury.
If the prosecution had asked for a life sentence, the jury may have even come back with a guilty verdict.
Not Enough Evidence
The jury simply did not have enough concrete evidence to support a death penalty.
If the jury had rendered a guilty verdict and a death sentence was given and carried out, there would be no recourse, if it later became known that Ms. Anthony had not committed the crime.
Grace Went Overboard With Comments
The reaction of Nancy Grace to the verdict went way overboard in my opinion. It was like she was waging a personal vendetta against Casey Anthony. I can understand why she would emphasize that Caylee Anthony’s killer went unpunished. The one thing both sides can agree on is that Caylee Anthony is dead.
It didn’t take long yesterday to tire of hearing Grace call Casey tot mom. She has a name and it is Casey, not tot mom. When Graces says tot mom, it has a derogatory sound to it.
No Fingerprints Or DNA Linking Anthony
It is one thing to want justice for a murderer. However, it is another thing to want justice so much that someone like Nancy Grace would send Casey Anthony to death row, with no fingerprints or DNA linking Casey to the crime.
Grace may be correct in saying that Casey’s lies may have led to the not guilty verdict by the jury. If she had told the truth to the detectives, she would likely either be on death row now or serving a life sentence.
Lying May Have Kept Anthony Off Death Row
The Miranda law says Casey had the right to remain silent, but by lying she may receive a four-year sentence, instead of the death penalty or a life sentence.
There was an abundance of circumstantial evidence presented during the trial by the prosecution. However, you can’t send someone to their death on circumstantial evidence.
Wanted to Stay on Good Side of Grace
It was evident that the reporters and legal analysts on the program with Grace, were being careful to not get on the wrong side of Grace with their comments,
except for Dr. Drew saying that the prosecution did not prove motive, which I don’t think Grace agreed with.
A professional reporter and legal analyst like Grace are entitled to their opinion, but yesterday we think the professionalism gave way to a personal vendetta by Grace, against Casey Anthony.
Personally, I think the jury made the correct verdict, when considering the physical evidence didn’t link Casey to the crime. If one person is sent to death row because of circumstantial evidence, it is one person too many.
Poll Questions
The following polls ask if the jury made the correct decision and if Nancy Grace went overboard with her comments after the verdict.
