Hispanic Heritage Month begins today and lasts through November 15. Go, Latinos, it's your birthday...
Friday, September 14, 2007
Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!
Hispanic Heritage Month begins today and lasts through November 15. Go, Latinos, it's your birthday...
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Yes, white people are crazy (Also: To be filed under "WTF?!)
From the New York Times
Woman, 20, Was Imprisoned and Tortured, Police Say
By CHRIS STRATTON and IAN URBINA
Published: September 12, 2007
LOGAN, W.Va., Sept. 11 — A 20-year-old woman was held captive for more than a week in a mobile home, where she was raped, stabbed and tortured by at least a half-dozen people, the police said. Sheriff’s deputies rescued her on Saturday, and she remained hospitalized Tuesday in stable condition.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for more than 30 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything of this nature,” the Logan County sheriff, Eddie Hunter, said.
Six people, including a mother and her son and a mother and her daughter, have been charged in the case.
The police said the people charged, all of whom are white, yelled racial slurs at the woman, who is black, during some of the attacks. The woman endured horrific torture, according to court documents. She was raped by multiple men, some of whom poured scalding water on her during the assaults, according to the criminal complaints.
She was forced to lick up blood, eat animal feces and drink water from a toilet, the documents said, and she was also stabbed repeatedly in the leg and was told that if she tried to leave, she would be killed.
The police said that more than a week ago, the victim went with Bobby R. Brewster, 24, who she believed was a friend, to the trailer where he lives with his mother, Frankie Lee Brewster, 49, in Big Creek, in the northern end of Logan County.
On Tuesday, the police were interviewing the victim further about two more people she said were involved.
On Saturday, Logan County deputies received a tip about a woman being held against her will at the Brewster residence. A person working in the area had heard disturbing noises coming from the trailer and seen the victim with cuts on her leg through the window, the police said.
“Upon the deputies’ arrival, they found Mrs. Frankie Brewster sitting on the front porch,” a police report says. The deputies asked Mrs. Brewster if anyone else was at the residence and she said she was alone.
As she was talking, the police documents say, Mrs. Brewster got up and stepped toward the door, when a woman inside the residence limped toward the door with her arms held out and said, “Help me.” The woman’s eyes were bruised and she had four large stab wounds on her left leg, the police said.
Police documents say Mrs. Brewster admitted to holding the victim at the trailer against her will and beating her.
The victim was taken to Logan Regional Hospital and then to the General Hospital of Charleston Area Medical Center, where she underwent surgery for her leg wounds.
Mrs. Brewster was charged with sexual assault, kidnapping, malicious wounding and giving false statements to an officer. Mr. Brewster was charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and assault during the commission of a felony.
The Brewster family and their trailer has a history of violent crime, the police said.
Mr. Brewster killed his stepfather there when he was 12, the authorities said, and served time at a juvenile correction facility.
In July 1994, Mrs. Brewster shot and killed an 84-year-old woman she was looking after, also in the trailer, according to court records.
Mrs. Brewster, who was charged with first-degree murder, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and served six years at a state correctional facility. She was paroled in 2000.
In 2005, two men got into a fight outside the trailer, the police said, ending with a fatal stabbing.
In January, the police were again called to the trailer, where they found a man who had been slashed across his abdomen; the man survived, according to court documents, and Mr. Brewster was a witness in that case.
Also being held in the case of the young woman were Danny J. Combs, 20, who was charged with sexual assault and malicious wounding; George A. Messer, 27, who was charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery; Karen Burton, 46, who was charged with malicious wounding, battery and assault during the commission of a felony; and her daughter, Alisha Burton, 23, who was charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery. The four were being held in $100,000 bond each.
The Brewsters were being held pending bond hearings.
The authorities said they were still deciding whether to file additional charges, of hate crimes, against the defendants.
“The whole family is shocked,” a sister of the victim said.
Relatives said the victim has mild learning disabilities but graduated from high school. The relatives would not comment on whether the victim was living at home or had a job.
Woman, 20, Was Imprisoned and Tortured, Police Say
By CHRIS STRATTON and IAN URBINA
Published: September 12, 2007
LOGAN, W.Va., Sept. 11 — A 20-year-old woman was held captive for more than a week in a mobile home, where she was raped, stabbed and tortured by at least a half-dozen people, the police said. Sheriff’s deputies rescued her on Saturday, and she remained hospitalized Tuesday in stable condition.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for more than 30 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything of this nature,” the Logan County sheriff, Eddie Hunter, said.
Six people, including a mother and her son and a mother and her daughter, have been charged in the case.
The police said the people charged, all of whom are white, yelled racial slurs at the woman, who is black, during some of the attacks. The woman endured horrific torture, according to court documents. She was raped by multiple men, some of whom poured scalding water on her during the assaults, according to the criminal complaints.
She was forced to lick up blood, eat animal feces and drink water from a toilet, the documents said, and she was also stabbed repeatedly in the leg and was told that if she tried to leave, she would be killed.
The police said that more than a week ago, the victim went with Bobby R. Brewster, 24, who she believed was a friend, to the trailer where he lives with his mother, Frankie Lee Brewster, 49, in Big Creek, in the northern end of Logan County.
On Tuesday, the police were interviewing the victim further about two more people she said were involved.
On Saturday, Logan County deputies received a tip about a woman being held against her will at the Brewster residence. A person working in the area had heard disturbing noises coming from the trailer and seen the victim with cuts on her leg through the window, the police said.
“Upon the deputies’ arrival, they found Mrs. Frankie Brewster sitting on the front porch,” a police report says. The deputies asked Mrs. Brewster if anyone else was at the residence and she said she was alone.
As she was talking, the police documents say, Mrs. Brewster got up and stepped toward the door, when a woman inside the residence limped toward the door with her arms held out and said, “Help me.” The woman’s eyes were bruised and she had four large stab wounds on her left leg, the police said.
Police documents say Mrs. Brewster admitted to holding the victim at the trailer against her will and beating her.
The victim was taken to Logan Regional Hospital and then to the General Hospital of Charleston Area Medical Center, where she underwent surgery for her leg wounds.
Mrs. Brewster was charged with sexual assault, kidnapping, malicious wounding and giving false statements to an officer. Mr. Brewster was charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and assault during the commission of a felony.
The Brewster family and their trailer has a history of violent crime, the police said.
Mr. Brewster killed his stepfather there when he was 12, the authorities said, and served time at a juvenile correction facility.
In July 1994, Mrs. Brewster shot and killed an 84-year-old woman she was looking after, also in the trailer, according to court records.
Mrs. Brewster, who was charged with first-degree murder, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and served six years at a state correctional facility. She was paroled in 2000.
In 2005, two men got into a fight outside the trailer, the police said, ending with a fatal stabbing.
In January, the police were again called to the trailer, where they found a man who had been slashed across his abdomen; the man survived, according to court documents, and Mr. Brewster was a witness in that case.
Also being held in the case of the young woman were Danny J. Combs, 20, who was charged with sexual assault and malicious wounding; George A. Messer, 27, who was charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery; Karen Burton, 46, who was charged with malicious wounding, battery and assault during the commission of a felony; and her daughter, Alisha Burton, 23, who was charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery. The four were being held in $100,000 bond each.
The Brewsters were being held pending bond hearings.
The authorities said they were still deciding whether to file additional charges, of hate crimes, against the defendants.
“The whole family is shocked,” a sister of the victim said.
Relatives said the victim has mild learning disabilities but graduated from high school. The relatives would not comment on whether the victim was living at home or had a job.
Yet another reason why people should stop procreating
It hurts the environment. For every baby born, a tree dies.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Facing Forward
After reading a brief news blurb about another nameless woman being stabbed to death and the nameless man who did it, I decided to post about Johanna Orozco. The Cleveland Pee Dee (as reported by Rachell Dissell) is doing a special series with stories and multimedia features about a young girl who was abused, stalked and eventually shot in the face by her ex-boyfriend. This type of story, sadly, is not new, but it still brings the threat of tears to your face.She survived and has undergone numerous surgeries to repair her face. He plead guilty of rape and attempted murder (to avoid a trial by jury with even more charges) and will be sentenced on September 19.
*Breathe* The tears still want to come. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, or what, but stuff like this really gets to me. Like-makes-me-cry "gets to me". I can't help but feel powerless and enraged all at the same time. Why, why, why, why, WHY are women still treated as disposable objects? People go into rages over the mistreatment of dogs (rightfully so), but where is the rage for women like Johanna? She was doing everything right: going to school, planning on a career, working, participating in Drama Club and she gets shot in her own driveway by some...man. He was abusive and controlling. He raped her days before (in her own bedroom) and now he shoots her because she reported the assault.
God. I just don't get it. I don't grow tired of being angry about this. I know why: because in some cases of abuse, you can comfortably think fucked up things: "Well, she had a chance to escape, but she didn't." But Johanna followed all the steps. She broke free. She excerised legal recourse. And everyone from cops to judges dismissed every incident of threat, every call she made when he stood outside her house. And now she is disfigured, though alive.
That is what pisses me off. When the system continues to fail people. We tell women to call the police. We tell them to walk away. They do and the perpetrators always find them. They slip through cracks and no one cares until someone is dead...or in Johanna's case, almost dead.
When the fuck are we going to cut the games and take women's pleas for help seriously? When are we going to create and enforce laws that protect women from their abusers? How many more nameless stabbing victims and Johanna's do we have to have before we wake up and do something?
Monday, September 10, 2007
Anything you can do, I can do better
More proof (as if I needed it), that liberals are smarter than conservatives. Analyze this study however you want, but the facts are simple: liberals think better than conservatives.
Dear Brit (The Hypocrisy of Pop Culture Obsession)
Dear Britney,
I hope you're recuperating from last night's performance. It must be really tiring to open for the VMAs and deal with the recent BS that has occured in your life. I mean, obviously I know these have been trying times for you, so I can only imagine what getting on stage half naked must do for one's energy.
I was UBER excited for your performance. I didn't even know you were performing until all the homo boys at my weekend gig mentioned that your new song (which is WAY hot) was going to be the opening act. You've opened for VMAs before, so no biggie for you, right? But, it's been awhile and it showed. It's ok. Fuck all the haters. Like my boy LL says, "Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years."
I wish I knew you in the beginning. I mean like "hit me baby" beginning. This could all be different. I could have warned you about the haters, the fags, the drama, the media, the bullshit. Your parents did a piss-poor job of telling you about the facts of life and the ways of the world. People always want to see someone suffer and that person is you. I swear Jesus had less people throwing hate his way when he was carrying his own cross!
And you have quite the cross to bear: you're young, blonde and white. You sing pop music. You are part of a echelon of women who are simultaneously worshipped and vilified for who they are: Marilyn, Anna Nicole, Paris, Madge, Greta, Joan, Bette, Liza, Judy, etc. These women are one minute Hollywood Goddesses, and the next second street whores. The media either loves you or hates you based on things as stupid as what you wore to the store this morning.
*Sigh* I will be honest and tell you that you've made some poor decisions in your life. But, sweetie: I. don't. blame. YOU. I blame your mama, your managers, handlers, JIVE records, stylists, baby daddy, boyfriends and most importantly: THE PATRIARCHY. No one told you that the men (Justin, Kevin, Wade, Jason) you chose to associate with were idiots not worth your time. No one told you about birth control or the responsibilities of parenting. No one told you about the perils of overindulgence. No one told you that an ounce of Jesus does a person good.
Perhaps if they did, you would have been more wary of the company you kept and stayed away from giving your bridesmaids velour jump suits at your wedding. You would have never associated yourself with Mr. Federline and made the even grosser mistake of procreating with him. Everyone makes mistakes, it just sucks that all yours were made in the view of the American public.
Now, I know I am coming off as pretentious, judgemental and condescending, but I am telling you things you need to be told. You may hate me for this now, but I know--down the road--you will thank me.
Oh yes, the homos. In case you didn't know, The Gays love you. They have made you the star you are today. Never forget that a pop stars career is built on the backs of 11-year old girls and gay men of any age. Never ever forget that. Fags finance your stardom. It is high time you start courting that demographic. Tour some gay bars. Donate to HRC. They can bless you with the "respect" you once had. And they can tell you when your weave looks bad (which it did last night). They can help you get back on track. However, be careful because they can turn on you like a cornered cat, slashing away at your image ("She's fat.), the men in your life ("K-Fed is a greasy tool."), and your work ("Crossroads was one big music video. Who told her she could act?"). It can be worse than a high school study hall period on a Degrassi High episode....worse than being on the shit list of the Plastics.
Suffice to say, watch your back.
Now some radical feminist perspective. You. are. not. fat. You are not fat. Even after two children and at your heaviest weight, you are skinnier than the average American woman. DO NOT let our country's fucked up weight ideals tell you that you are disproportionate or overweight. You look good. Seriously. I know plenty of women who would kill to have the body you put on display just last night. Of course, the patriarchy wants to hold you captive to the sweet tart high school image you introduced yourself with, while ignoring the fact that you are now 25 and the mother of two kids. You have been under constant stress and emotional duress. Why should we expect six pack abs and toned buttocks? Accept that you can't please everyone: you're either a fatty or dangerously thin (read: Nicole Richie). It was sorta OK when megastar Beyonce put on a few pounds. But eventually even she had to drop the weight. Look at what they're doing to poor Tyra and she's a supermodel! No one is free from victimization...unless you're a man.
The patriarchy celebrated your naughty girl status and then threw you to the dogs when you showed that you were human and you suffer from instabilities. The very men who drooled at your existence and shamed little girls into making them want to look like you, also dumped your cold, lifeless image in the dumpster when shit hit the fan. You shaved your head and lost the last indicator of patriarchal femininity. You are forced to wear ridiculous, ill-fitting wigs to please the naysayers and style watchers. You wore almost nothing last night, mimicking a stripper just to launch your career back into atmospheric proportions. Did Marlon Brando's fat ass have to dress as a stripper to jumpstart his career? What about Sly Stallone, Bruce Willis or Harrison Ford? All of them are making "comebacks" and their clothes are still on. They pulled some stupid shit in their lives and experienced some drama and they're not still paying for it. The patriarchy has us all so twisted that we measure female stars with a different, harsher ruler.
Bee, I am so sorry you haven't been "measuring up" to that ruler. I am sorry that we have been cruel to you. The look on your face last night tells me that there is a lot going on that we don't know. I am sorry that your pain is fodder for ratings. I am sorry that every. single. thing. that you do is analyzed, criticized, evaluated and talked about by people who don't even know you. Judgemental, close-minded people who are enslaved by standards of perfection that they themselves cannot meet. You, of course, chose to be a celebrity, so you must accept some lack of privacy, but you don't deserve to be treated with such disrespect. You deserve time to heal, reflect and to nurture yourself. You need time with your children. They need and deserve caring adults in their lives. You all, as a family, deserve time to bond, connect and celebrate life.
I wish I could give you that. I wish I could tell you how to do things differently. I wish you would understand the pawn patriarchy has made you out to be. But I know in the end, you will lose the "extra" pounds. Make more flashy videos. Release your album. The fags will buy it. People will trash it. And your life as a celebrity will go on. In a few weeks, your performance will disappear from our attention deficient minds and we will move on to ridiculing some other celebrity. But maybe, I hope, that you will take charge of yourself, accept some responsibility and cut the games out of your life.
In a world of Avril Lavignes and Kelly Clarksons, you're still a true star in my book, kiddo.
xoxo,
Moxie Lady
p.s. "It's Britney, bitch" is the best opening lyric to a song. Ever.
I hope you're recuperating from last night's performance. It must be really tiring to open for the VMAs and deal with the recent BS that has occured in your life. I mean, obviously I know these have been trying times for you, so I can only imagine what getting on stage half naked must do for one's energy.
I was UBER excited for your performance. I didn't even know you were performing until all the homo boys at my weekend gig mentioned that your new song (which is WAY hot) was going to be the opening act. You've opened for VMAs before, so no biggie for you, right? But, it's been awhile and it showed. It's ok. Fuck all the haters. Like my boy LL says, "Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years."
I wish I knew you in the beginning. I mean like "hit me baby" beginning. This could all be different. I could have warned you about the haters, the fags, the drama, the media, the bullshit. Your parents did a piss-poor job of telling you about the facts of life and the ways of the world. People always want to see someone suffer and that person is you. I swear Jesus had less people throwing hate his way when he was carrying his own cross!
And you have quite the cross to bear: you're young, blonde and white. You sing pop music. You are part of a echelon of women who are simultaneously worshipped and vilified for who they are: Marilyn, Anna Nicole, Paris, Madge, Greta, Joan, Bette, Liza, Judy, etc. These women are one minute Hollywood Goddesses, and the next second street whores. The media either loves you or hates you based on things as stupid as what you wore to the store this morning.
*Sigh* I will be honest and tell you that you've made some poor decisions in your life. But, sweetie: I. don't. blame. YOU. I blame your mama, your managers, handlers, JIVE records, stylists, baby daddy, boyfriends and most importantly: THE PATRIARCHY. No one told you that the men (Justin, Kevin, Wade, Jason) you chose to associate with were idiots not worth your time. No one told you about birth control or the responsibilities of parenting. No one told you about the perils of overindulgence. No one told you that an ounce of Jesus does a person good.
Perhaps if they did, you would have been more wary of the company you kept and stayed away from giving your bridesmaids velour jump suits at your wedding. You would have never associated yourself with Mr. Federline and made the even grosser mistake of procreating with him. Everyone makes mistakes, it just sucks that all yours were made in the view of the American public.
Now, I know I am coming off as pretentious, judgemental and condescending, but I am telling you things you need to be told. You may hate me for this now, but I know--down the road--you will thank me.
Oh yes, the homos. In case you didn't know, The Gays love you. They have made you the star you are today. Never forget that a pop stars career is built on the backs of 11-year old girls and gay men of any age. Never ever forget that. Fags finance your stardom. It is high time you start courting that demographic. Tour some gay bars. Donate to HRC. They can bless you with the "respect" you once had. And they can tell you when your weave looks bad (which it did last night). They can help you get back on track. However, be careful because they can turn on you like a cornered cat, slashing away at your image ("She's fat.), the men in your life ("K-Fed is a greasy tool."), and your work ("Crossroads was one big music video. Who told her she could act?"). It can be worse than a high school study hall period on a Degrassi High episode....worse than being on the shit list of the Plastics.
Suffice to say, watch your back.
Now some radical feminist perspective. You. are. not. fat. You are not fat. Even after two children and at your heaviest weight, you are skinnier than the average American woman. DO NOT let our country's fucked up weight ideals tell you that you are disproportionate or overweight. You look good. Seriously. I know plenty of women who would kill to have the body you put on display just last night. Of course, the patriarchy wants to hold you captive to the sweet tart high school image you introduced yourself with, while ignoring the fact that you are now 25 and the mother of two kids. You have been under constant stress and emotional duress. Why should we expect six pack abs and toned buttocks? Accept that you can't please everyone: you're either a fatty or dangerously thin (read: Nicole Richie). It was sorta OK when megastar Beyonce put on a few pounds. But eventually even she had to drop the weight. Look at what they're doing to poor Tyra and she's a supermodel! No one is free from victimization...unless you're a man.
The patriarchy celebrated your naughty girl status and then threw you to the dogs when you showed that you were human and you suffer from instabilities. The very men who drooled at your existence and shamed little girls into making them want to look like you, also dumped your cold, lifeless image in the dumpster when shit hit the fan. You shaved your head and lost the last indicator of patriarchal femininity. You are forced to wear ridiculous, ill-fitting wigs to please the naysayers and style watchers. You wore almost nothing last night, mimicking a stripper just to launch your career back into atmospheric proportions. Did Marlon Brando's fat ass have to dress as a stripper to jumpstart his career? What about Sly Stallone, Bruce Willis or Harrison Ford? All of them are making "comebacks" and their clothes are still on. They pulled some stupid shit in their lives and experienced some drama and they're not still paying for it. The patriarchy has us all so twisted that we measure female stars with a different, harsher ruler.
Bee, I am so sorry you haven't been "measuring up" to that ruler. I am sorry that we have been cruel to you. The look on your face last night tells me that there is a lot going on that we don't know. I am sorry that your pain is fodder for ratings. I am sorry that every. single. thing. that you do is analyzed, criticized, evaluated and talked about by people who don't even know you. Judgemental, close-minded people who are enslaved by standards of perfection that they themselves cannot meet. You, of course, chose to be a celebrity, so you must accept some lack of privacy, but you don't deserve to be treated with such disrespect. You deserve time to heal, reflect and to nurture yourself. You need time with your children. They need and deserve caring adults in their lives. You all, as a family, deserve time to bond, connect and celebrate life.
I wish I could give you that. I wish I could tell you how to do things differently. I wish you would understand the pawn patriarchy has made you out to be. But I know in the end, you will lose the "extra" pounds. Make more flashy videos. Release your album. The fags will buy it. People will trash it. And your life as a celebrity will go on. In a few weeks, your performance will disappear from our attention deficient minds and we will move on to ridiculing some other celebrity. But maybe, I hope, that you will take charge of yourself, accept some responsibility and cut the games out of your life.
In a world of Avril Lavignes and Kelly Clarksons, you're still a true star in my book, kiddo.
xoxo,
Moxie Lady
p.s. "It's Britney, bitch" is the best opening lyric to a song. Ever.
Friday, September 7, 2007
My town in quick pics
A Day in the Life of Cleveland series from Crains.com celebrates the diversity and work ethic of my town. It features people like the ones pictured below, as well as women in hard hats, funeral directors, bartenders and a banker from France turned bus driver. Makes you feel good to live in this city....at least today.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
I hate to bring up gender and race, but...
If a white guy did this, I don't think the media would be so shocked and aghast.
What is the "this"? I don't follow tennis, but apparently Serena Williams lost to some Belgian chick in some important game yesterday. They say Grand Slam and I think baseball or Denny's, but anyway, she got pissy at the post-match press conference and dissed--hip-hop style I might add--her opponent saying that the Belgian lady had some lucky shots.
So she was salty about her loss. I would be, too. I know all about good sportsmanship, but losing sucks ass. If a guy would have displayed the same reactions and attitude, no one would care. Instead the media is saying she needs to take a class about...class. Ugh. Just more media-bias and gender discrimination. Apparently women can't get angry anymore without risking punishment or reprimand.
What is the "this"? I don't follow tennis, but apparently Serena Williams lost to some Belgian chick in some important game yesterday. They say Grand Slam and I think baseball or Denny's, but anyway, she got pissy at the post-match press conference and dissed--hip-hop style I might add--her opponent saying that the Belgian lady had some lucky shots.
So she was salty about her loss. I would be, too. I know all about good sportsmanship, but losing sucks ass. If a guy would have displayed the same reactions and attitude, no one would care. Instead the media is saying she needs to take a class about...class. Ugh. Just more media-bias and gender discrimination. Apparently women can't get angry anymore without risking punishment or reprimand.
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