Saints To Raffle Super Bowl Ring to Support Gulf Coast

During a trip to Plaquemines Parish to support the area's fight against the oil spill, Saints quarterback Drew Brees announced today that the team is raffling off an authentic Super Bowl ring to raise funds to help support those impacted by the oil spill.

Brees made the announcement to coastal Who Dat Nation weary from the worst-ever U.S. oil spill.


Raffle tickets are $2, with a minimum ticket order being $10, according to Brees.

The winner will be announced prior to the team’s Sept. 9 home opener against Minnesota

At the event in Buras, lLocals were able to aside their misery for a few hours to schmooze with the Super Bowl-champion Saints today.

Saints owner Tom Benson, coach Sean Payton and players greeted a crowd Tuesday at Fort Jackson in Plaquemines Parish.

The fort has been a staging area for cleaning birds rescued from the oil flowing from BP's well in the Gulf of Mexico.

In oppressive heat, a jazz band played while Payton and star quarterback Drew Brees signed autographs.

Benson and others were to have lunch with Gov. Bobby Jindal and area fishermen. A news conference was planned later.

www.wwl.com

Underwater Unmanned Vehicles Lost By Navy In Chesapeke Bay

NORFOLK

Four underwater unmanned vehicles went missing Sunday during training to conduct search, classify and map missions.

The Navy, Coast Guard and local authorities were searching for the missing vehicles in the Thimble Shoals Channel between the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a Navy news release said.

Communication was lost with four of the 13 unmanned vehicles Sunday about 1 p.m. while the vehicles were using bottom-mapping sonar to look for mine-like contacts in the water as part of the training. Search and recovery operations began immediately.

Efforts continued Monday using small-craft, shore-based teams, air assets and marine mammal systems, which could include sea lions and dolphins trained to hunt mines.

The cause of the vehicles’ disappearance is under investigation. The missing vehicles do not pose a danger to civilians or the environment, the Navy release said, but if an unmanned vehicle is discovered floating in the water, boaters should avoid it as they would any other navigation hazard.

If one of the missing vehicles is found, please call the U.S. Second Fleet commander at (757) 443-9821.

The unmanned vehicles were being used as part of a larger training exercise with about 2,500 personnel from Canadian and U.S. military forces and government civilian agencies. The annual training exercise will continue through Friday.

www.hamptonroads.com

President at the Bat

President Obama as Casey and Governor Palin as the pitcher. Viewers may better understand this clip if you knew the original poem upon which this is based - "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Thayer - often considered one of baseball's greatest writings.



Hat Tip; Art

Baltimore Aquarium Helps With Gulf Wildlife

As the Gulf oil spill ensnares marine animals, the staff at the National Aquarium and the state's wildlife veterinarian are preparing for a life or death situation.

For the aquarium, the phone may ring and someone will ask for help recovering animals or if some of its pools can be converted to intensive care units for injured sea turtles. As part of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, the aquarium is housing four healing turtles from natural mishaps here and in New England that it would like to release in June to make room for Gulf turtles. Other facilities in the network are making similar plans.

Meanwhile at the Oxford Laboratory in Cambridge, Dr. Cindy Driscoll is on standby for a call that would send her south to help scientists determine how animals died.

Though hundreds of miles away, the spill is on the minds of Marylanders whose specialized skills will be needed if the manmade disaster overwhelms forces in place along the Gulf Coast.

"If they need experts, we'll send experts," said Dr. Brent Whitaker, the aquarium's deputy executive director of biological programs. "As hospital beds fill up in the southeast, I anticipate we'll see a greater need for our services. I suspect it's just a matter of time before we'll be called on."

While birds and fish in the path of the slick are in danger, all five species of sea turtles found in the Gulf are listed under the Endangered Species Act. An environmental disaster such as the Deepwater Horizon spill could deal a fatal blow to recovering species, scientists fear.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has documented 278 sea turtles stranded by the spill. Many were dead and 40 are at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans to be washed and cared for.

As part of the stranding network, the National Aquarium works with the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla., to help injured sea turtles mend.

"Our goal is to rescue, rehabilitate and release," said Whitaker. "We can take six to 10 animals at a time. Now our challenge is, how can we gear up quickly to do more. This is an extraordinary event and it's going to require extraordinary efforts."

Federal authorities said late last week that they have adequate capacity right now, given the small number of live stranded turtles recovered, and have four facilities on standby in Florida.

"As the needs arise, we will call upon people based on the skills we need and the issues we are dealing with in the Gulf," NOAA spokeswoman Monica Allen said.

Scientists fear the turtles could contract pneumonia from inhaling toxic fumes or suffer ulceration of their gastrointestinal tracts from ingesting oil. Tainted habitat could deny turtles food sources, leading to starvation. And nesting areas — critical this time of the year to the species' survival — could become fouled.

"All of the effects are horrible," said Whitaker. "Which ones we will see, we just don't know."

Driscoll said she was asked two weeks ago to be on standby by NOAA. She anticipates she might be called on to spell colleagues as the spill's aftermath lingers.

After a pipeline ruptured and dumped 140,000 gallons of oil in the Patuxent River in April 2000, killing hundreds of animals, Maryland officials realized "you can't have the same people doing [necropsies] 24/7," Driscoll said. "They may have enough people in the Gulf right now, but that may not be true when the animals start coming in and keep coming in."
Even though the public might assume the dead animals were the victims of the spill, "they all need exams by competent people. There's lots of reasons why animals die and oil is only one reason," she said.


If the number of contaminated animals becomes overwhelming, experts on the scene will have to make heartbreaking triage decisions based on which ones stand the best chance of recovering and which ones have the best chance of reproducing.

Whitaker said part of the challenge will be to create pools to handle turtles of all sizes and with different injuries. While smaller turtles, like Kemp's ridley, are the size of a dinner plate, loggerheads can run several hundred pounds. And rehabilitators don't want to put recovering animals in the same tank as newly infected ones.

That puts a strain on budgets. Aquariums will have to increase saltwater production and waste removal systems and find a way to boost supplies of turtle food. Huge leatherbacks, for example, dine almost exclusively on jellyfish. Some turtles will probably require slings and constant monitoring to keep them from drowning while they recover.

"We'll have to raise money quickly to upgrade our system and staff," Whitaker acknowledged. "We don't know if it will be necessary, but given the fragile nature of the species, we don't have the luxury of not being prepared."

www.baltimoresun.com

Republican Primary Tomorrow

The Republican primary elections for the 2nd Congressional District will be tomorrow, Tuesday, June 8. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. to anyone registered to vote in Virginia regardless of political party.

The six potential nominees are retired U.S. Navy commodore Kenny Golden, Hampton Roads businessman and retired Navy aviator Ben Loyola, retired Navy SEAL Ed Maulbeck, attorney and former U.S. Army soldier Bert Mizusawa, Freedom Automotive group owner and former U.S. Marine reservist Scott Rigell, and former Navy SEAL Scott Taylor.

The winner will challenge incumbent U.S. Rep Glenn Nye, a Democrat, in the election on November 2.

All precincts will hold polls in their usual locations except for the Chincoteague poll location, which will temporarily move from its normal site at the Community Center to the Town Hall for this election.

www.shoredailynews.com

Strange Find On Titan

New findings have roused a great deal of hoopla over the possibility of life on Saturn's moon Titan, which some news reports have further hyped up as hints of extraterrestrials.

However, scientists also caution that aliens might have nothing to do with these findings.

All this excitement is rooted in analyses of chemical data returned by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. One study suggested that hydrogen was flowing down through Titan's atmosphere and disappearing at the surface. Astrobiologist Chris McKay at NASA's Ames Research Center speculated that this could be a tantalizing hint that hydrogen is getting consumed by life.

"It's the obvious gas for life to consume on Titan, similar to the way we consume oxygen on Earth," McKay said.

Another study investigating hydrocarbons on Titan's surface found a lack of acetylene, a compound that could be consumed as food by life that relies on liquid methane instead of liquid water to live.

"If these signs do turn out to be a sign of life, it would be doubly exciting because it would represent a second form of life independent from water-based life on Earth," McKay said.

However, NASA scientists caution that aliens might not be involved at all.

"Scientific conservatism suggests that a biological explanation should be the last choice after all non-biological explanations are addressed," said Mark Allen, principal investigator with the NASA Astrobiology Institute Titan team. "We have a lot of work to do to rule out possible non-biological explanations. It is more likely that a chemical process, without biology, can explain these results."

McKay told Space.com that "both results are still preliminary."

To date, methane-based life forms are only speculative, with McKay proposing a set of conditions necessary for these kinds of organisms on Titan in 2005. Scientists have not yet detected this form of life anywhere, although there are liquid-water-based microbes on Earth that thrive on methane or produce it as a waste product.

On Titan, where temperatures are around minus-290 degrees Fahrenheit (-179 degrees Celsius), any organisms would have to use a substance that is liquid as its medium for living processes. Water itself cannot do, because it is frozen solid on Titan's surface. The list of liquid candidates is very short — liquid methane and related molecules such as ethane. Previous studies have found Titan to have lakes of liquid methane.

Missing hydrogen?
The dearth of hydrogen Cassini detected is consistent with conditions that could produce methane-based life, but do not conclusively prove its existence, cautioned researcher Darrell Strobel, a Cassini interdisciplinary scientist based at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Strobel wrote the paper on hydrogen appearing online in the journal Icarus.

Strobel looked at densities of hydrogen in different parts of the atmosphere and at the surface. Previous models from scientists had predicted that hydrogen molecules, a byproduct of ultraviolet sunlight breaking apart acetylene and methane molecules in the upper atmosphere, should be distributed fairly evenly throughout the atmospheric layers.

Strobel's computer simulations suggest a hydrogen flow down to the surface at a rate of about 10,000 trillion trillion molecules per second.

"It's as if you have a hose and you're squirting hydrogen onto the ground, but it's disappearing," Strobel said. "I didn't expect this result, because molecular hydrogen is extremely chemically inert in the atmosphere, very light and buoyant. It should 'float' to the top of the atmosphere and escape."

Strobel said it is not likely that hydrogen is being stored in a cave or underground space on Titan. An unknown mineral could be acting as a catalyst on Titan's surface to help convert hydrogen molecules and acetylene back to methane.

Although Allen commended Strobel, he noted "a more sophisticated model might be needed to look into what the flow of hydrogen is."

Consumed acetylene?
Scientists had expected the sun's interactions with chemicals in the atmosphere to produce acetylene that falls down to coat Titan's surface. But when Cassini mapped hydrocarbons on Titan's surface, it detected no acetylene on the surface, according to findings appearing online in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Instead of alien life on Titan, Allen said one possibility is that sunlight or cosmic rays are transforming the acetylene in icy aerosols in the atmosphere into more complex molecules that would fall to the ground with no acetylene signature.

In addition, Cassini detected an absence of water ice on Titan's surface, but loads of benzene and another as-yet-unidentified material, which appears to be an organic compound. The researchers said that a film of organic compounds is covering the water ice that makes up Titan's bedrock. This layer of hydrocarbons is at least a few millimeters to centimeters thick, but possibly much deeper in some places.

"Titan's atmospheric chemistry is cranking out organic compounds that rain down on the surface so fast that even as streams of liquid methane and ethane at the surface wash the organics off, the ice gets quickly covered again," said Roger Clark, a Cassini team scientist based at the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver. "All that implies Titan is a dynamic place where organic chemistry is happening now."

www.msn.com

One Man Wanted In New Jersey Gun Ring Turns Himself In

Follow up on a story from June 2~~~~

One of the Eastern Shore men who have been charged in a gun ring that stretched from the Eastern Shore to New Jersey has turned himself in, according to the Northampton County Sheriffs office. Bobby Lee Henderson, 24 (center) of Townsend, has turned himself in to authorities in Tennessee after being charged in connection with the gun ring. Henderson allegedly sold guns that Trayle Beasley, of Trenton, NJ and formerly of the Eastern Shore, transported or attempted to transport to New Jersey. Beasley is currently being held at the Mercer County, N.J., Jail with bail set at $250,000 cash and was charged with being the kingpin of the gun ring.

Currently, Jonathan Johnson, 28 of Cape Charles and Larry Nottingham, 28 of Eastville are still at large. Johnson is charged with one second-degree count of either transportation or attempted transportation of a firearm into New Jersey for unlawful sale or transfer which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison and a $150,000. Nottingham is charged with fourth-degree unlawful disposition of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Anyone with information of the whereabouts of Johnson or Nottingham is asked to call the Northampton County Sheriffs Office at (757)678-0458.

www.shoredailynews.com

Graham cracker bonanza fuels frenzy on Dallas freeway

Cracka' anyone??



It was a free-for-all on a Dallas freeway: People flocked to a busy intersection Friday morning to scoop up boxes of graham crackers spilled in an accident Thursday night.

Dallas County Sheriff's Department is trying to determine what caused an 18-wheeler to overturn in the northbound lanes of Interstate 35E at Colorado Boulevard. The wreck snarled traffic for hours overnight. last night.

After the sun came up Friday, rubberneckers turned into cracker collectors.

Deputies had their hands full trying to prevent motorists from rushing in collect hundreds of packages of Honey Maid graham crackers that had been dislodged from the semi-trailer when it turned over.

"I got enough for all my grandkids and my house," said Dora Richards, one of the snack-seekers. Just out of the hospital, she was all smiles after spotting the mountain of graham crackers on her way home.

Like so many others, she instantly pulled over and loaded up.

"This is what I give my kids for snacks, because they have ADHD and bipolar, and I don't give them no real sweet stuff, so it's a blessing for me," Richards said.

By 7:30 a.m., the free-for-all had triggered a traffic jam on I-35 headed into downtown Dallas, the same place where the 18-wheeler had crashed on its side on Thursday evening, spilling its cargo of tasty treats.

The 44-year-old truck driver was taken to a hospital and listed in stable condition Friday, but his load was left behind — a secret until sun-up.

"They were stopping, literally, 10 to 15 at a time, causing not only a traffic hazard, but people were crossing the highway here and could have gotten hit," said sheriff's department spokeswoman Kimberly Leach.

The graham cracker-grab came to an abrupt halt at 10 a.m., when county health officials ruled that the snacks had spent too much time in the sun and were no longer safe for consumption.

Richards appeared to be unconcerned about whether the boxes she grabbed had been tainted. "I'm going to make a graham cracker pie," she said.

An insurance adjuster for the trucking company was also at the scene Friday morning trying to tally the extent of the loss.

VIA: WFAA.com

Beginning Tomorrow More BWI Passengers To Go Through Imaging Machines

The chances the government will ask to see through your clothing before you board a plane at BWI Marshall Airport will be a lot higher starting tomorrow.

Advanced imaging technology, which until now has been used as a backup method for screening passengers at BWI, will become a routine matter this week, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

The difference will be subtle at first. TSA spokeswoman Lauren Gaches said the four advanced screening machines now deployed at the airport will each be moved about 5 feet forward at their security checkpoints. Instead of a limited number of passengers being pulled from the herd at random and asked to go through the machines as a secondary screening, the imaging will now be the primary method.

"It will be the first technology for the passengers that they encounter," said Gaches, who could not give an estimate of the percentage of passengers who will be directed to the machines but said it would be higher than the current numbers.

The move is part of a gradual shift toward making the more revealing technology, which the government considers superior for its ability to detect non-metallic and well as metallic "threat items," the gold standard of security screening at U.S. airports.

There are now about 80 of the advanced imaging machines deployed at U.S. airports, but the TSA expects to have about 450 by the end of the year. And BWI is expected to get its share of that increase.

As of now, passengers will not be required to go through the machines if they object. Those who don't want to be screened that way can say no, but they can expect to receive a pat-down search as well as the familiar metal detector screening. That isn't a change from current procedure for those who decline, but more passengers will be confronted with the choice of what critics have called an "electronic strip search" or a manual exploration by a TSA officer.

Those who choose the machine will have images of their bodies transmitted to a computer screen in a small, stark, windowless room off the checkpoint where a TSA officer will view the shadowy images with facial features blurred over.

At a screening demonstration on Monday at BWI, a TSA volunteer passed through an imaging machine at Pier B, which like the others at BWI uses millimeter-wave technology.

Looking at the image, it was possible to determine the gender and general shape of the female volunteer, as well as the suspicious item strapped to her waist, but there was nothing titillating about the display. It resembled a full-body X-ray, though the millimeter wave technology uses radio waves rather than penetrating radiation.

According to Gaches, the TSA officer in the room never sees the passenger passing through the machine, and the officers dealing with the passengers never see the images of those they encounter face-to-face. She said the radiation from the millimeter wave machines amounts to about one-10,000^th of that emitted by a cell phone. The images are permanently deleted once the screening is over, Gaches said.

Despite the TSA's well-publicized precautions, the use of the technology has drawn criticism from privacy advocates and others since it was first introduced in 2007. The Electronic Privacy Information Center and Ralph Nader have urged Congress to suspend the practice, contending the technology is ineffective, too costly and unnecessarily intrusive. EPIC is suing the department in an effort to gain access to documents concerning the scanners.

But the TSA and its parent Department of Homeland Security have rejected such arguments and have intensified their efforts to implement the technology after an attempt to blow up an airliner approaching Detroit last Christmas Day.

For many passengers, privacy concerns take a back seat to worries about the time it takes to get through the checkpoints. Gaches said the TSA does not expect the use of the scanners to add time to the process, and some passengers who went through the devices said they thought it went faster than the alternatives.

However, the advanced imaging procedure does not eliminate the step in the screening process where passengers kick off their shoes for screening with carry-on luggage. That remains unchanged.

Gaches said the first machine will be moved into the primary position Tuesday at Pier A. The two at Pier B and the one at Pier D will be moved by the end of the week, she said.

Passengers who were randomly selected to go through the imaging machines today saw no problems doing so.

"If it works to do what they want it to do, then it's fine," said Nanette Ackerman of Coconut Creek, Fla.

Tara Adlesic of Ellicott City went through whole-body screening for the first time and said it didn't bother her.

"It's probably less intrusive than to have somebody pat you down," she said.

www.baltimoresun.com

Helen Thomas, Vetenan Reporter, Retires

Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas is retiring in the wake of controversial comments she made about Israel.

Hearst News Service, for which Thomas is a columnist, reported her retirement announcement Monday.

Her retirement is effective immediately. She began covering the White House in 1960.

Thomas has apologized for the comments, which were captured on video by an interviewer for the website “RabbiLIVE.com.”

On the May 27 video, Thomas says Israelis should "get the hell out of Palestine," suggesting they go to Germany, Poland or the U.S.

Those remarks drew sharp criticism from the Obama administration earlier Monday, as well as the cancellation of a high school graduation speech she was to deliver.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked at his daily briefing with reporters about President Barack Obama's reaction to Thomas' remarks. Gibbs called them "offensive and reprehensible."

"She should and has apologized," Gibbs said. "Because obviously those remarks do not reflect certainly the opinion of most of the people here and certainly not of the administration."

Thomas had been scheduled to speak at the June 14 graduation of Walt Whitman High School in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Md., but Principal Alan Goodwin wrote in a Sunday e-mail to students and parents that she was being replaced.

"Graduation celebrations are not the venue for divisiveness," Goodwin wrote.

She added: "They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon."

The national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham H. Foxman, said Sunday that Thomas' apology didn't go far enough.

"Her suggestion that Israelis should go back to Poland and Germany is bigoted and shows a profound ignorance of history," Foxman said in a statement. "We believe Thomas needs to make a more forceful and sincere apology for the pain her remarks have caused."

Thomas, 89, began her long career with the wire service United Press International in 1943, and started covering the White House in 1960, according to a biography posted on her website. She became a columnist for Hearst in 2000.

www.msn.com

Cooler Temperatures For The Area.......So Far

A large series of thunderstorms struck the Eastern Shore last night. The storms caused winds of at least 47 mph recorded at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, requiring level two wind restrictions. Motorcycles, large pick-up campers, camper trailers, house trailers, anything being towed, vehicles with exterior cargo, empty tractor-trailers, small six-wheel trucks, such as moving vans, rental trucks and school buses were not allowed to cross while the restrictions are in place.

The cold front brought cooler temperatures and less humidity to the area which has been experiencing a streak of hot temperatures and high humidity.

Throw open those windows and step outside!!!

SURF DOG RICOCHET & LEASH YOUR FITNESS RAISE OVER $10,640 IN DONATIONS, WHILE RAISING AWARENESS OF HUMAN & CANINE ARTHRITIS.

SAN DIEGO, CA, June 7, 2010… Surf dog Ricochet, the SURFice dog who raised almost $30,000 for charitable causes in the last eight months, teamed up with Leash Your Fitness to raise funds for the "Let's Move Together" arthritis walk this past Saturday. Together, they raised over $10,640 in donations, and increased awareness of the disease which affects both humans and canines. The walk was held at the NTC Promenade at Liberty Station.

Leash Your Fitness, the only workout class in San Diego where your dog is your workout partner, co-sponsored the 12 member "Leash Your Fitness with Kima" team. Ricochet joined the team because her guardian and Handler, Judy Fridono has been suffering with arthritis since she was a teenager, and because there are so many dogs affected by this debilitating disease. Ricochet fundraised in earnest during the week leading up to the walk, and many of the donations came from her 8100+ incredibly supportive Facebook fans who were touched by her inspirational video.

Due to the support of her donors, Ricochet was the 2nd top overall fundraiser of the 2010 eighth annual walk in San Diego, raising more than $5480 in donations. In fact, two of the top fundraisers for all of San Diego were dogs Ricochet and Kima! Kima, the arthritis walk honoree dog chair came in third place overall.

Ricochet was the top fundraiser on the "Leash Your Fitness With Kima" team. And, the team came in second place overall as the top fundraising team for this year's walk with all members making a significant impact.

Leash Your Fitness also had incentives to help motivate individuals to join their team... including six weeks of FREE training. The team met weekly at various parks throughout San Diego for one-hour "walk the circuit" classes, which incorporated upper body strength and core exercises, balance, yoga and dog obedience. The team training was designed to build endurance for the three-mile walk, all while preparing dogs to walk in a group setting. For more information on Leash Your Fitness ongoing classes, visit http://www.leashyourfitness.com/index.htm

Ricochet, and Leash Your Fitness are thrilled with the results of their fundraising, and sincerely thank all their supporters and donors. They will continue to raise awareness for both humans and canines who suffer from this disease.

For more information, contact Judy Fridono at 707-228-0679, or pawinspired@aol.com.

http://www.SurfDogRicochet.com
http://www.LeashYourFitness.com
http://www.arthritiswalksandiego.com

Mike McDermott Spaghetti Fundraiser in Ocean Pines

Dear Fellow Patriot,

      The response to our June 17th Spaghetti Fundraiser in
Ocean Pines has been heart warming. In just two weeks, we have
already sold half the seats. There is still time to join with
other like minded Marylanders who desire to take back the
reins of an out-of-control government. Come join us as we
serve up homemade pasta, meatballs, and a proven track record
of effective government!

I have concentrated on budget friendly events so everyone can get involved, but I need your help for this event to be a success. Your partnership in this campaign is the only way to insure that I will have the opportunity to serve you and this district in Annapolis. Table Sponsorships are still available, but we need to hear from you soon. Individual tickets may also be purchased.

Our shared eastern shore values deserve to be heard. Please help me as I work to be your strong voice in Annapolis!

Click for Tickets!

Table Sponsor (10-Tickets)$200

Individual Ticket $25.00

With Warmest Regards,

Mike

Dirty Diaper Thief Gets Probation

I think this is a loose cannon just waiting to do more than steal diapers.


All crime stinks. This one just happens to stink worse than others.

An Amherst, Wis., man has been sentenced to 30 months' probation after police caught him attempting to steal dirty diapers from a Portage County home.

Dillon Makuski, 20, was convicted of possession of burglary tools for the September incident, in which he was arrested while carrying six soiled diapers in his pockets, The Associated Press reports.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by The Stevens Point Journal, Makuski broke into the home after he failed to recover any diapers from a garbage bin outside.

He reportedly entered the garage and made his way into the basement before being confronted by the homeowner, who detained him until police arrived.

Makuski then admitted he broke into the residence because he likes to wear diapers and thought he might find some inside. When asked whether he entered the house with the intent to steal diapers, Makuski allegedly stated yes.

Portage County Circuit Court Judge Frederic Fleishauer hit Makuski with two and a half years of probation and ordered him to perform 200 hours of community service and undergo a psychosexual examination.

But the judge ruled against prison time.

"I don't think your circumstance has demonstrated that need," he said.

VIA: MSNBC

Obese Dog Seized From Owners and Sent to Fat Farm

This is just pure bull S!#t, it's not uncommon to see a 9 year old dog or cat for that matter that's "over weight" according to these nuts standards. And to top off what they say, the "picture is worth a thousand words", this dog is heavy but clearly not harmfully obese.

BTW: With the way that the liberal government his headed this may well be happening to children in the very near future if we don't start standing up to this kind of control.

STORY;
Gucci the bull terrier has what many humans have: a severe weight problem. So when her owners in England repeatedly ignored advice on how she could shed more than a few pounds, the local authorities moved in.

After obtaining a court order, they seized the 70-pound dog and took her off to a canine fat farm, where she's been put on a diet and strict exercise regimen with the aim of getting her to shed nearly 30 pounds.

Once Gucci is back to her target weight of 44 pounds and able to run, fetch and roll over in comfort, she will be sent to a new home.

The court order, believed to be the first of its kind issued in England under the country's 2006 Animal Welfare Act, was enforced after a veterinarian in Lancashire, northern England, agreed that Gucci was suffering.

The 9-year-old Gucci was so heavy, according to London's Daily Mail, that she could barely walk down the street and had sore paws from trying to support her weight.

"The animal was suffering through lack of care and exercise," said Karen Bowyer, an animal welfare officer with the Wyre Borough Council in Lancashire, the Mail reported. "There had been previous warnings but it was time to act, and we secured the court order on the basis Gucci was too fat."

According to the council, Gucci's owners were told four times that she had to lose weight, but their warnings were ignored, The Sun of London reported.

"We were not prepared to allow this to continue," Bowyer said.

VIA: AOLNews

Driver Jumps the Toll -- Literally

The only commentary I can come up with for this one is;
'GOOD-GOOG'A-MOOG'A'

When asked if she had been drinking, Villasana reportedly "stated she had one cranberry and vodka last night." ..Erm OK?


Call her the "Duchess of Hazzard."

Police say 22-year-old Yasmine Villasana was driving drunk outside of Dallas when she veered into a sloped barrier in front of a toll plaza and launched her car into a Hollywood-worthy aerial, caught on tape by surveillance cameras.

The Fort Worth, Texas, resident's Chevy Impala took flight early Tuesday and sailed over one vehicle before returning to the roadway, striking the toll plaza, rolling upside down and bursting into flames near the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

I just can't stop watching this!


Villasana -- who suffered a broken wrist in the accident -- insists the crash wasn't her fault.

According to a police report obtained by the Dallas Observer, Villasana said she "had been rear-ended as she was approaching the toll plaza, which caused her vehicle to strike the toll booth protector barricade, launch into the air, land on the roadway and catch on fire."

However, the officer who responded to the accident noted that an "inspection of the vehicle did not show evidence of the Impala having damage from a rear-end collision."

Villasana's dramatic vehicle jump might have made Uncle Jesse and the Duke boys proud, but law enforcement officials were nonplussed.

When asked if she had been drinking, Villasana reportedly "stated she had one cranberry and vodka last night."

Officers then issued a breathalyzer test and arrested her on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

VIA: AOLNews

D-DAY- 66 Years Ago

The D-Day invasion of World War II, codenamed Operation Overlord, began on June 6, 1944. The assault was originally planned for June 5th. However, due to poor weather General Dwight Eisenhower decided to move the date of the invasion to the 6th. It was among the largest amphibious assaults ever attempted. Franklin D. Roosevelt, was President of the United States of America.

"Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely"
~~~General Dwight Eisenhower - 6th June 1944 ~~~

D-Day
June 6, 1944

"This operation is not being planned with any alternatives. This operation is planned as a victory, and that's the way it's going to be. We're going down there, and we're throwing everything we have into it, and we're going to make it a success."
~~~General Dwight D. Eisenhower~~~

To "Mr. Mac"- I have not forgotten anything you told me about this great country. I cherish your war stories on those long summer evenings rocking on your porch.

[Breaking] Two N.J. men arrested at JFK airport before boarding plane to join Islamist terrorist group, authorities say

Two New Jersey men intent on killing American troops were arrested Saturday as they boarded flights to link up with a virulent jihadist group in Somalia, authorities said.

The men, both North Jersey residents, were charged with conspiring
to commit an act of international terrorism through a group tied to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network, according to officials familiar with the details of the arrests.

Mohamed Hamoud Alessa, 20, of North Bergen, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 26, of Elmwood Park were apprehended at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens before they could board separate flights to Egypt, where they were to start journeys to Somalia. The men were arrested by teams of state and federal law-enforcement agents who have been investigating the pair since October 2006, according to the officials, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the operation publicly.

Late Saturday night, the state homeland security agency confirmed a police action at the airport but gave few details.

"Two individuals were arrested at JFK in connection with an ongoing investigation. At this time, we can provide no further details because the investigation is ongoing. The arrests do not relate to an immediate threat," said Jose Lozano, a spokesman for the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.

Shortly after 10:30 p.m., FBI agents sealed off Alessa’s street in North Bergen. The local police department would say only that an investigation was in progress. FBI agents, North Bergen police and the New York Police Department descended on the home on 81st Street as neighbors looked on. According to property records, Alessa’s parents, Mahmoud and Nadia Alessa, rented the top floor of their house amid a quiet row of middle-class homes. As agents poured in, lights went on throughout the house.

Just over 10 miles away, in Elmwood Park, 20 cars with agents and police arrived at Almonte’s home about 11 p.m. Neighbors emerged from their homes as the racket from the raid broke the silence of quiet Falmouth Avenue. Again, agents turned on lights throughout the house, from the basement to the attic. They also could be seen looking around the exterior with flashlights and also searched the detached garage. Neighbors of Almonte declined to comment, but a couple who appeared to be family members showed up around 11:30 and greeted the agents as if they knew them. The older man was escorted into the house and could be seen embracing one of the FBI agents in the kitchen.

Neither Alessa nor Almonte is married. Both are American citizens, said the anonymous officials.

The men are scheduled to appear Monday in U.S. District Court in Newark.

The arrests were the culmination of Operation Arabian Knight. Details were still sketchy Saturday night, but authorities said the suspects have been under surveillance for some time and were being shadowed by an undercover New York City cop who managed to infiltrate their circle of friends and keep tabs as they consumed jihadist videos and literature, bought airline tickets and prepared to travel overseas.

Officials said the suspects were not planning an imminent attack in the New Jersey-New York area but were believed to be joining with the terrorist fight against Americans in Somalia.

Authorities said the men planned to wage jihad as part of a Somalia-based Islamist terror group called al Shabaab, an organization of several thousand fighters spread through Somalia’s southern region. Al Shabaab, whose full Arabic name means "Mujahideen Youth Movement," has had ties to al Qaeda since 2007, according to national security experts.

Last year, federal authorities in Minnesota charged 14 men connected to a plot designed to entice young Americans to join up with al Shabaab. And, in February, the New York Times reported the group announced it was joining forces with the ‘’international jihad of Al Qaeda."

As in the Minnesota case, investigators believe Alessa and Almonte were recruited by others, who are also now coming under scrutiny. "We hope this will lead to a spider web of arrests," said one official briefed on the case.

Officials said the New Jersey suspects were believed to have led fairly normal lives in North Jersey but then started acting strangely and gravitating toward anti-American sentiment. Their families aided in the investigation after growing worried about the beliefs and actions of the men, officials close to the probe said.

The arrests come on the heels of last month’s attempt to set off a car bomb in Times Square and, before that, the Christmas Day incident in which a 23-year-old Nigerian tried to blow up an airliner by setting off explosives inside his underwear. Both attacks were unsuccessful.

Saturday night’s arrests had been planned for days, officials said, as agents tried to determine the best possible time and place to apprehend the men without interfering in their planning or tipping them off. In order to prove the suspects had "intent" to commit an act of terror, federal prosecutors in New Jersey insisted that the men be allowed to go to the airport and begin the boarding process. That way, there would be less of a chance they could later say they had changed their mind or grown uneasy with their plans.

By early Saturday morning, agents had worked out a strategy of following the men to the airport and tracking them through their security check-in, officials said. After that, they planned to quietly get the men out of public view so their arrests could not be seen by any associates who might have been following them. The men were allowed to make it to the jetway boarding ramps before agents took them into custody.

The arrests and planning were coordinated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a multi-agency group that includes agents of the FBI, state homeland security office, New York Police Department, Port Authority police and an assortment of federal security agencies. The investigation began as two separate probes after the FBI and New Jersey homeland security detectives received individual tips about the men, officials said.

In the months leading up to their planned travel, authorities said, Alessa and Almonte saved thousands of dollars, conditioned themselves physically through tactical training and dry runs at paintball fields and acquired gear and apparel to be used once they joined up with al Shabaab in Somalia. The men boasted that they wanted to wage holy war against the United States both at home and overseas, said investigators.

The prosecution of Alessa and Almonte is being led by New Jersey’s new U.S. attorney, Paul Fishman. In a meeting with The Star-Ledger’s editorial board last month, Fishman hinted there were serious national-security investigations on the verge of becoming public, though he declined to say anything more.

"There are cases in the pipeline that are of huge significance," Fishman said.

Somalia has long been a trouble spot for Western nations and, especially, the United States. With the country in tatters because of civil war, the United States sent in troops in mid-1992 and by year’s end the operation had been transformed into a military deployment designed to protect humanitarian efforts.

In October 1993, 18 American soldiers were killed trying to take out key members of the leadership of the warring clan that controlled the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Some have suggested there was a link between that skirmish and bin Laden, although others dispute that.

More recently, the Pentagon’s top commander in the region included Somalia on a small list of countries where clandestine American military operations would be targeted to disrupt militant groups.

Somalia is still caught in the throes of civil war, but there has recently been a renewed effort to bring peace to the lawless country. The United States is backing the current Somali government in its attempt to re-establish law and order.

Al Shabaab has been waging its own militant battle and has been listed on the U.S. government’s roster of international terror organizations.

According to a Council on Foreign Relations briefing, al Shabaab’s leader released a video in September 2008 pledging allegiance to bin Laden and calling for Muslim youth to come to Somalia. In February 2009, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s second-in-command, released a video that began by praising al Shabaab’s seizure of the Somali town of Baidoa. The group will "engage in Jihad against the American-made government in the same way they engaged in Jihad against the Ethiopians and the warlords before them," Zawahiri said.

VIA: NJ.com

Black Barbie Sold for Less Than White Barbie at Walmart Store

Oh boy! No comment.

Page 1

Walmart is raising eyebrows after cutting the price of a black Barbie doll to nearly half of that of the doll's white counterpart at one store and possibly others.

A photo first posted to the humor Web site FunnyJunk.com and later to the Latino Web site Guanabee.com shows packages of Mattel's Ballerina Barbie and Ballerina Teresa dolls hanging side by side at an unidentified store. The Teresa dolls, which feature brown skin and dark hair, are marked as being on sale at $3.00. The Barbies to the right of the Teresa dolls, meanwhile, retain their original price of $5.93. The dolls look identical aside from their color.

Editors at Guanabee.com said the person responsible for the photo told the Web site that it was taken at a Louisiana Walmart store. The person did not return e-mails from ABCNews.com.

A Walmart spokeswoman, who could not verify the exact store shown in the photo, said that the price change on the Teresa doll was part of the chain's efforts to clear shelf space for its new spring inventory.

"To prepare for (s)pring inventory, a number of items are marked for clearance, " spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien said in an e-mail. "... Both are great dolls. The red price sticker indicates that this particular doll was on clearance when the photo was taken, and though both dolls were priced the same to start, one was marked down due to its lower sales to hopefully increase purchase from customers."

"Pricing like items differently is a part of inventory management in retailing," O'Brien said.

But critics say Walmart should have been more sensitive in its pricing choice.

"The implication of the lowering of the price is that's devaluing the black doll," said Thelma Dye, the executive director of the Northside Center for Child Development, a Harlem, N.Y. organization founded by pioneering psychologists and segregation researchers Kenneth B. Clark and Marnie Phipps Clark.

"While it's clear that's not what was intended, sometimes these things have collateral damage," Dye said.

Other experts agree. Walmart could have decided "that it's really important that we as a company don't send a message that we value blackness less than whiteness," said Lisa Wade, an assistant sociology professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles and the founder of the blog Sociological Images.

Last year, Wade posted a blog entry on another case where a black doll was apparently priced less than its white counterpart at an unidentified store. Wade said that when white dolls outsell black dolls, it's usually because black parents are more likely than white parents to buy their children dolls of a different race.

"Most white parents wouldn't think to buy a black doll for their child, even if they believe in equality and all those things," she said.

Page 2 HERE

Page 3 HERE

Credit: ABCNews

Mural Ignites Debate on Race, Censorship in Arizona

Here we go again!

In all my years I have never heard so many apologies about race, words, and our American way of life in some incidences then I have heard in the last year. This PC BS has to come to a head.

It's the corrupt Preachers that scream "heathen", it's those that talk the most that want to smash the first amendment, it's the Al Sharpton's and Van Jones' of the world that cry racism at every whim, like black Barbie being cheaper than white Barbie. [hypocrites]

Am I the only one that is sick and tired of this BS

An Arizona school mural designed to promote environmentally friendly transportation has ignited a debate about race and censorship of the arts.

Officials at Miller Valley Elementary School in Prescott, Ariz., asked the painters of the mural to lighten the skin of children depicted after a city councilman denounced its prominent portrayal of ethnic minorities. Following protests, the principal apologized today for making the request. "Miller Valley made a mistake when we asked them to lighten the mural. We made a mistake," said Principal Jeff Lane.


The mural shows children walking and cycling in a garden-like scene, with birds flying around them.
"We don't have a racist town," R.E. Wall, who painted the "Go on Green" mural, told AOL News. "I believe we have racist city council."

City Councilman Steve Blair, who says he "can't stand" the word "diversity," criticized the mural on his talk-radio show. He particularly targeted the portrayal of the painting's main figure, a dark-skinned boy in blue jeans and green sweatshirt.

"To depict the biggest picture on that building as a black person, I would have to ask the question, 'Why?'" Blair said on a May 21 broadcast, according to The Daily Courier.

The child in question is meant to be a Mexican-American, Wall told AOL News.

When the Courier published an article online about the unveiling of the mural, readers left comments describing the painting as "tacky," "ghetto" and "ugly." On his radio show, Blair said that he had spoken to locals who are offended by the mural and call it "graffiti."

The mural aims to fight childhood obesity by encouraging children to walk or cycle to school. It was paid for by the Prescott Alternative Transportation Organization, with money from the state Department of Transportation's Safe Routes to School program, The Associated Press reported.

Students examined different options for the design of the mural, before passing on their recommendations to the school's teachers, who had the final say.

"The teachers selected this design because it focused on children and their role in the environment," Lane told the AP.

Wall says that he and his fellow painters from the Prescott Downtown Mural Project, were often harassed by drivers passing by the mural. The motorists shouted racial slurs against the figures depicted, said Wall, adding that the painters were working with school children at the time.

"To us it's children, we don't care what color they are," Wall told AOL News. "But for some people, that's all they see. "

As the controversy grew, school authorities requested the artists lighten the skin tones on the forehead and cheeks of the main boy depicted, and to make the children appear happier.

The school's principal denies that he was motivated by any kind of political pressure relating to racism.


"We asked them to fix the shading on the children's faces," Lane told The Arizona Republic. "We were looking at it from an artistic view. Nothing at all to do with race."

Wall told AOL News that the artists would work to make the most prominent child look more like a Mexican-American but that they "weren't interested" in simply lightening the skin tones.

He says he's glad that the controversy has erupted, as it provides a rallying point for Latinos who have been squeezed by city measures, such as banning soccer in public parks.

"Art shouldn't just be flat pictures of puppies," Wall told AOL News. "Like Picasso said, art should be a hammer that shatters the illusion of the masses."

Credit: AOLNEWS

Be Causious of Old Sun Screen

My son went to the Wallops open house today and enjoyed the show, he says the Blue Angels were spectacular and a special bonus to a great event that Wallops opened to the public today.

He was there early, knowing he would be out in the sun all day he grabbed a bottle of SPF50 sunscreen and covered his exposed skin.

After being out in the sun he noticed he was starting to burn even with the SPF50 sunscreen he'd applied so he checked to the bottle of sunscreen for the date, that's when he found out that he had grabbed a bottle the was 2 years old.

Who would think that it would go bad? He is sunburned pretty bad after spending the day out in the sun even though he thought he took precautions by applying liberal amounts of SPF50 sunscreen.

We view this as a learning experience and just thought I'd pass along the warning to you to check the date on your sunscreen and discard last years bottle.

There are people that would sue I'm sure .... hot coffee comes to mind.

So if you're going out in the sun for any prolonged time make sure to get new sunscreen especially if you have little-ones, don't trust that old bottle of sunscreen.

Enjoy the summer sun, it's not fun having a blistering sunburn.

NAACP calls Hallmark graduation card racist

Why does the NAACP feel the need to keep racism alive and and on the table constantly? If you watch the video they have to put an ear 'against' the talking greeting card to try to find something/anything to scream "racist" about.

The "word" that the NAACP is so upset about is the word "hole" listening here on the computer through crappy speakers and so-so audio quality associated with the video the word is very clearly "hole", the NAACP is arguing that the word is "whore" or "ho" they (NAACP) say they can hear the "r" in the phrase "black hole" the last time I checked there is no "r" in the phrase "black ho". You be the judge.

I say they are just looking to keep racism alive and hunting for a law suit.

A graduation card sold at local stores has been pulled from shelves after a civil rights group raised concerns about the content. The group claims the card's micro-speaker plays a greeting that's racist.

It is a graduation greeting from Hallmark that says, "Hey world, we are officially putting you on notice."

Members of the Los Angeles NAACP did take notice. As characters known as "Hoops" and "Yoyo" banter on, African American leaders hear offensive language.

"And you black holes, you are so ominous. Watch your back," the card vocalizes.

"That was very demeaning to African American women. When it made reference to African American women as whores and at the end, it says 'watch your back,'" said Leon Jenkins of the Los Angeles NAACP.

When Hallmark was reached by phone, they said the card is all a misunderstanding. The card's theme is the solar system and emphasizes the power of the grad to take over the universe, even energy-absorbing black holes.

The card company says the card speaks about the power the grad will wield.

"The intent here is to say that this graduate is not afraid of anything," explained Hallmark spokesman Steve Doyal.

But that's not what some people heard.

"You hear the 'r' in there. 'Whores,' not, 'holes.' The 'r' is in there," said Minnie Hatley of the Los Angeles NAACP.

Hallmark sent Eyewitness News a transcript of what the card says, but Hatley says that the actual audio raises questions.

"It sounds like a group of children laughing and joking about blackness, again," said another NAACP member.

Hallmark is now notifying all of its stores to pull the card. Walgreens and CVS are doing the same.

"In any situation where there is a circumstance that we need to be sensitive to, we try to learn from that experience," said Doyal.

However, NAACP members say they do not want to see the card on store shelves ever again.

Credit: ABC7

"Last Word Of The Week"

There seems to have been alot of heated discussions this week concerning the statement that Pocomoke Mayor Mike McDermott made this week to the Daily Times concerning the murder a few days ago in Pocomoke. And naturally because Pocomoke is my home town I hear it all!

Don't get me wrong. I like the Pocomoke Mayor. I do, however, think he would fair alot better if he would keep his comments out of the "crime business" and leave that up to his Chief of Police. There are alot of people here in Accomack County quite angry and worked up over this. I hope he left some "wiggle room" to get out of it. "Politics" or not Mr. Mayor you need to have a long talk with OUR Accomack County Sheriff! I think the apologies need to begin there and then with the rest of the law abiding people (like me) that visit your town for one reason or another.
LAST WORD OF THE WEEK Pocomoke mayor's Va. criticism is suspect as written by Ted Shockley, Eastern Shore News:

Last week a Greenbush man was fatally shot in Pocomoke City, Md. The town mayor was quoted in a report before an arrest was made that its violent incidents were the fault of Virginians

"I'm weary of the Virginia violence that pours over into Pocomoke City -- the problems that we've had in the past couple years tend to come from Accomack County, and it's really getting wearisome to our city," said Mayor Michael McDermott.

As it turned out, the man charged with murder resides in a Washington, D.C., suburb of Maryland. In fact, he lived in Pocomoke City in 1993 when he was charged with first-degree murder. The charge was later dropped.

I'm surprised that the Maryland mayor decided to paint our county as a violent badlands before a Marylander was charged with the slaying of Reginald Jerome Handy Jr., 22, of Greenbush.

Instead, maybe Accomack County should be a little wary of having such a lawless place so close to our border.

You would think the self-proclaimed "Friendliest Town on the Eastern Shore" would be a little friendlier with respect to comments about its southern neighbor.

It led me to think of everything that gets on my nerves about Pocomoke City. I could start with all of the Walmart plastic bags blowing through Accomack County. Maybe someday, those plastic bags could come from our soon-to-be-opened Walmart. Right now, they are imported from the north.

I could continue with the outrageously long wait at the traffic light at Walmart in Pocomoke City. Or the Pocomoke Christmas Parade, which I stopped attending because I don't like mixing with hooded mobs on sidewalks after dark. (If you want a much nicer after-dark Christmas parade, go to Chincoteague's or Exmore's instead.)

Or the super-long waits at the former Greene Turtle restaurant on U.S. Route 13. No wonder it's no longer in business.

Sure, all of that seems petty, but I didn't start the pettiness.

The truth is, Accomack County spends a lot of money on everything from cars to meals in Pocomoke City. Accomack County provides a lot of Marylanders jobs at the Wallops industrial complex. For two municipalities in separate states, Pocomoke City and Accomack are pretty close and cooperative siblings.

One wonders if Maryland competition for NASA-related spinoff business and new residents was behind the mayor's criticism of us. People will say anything to lure a job or two.

In reality, the issue of street shootings is more a societal issue than a geographical problem. When it comes to senseless violence, there are a lot of contributing factors that transcend state lines and municipal limits.

The mayoral thing to do would be to help find ways to fix the problem before publicly affixing blame.

NOTE: If you care to leave a comment be sure to think about what you write. I DID NOT post this so the people of Pocomoke (that seem to think they have no use for the mayor ) could have a big time with comments. I merely want everyone to know that Accomack County heard him loud and clear

Dog Surprises Officer After Being Freed From A Fence

Watch til the end.


Hat Tip; Ree

Claims of 14 Sightings of Sasquatch in Virginia

THORNBURG, Va. — Billy Willard says he’s on the verge of a major discovery that could change the way humans think about the natural world, not to mention their need for a creature-proof home security system.

Here in Spotsylvania County, in the forests around Lake Anna, Willard contends there have been 14 sightings in the past decade of that most fabled of cryptozoic beasts: Bigfoot.

Or Sasquatch, as the elusive, apelike brute is referred to in other circles — and on the side of Willard’s blue pickup. The decal on the truck reads “Sasquatch Watch of Virginia,’’ of which Willard is chief pooh-bah (when he’s not earning a living installing and removing underground home oil tanks).

Go ahead, call him a loon, a flake, a huckster. He’s heard it all. But Willard knows what he knows, which is that three people from this area — a woman, her husband, and their granddaughter — told him they saw a shaggy, super-sized figure on two legs gallivanting across their wooded property.

Last month, Willard led a weeklong expedition to the site, where he installed five motion-sensor cameras that will snap photos if and when the big galoot wanders by again.

Willard, 41, says he’d like to lead a tour of the property and introduce the witnesses, really he would. But the woman who says she saw what she believes could have been Bigfoot fears an avalanche of ridicule, which is why Willard is left to deliver his version of what happened a few miles away, in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen.

“We believe we may be close to some kind of major discovery,’’ he said. “All the things they would need are here, fresh water, shelter in the woods. The high concentration of sightings tells me they’re here.’’

He interrupts his monologue to answer his cellphone, the ringtone to which is the country tune “People Are Crazy.’’

Ever since humans began telling stories, they have spun yarns involving life forms that tower above mere mortals, whether it’s the giant of “Jack and the Beanstalk’’ fame, or Goliath, or Frankenstein.

Bigfoot has been a perennial for generations, with hundreds of purported sightings (many of them of supposed footprints), most prevalent in the Pacific Northwest but also popping up in states as disparate as Rhode Island, Illinois, and Alabama.

The myth grew in popularity in 1967, when two men in California filmed what appeared to be a huge and hairy biped walking into the woods, at one point turning its head to glance dramatically at the camera.

In Bigfoot circles, the footage is referred to as the “Patterson-Gimlin film,’’ named for its makers.

In less admiring circles, the short, fuzzy clip is cited as nothing short of poppycock.

Willard knows about the film, and most everything else Bigfoot-related, all of which he’s happy to share at any time, sometimes to the annoyance of his wife, Jeanean, who is prone to blurt out, “Okay, the conversation will have to change.’’

For all of Willard’s certainty about Bigfoot, the buzz has not exactly caught on in the rural hamlets around Lake Anna, where many residents work at the nearby nuclear power plant or in construction or commute to Richmond or Washington.

Behind the grill at Tarheel Pig Pickers barbecue, Mark Lane, 54, giggled.

“When I see Bigfoot water skiing, I’ll believe it,’’ he said. “If they catch him, we’ll put him on the rotisserie and invite everyone in the community.’’

Ron McCormick, president of a home-building company, said people have more pressing concerns, such as plummeting property values and paying bills. “On the other hand, it could bring in tourists,’’ he said as he sat at his desk, playing solitaire on his laptop.

Craig Petrie, 55, mowing grass a few miles away, volunteered that he sometimes hears voices calling his name from below as he tends the cemetery adjoining Wallers Baptist Church, where he holds the titles of head deacon and chief groundskeeper.

But Bigfoot sightings? “Never happened,’’ he said, although he’s open to the possibility, particularly with all the new subdivisions in the area ripping out trees and kicking up dirt.

“If anyone’s going to see him, it’s me, because I’m always on this mower. And if he kills me, they’ll just have to walk a few feet to bury me. It’s convenient.’’

The small but avid universe of Bigfoot enthusiasts includes self-styled investigators who pursue their quest during off hours from their day jobs.

Willard, for example, hosts an Internet radio show and maintains a website from his home in Manassas; he also monitors his Bigfoot hotline for reported sightings (a recent caller announced “I just saw Bigfoot in Reston,’’ before exploding in laughter and hanging up).

More dispassionate scholars are fascinated by the unflagging interest in bogeymen.

“People have a need to think about something like ourselves, something scary, using them as a cautionary tale,’’ said Robert Michael Pyle, whose book “Where Bigfoot Walks’’ explores the history of Sasquatch.

Willard spends countless hours in the woods listening for footsteps, always with a camera, ready to snap a picture.

He brings a set of knives and a hatchet. If he finds a dead Bigfoot, he intends to walk away with the ultimate trophy, DNA evidence, to send a message to those who ridicule the believers: “To give them the final ‘Aha! I told you so.’

www.boston.com

License Plate Falls Off Car At Crime Scene

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A burglary suspect in northern Florida was charged after authorities say they found the license plate from his car at the crime scene. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office reports that 49-year-old Gary Browder was already in jail Wednesday for two unrelated counts when he was charged with the burglary.

Police say security camera video from a March gas station break-in shows a sedan pulling up to the store and a man smashing the window and stealing cigarettes. Before the car drives away, the video shows the car's license plate falling off.

Police retrieved the plate and traced it to a vehicle registered to Browder.

www.jacksonville.com

~~Show Your Support For Courtney Bloxom ~~

BAKE SALE @ PARKSLEY FEST

SATURDAY JUNE 5, 2010

BEGINNING AT 10:00 a.m.

LOCATION: PARKSLEY FESTIVAL

Proceeds will go to help her family with the expenses of her medical care. Courtney still remains in a coma and other critical injuries resulting from an automobile accident.

There will also be a few ribbons left for sale and the bracelets that everyone is wearing to show their support for Courtney.

Please show your support for Courtney if only in prayer. For more info and to see the outpouring of love being sent to Courtney and her family go to "Prayers for Courtney Bloxom" on Facebook.