LAWYERBRUCE

Monday, February 14, 2011

St. Valentine, my little Valentine.

February 14, 2011

February 14 is … Ferris Wheel Day and National Heart to Heart Day

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

Where I live and write this from it is a sad day. Today is the third anniversary of a day many would like to forget. Three years ago this afternoon, a cowardice, murderous scumbag opened fire in Cole Hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University killing six people including the gunman. Twenty-one people were injured, seventeen by gun fire. At some time today, please say a Hail Mary or other prayer for the victims, their family, friends and the NIU community. I know I will.

In a brief follow-up to yesterday’s blog; A Catholic priest who admitted having a sexual relationship with a high school girl more than 40 years ago was removed his position, and a high-ranking official who oversaw the background checks of priests resigned. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced Friday that the Rev. Martin P. O'Loghlen, who worked at Holy Name of Mary Church in San Dimas, was removed from any priestly activities.

The archdiocese said it was reacting to inquiries from a New York Times reporter researching an article about O'Loghlen. The 74-year-old priest is accused of having a long-term sexual relationship with the teenage girl beginning in 1960, and seeking her forgiveness later, the Los Angeles Times reported. Cardinal Roger M. Mahony separately accepted the resignation of the Archdiocesan Vicar for Clergy, Msgr. Michael Meyers. Archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg told the Times that Meyers had been in charge of procedures intended to ensure that no sexual predators remained in ministry positions. He had held that position since 2009

Happy Valentine’s Day! I sincerely wish you and the loved ones in your life find the time to tell each other how much you mean to each other and that you have the time together to express that love in your own special way.

St. Valentine was an actual person or perhaps more than one person. Today the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus. All three of these individuals were martyred. The most popular legend surrounds a priest named Valentine from the third century. Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for young men. He thought young men were his prime crop for soldiers and single men made better soldiers than those with a wife and children. Valentine saw the in justice in this law and continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers, in defiance of Emperor Claudius. For this, Claudius had him put to death.

In the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feast day of Saint Valentine on February 14 was removed from the General Roman Calendar and relegated to particular (local or even national) calendars for the following reason: "Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14." The feast day is still celebrated in Balzan (Malta) where relics of the saint are claimed to be found, and also throughout the world by Traditionalist Catholics who follow the older, pre-Second Vatican Council calendar.

I have been reading and hearing about the Egyptian crisis for over three weeks now. It has been interesting to follow. I read about and heard being discussed on the radio a moment on Friday, February 11, 2011 that may well go down as the lingering image many will carry for life concerning this event.

We have all seen the WWII pictures of the Iwo Jima flag raising and the Times Square kiss between strangers. We have all seen the picture of the young Chinese man staring down a tank in Tiananmen Square from 1989. Many of us have seen the early 1970’a picture of the girl putting flowers in the barrel of a National Guardsman’s rifle at Kent State after the student shooting incident. The picture(s) of the flag at the World Trade Center, Ground Zero, after 911, can be remembered even by those that were not alive yet. The picture of Baby Jessica being rescued from the well in Midland, Texas in 1987 is a well remembered photo. How about the photo of the firefighter carrying a baby away from the carnage right after the Murrah Building bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995. These are just a few examples of history preserved and remembered through photography.

I have read of a similar photo from Egypt but I haven’t seen it. Mubarak was supposed to resign on Thursday. That is what everyone in power wanted and he said he would do. He then went on TV and did not resign. The military, which had backed Mubarak for thirty years, was not happy. The military had lined Tahrir Square with tanks pointing toward the crowd. This was done to show support for Mubarak but the military never got aggressive against the demonstrators. That was left to the police.

Friday, Mubarak met with several military leaders in a government building near Tahrir Square. Mubarak did not satisfy the military leaders with his explanations and plans. The military leaders left the building and went to the Square. They gave orders to the tank commanders and the turrets of the tanks were turned from being aimed at the protesting citizens to being aimed at the building housing Mubarak. Within hours, he resigned and fled Cairo. I want to see that picture, perhaps even a video.

Notable births on February 14^th;

1913 James Pike Oklahoma City OK, bishop (Beyond Anxiety)
1913 Jimmy Hoffa Teamsters leader who disappeared in 1975
1913 Mel Allen Birmingham AL, sportscaster (voice of the New York Yankees)
1913 Ab [Albert] Visser Dutch poet/writer (Man Without a Head)

1934 Florence Henderson Dale IN, actress/singer (Carol-Brady Bunch). She had to come from somewhere.

1944 Carl Bernstein Washington Post investigative reporter (Watergate). Famous Nixon lover.

1960 Jim Kelly NFL quarterback (Buffalo Bills). Four in a row??? Glenn, say it isn’t so!

Notable events on February 14^th;

1803 Apple parer patented by Moses Coats, Downington, PA
1848 James K Polk became 1st President photographed in office (Matthew Brady)
1859 Oregon admitted as 33rd state

1876 A G Bell & Elisha Gray apply separately for telephone patents; Supreme Court eventually rules Bell rightful inventor

1889 1st trainload of fruit (oranges) leaves Los Angeles for the east

1929 St Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago IL, 7 gangsters killed. Big mistake by Al Capone.

1951 Sugar Ray Robinson defeats Jake LaMotta & takes middleweight title

1954 Senator John Kennedy appears on "Meet the Press"

1957 Georgia Senate unanimously approves Senator Leon Butts' bill barring blacks from playing baseball with whites. That was not that long ago. This opened Atlanta for a Major League Baseball franchise.

1967 Aretha Franklin records "Respect"

1971 Richard Nixon installs secret taping system in White House. Oops!

1978 1st "micro on a chip" patented by Texas Instruments

1980 13th Winter Olympics games open in Lake Placid NY. “Do you believe in miracles?”

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

www.brucebrennanlaw.com

http://www.brucebrennanlaws.com/

www.lawyerbruce.wordpress.com

http://www.brucebrennanattorney.com/

www.diabetes4all.com

www.eldercare4all.com

www.history4everybody.com

http://www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com/

http://www.lawyerbruce.blogspot.com/

www.lawofficeofbruceabrennan.yolasite.com

http://www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com/

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.law.officelive.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.webs.com

http://www.lawyerbruceabrennan.webstarts.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/attorneybruceabrennan

Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase an interesting and inexpensive read. My second book should be available by late February, 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

http://ebooks.ebookmall.com/ebook/497984-ebook.htm

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (do a quick search, Title, my name)

www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search, Check this site out.

https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/dashboard NEW SOURCE FOR BOOK

Check out the site below. Paybox is a new site, competing with PayPal, etc. Sign up is free. It seems good for small businesses or ebay users.

http://www.paybox.me/r/lawyerbruce

“Show affection, it will probably meet with pleasant response.”

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Catholic priest sexual abuse of children in Philadelphia and the World.

February 13, 2011

February 13 is … Get A Different Name Day and Dream Your Sweet Day

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

What new name would you pick if today you could just change your name today, not your life, just your name. Would you upset your parents or family?

In a story out of Philadelphia I have been watching on the internet, two Roman Catholic priests, a former priest and a Catholic school teacher were charged Thursday with raping young boys, while a former high-ranking church official was accused of transferring problem priests to new parishes without warning anyone of prior sex-abuse complaints. The charges stemmed from a two-year grand jury investigation into priest abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the second such inquiry in the city. In the rare, if not unprecedented, move, the grand jury charged Monsignor William Lynn with endangering children in his role as head of priest placement. Lynn 60, had a duty to protect children in the five-county archdiocese and refer priests with known sexual problems for rehabilitation or prosecution, District Attorney Seth Williams said in announcing the charges. "He instead lied to parishioners and went out of his way to reassign priests without telling pastors or principals that they were pedophiles," Williams said. Lynn's defense lawyer said the two endangerment counts should not apply because Lynn did not have any children under his care. He also questioned the merits of the counts, which carry a maximum 14-year prison term. "We certainly don't concede for a moment that he knew he was putting children at risk," lawyer Tom Bergstrom told The Associated Press

The charges brought by the Grand Jury in a True Bill may not be sustainable in a Court of Law. Grand Juries generally indict anyone the States requests indictments on. The Defendant does not participate in the Grand Jury process unless called as a witness but they would and should take the 5^th, so called lawyer up if called. The indictments will get the churches attention, however. Is that what we want our Judicial System to do, indict to make a point?

While American dioceses have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to abuse victims to settle civil lawsuits in recent years, criminal charges in clergy sex abuse cases have been rare. People who were molested as children often wait for decades before gaining the courage to come forward usually long after the statute of limitation for criminal charges has run out. A small number of accused clergy have been prosecuted and convicted since 2002, when the clergy sex abuse crisis erupted in the Archdiocese of Boston. However, no bishop or church administrator has been taken to trial over their failures to protect children from accused priests. Lynn featured prominently in a scathing 2005 grand jury report that found 63 priests in the Philadelphia archdiocese had been credibly accused of child sexual assault over several decades while local church officials turned a blind eye. Frustrated prosecutors then concluded, though, that they could not file any criminal charges because the statute of limitations on the crimes had expired.

Pennsylvania has since revised laws to give child sex-assault victims more time to report abuse, while the archdiocese under Cardinal Justin Rigali has pledged to refer credible complaints to law enforcement. The current case, referred by the archdiocese, involves two victims, one of them a boy who was allegedly abused by two priests and his sixth-grade teacher at St. Jerome Parish, starting when he was a 10-year-old altar boy in 1998. The Rev. Charles Engelhardt, now 64, and the Rev. Edward Avery, now 68, both raped the boy in the church sacristy after Mass, the report charged. Engelhardt also allegedly gave the boy wine and showed him pornography. He later told Avery about the encounter, prompting Avery to demand that the boy perform a striptease act after Mass, followed by oral and anal sex, the report said. Bernard Shero, now 48, his sixth-grade teacher the next year, raped him during a ride home from school, then made him walk home, the report said. The victim, later plagued like many abuse victims by depression and substance abuse, reported the attacks years later.

Avery had been on the church's radar since at least 1992. That's when a 29-year-old medical student told the archdiocese that Avery, who frequently moonlighted as a disc jockey at city nightclubs, had abused him in the 1970s and 1980s. Avery was sent to six months of sex-offender treatment, although his parish was told the leave was for unspecified "health" reasons, the report said. Despite the center's recommendation that he be kept away from adolescents or other vulnerable minors afterward, Lynn recommended him for a position at a parish with an adjacent elementary school, authorities said. Bevilacqua agreed, but sent him instead to a different parish, St. Jerome. Rigali succeeded Bevilacqua in 2003 and soon afterward deemed the medical student's abuse claims credible. He removed Avery from his priestly duties that December. "That was five years too late to protect Billy (a pseudonym for the altar boy) and who knows how many children," the report said. According to the report, Bevilacqua could not be charged because there was no evidence linking him to the alleged cover-up of the assaults against these two victims. His lawyer told investigators the 87-year-old retired prelate suffers from cancer and dementia. While investigating Engelhardt, authorities came to charge his predecessor at St. Jerome, the Rev. James J. Brennan, with raping a 14-year-old boy. The alleged abuse occurred during a leave of absence Brennan requested in 1996 to deal with what he called his own childhood sexual abuse, the report said. The victim, a member of St. Andrew Church in the Philadelphia suburb of Newtown, later attempted suicide, the report said. Lynn and other church officials had also been aware that Brennan, now 47, had a prior history of impropriety with minors, the report said. And, even today, 37 accused priests in the archdiocese work in assignments that put them near children while complaints are investigated or, in some cases, deemed not credible, the grand jury found. This seems to be one of the Catholic Churches biggest sins. They have a shortage of priests so they just recycle the bad ones rather than discharge them, usually while keeping any accusations of wrongdoing secret.

"We would have assumed, by the year 2011, after all the revelations both here and around the world, that the church would not risk its youth by leaving them in the presence of priests subjected to substantial evidence of abuse. That is not the case," the report said. Lynn, still acting as a priest and assigned to a parish in suburban Downingtown, and the four others were surrendering Thursday to await arraignment. A defense lawyer for Brennan did not immediately return a message; it wasn't immediately clear whether the others had lawyers. Rigali, once again, vowed to take the grand jury report and its calls for further reforms seriously. Lying is a sin also Cardinal Rigali A lay Catholic group called BishopAccountability.org that tracks data related to the priest abuse problem praised Williams' decision to pursue church leaders. "To date, not one bishop or church official has spent a single day in jail for enabling crimes against children," the group said in a statement. "Victims of sexual abuse by clergy may find this news deeply painful. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. It is in this spirit that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is cooperating fully with the civil authorities in this and all related matters," Rigali said in a statement. We will see.

The Diocese of Manchester, N.H., averted criminal charges in 2002 by admitting it had harmed children when church officials transferred accused priests among parishes, and agreed to allow state prosecutors to audit the diocese's child protection policies. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati pleaded no contest in 2003 to charges of failing to tell authorities about sex abuse claims against priests, paid a fine and created a fund for victims. Also in 2003, Phoenix Bishop Thomas O'Brien admitted he sheltered abusive priests in a deal that carried immunity from indictment for obstruction of justice. He agreed to institute reforms and cede some authority to other church officials.

The Catholic Church priest scandal has been around for decades. It receives so much press because the Catholic Church is so big, it is the largest land owner in the world, and because the sexual abusers are usually homosexual in nature. The fact is, the per centage of child sexual abusers in the priesthood is no higher than in the general male population. It is also likely lower in the Catholic Church than

it is in other Christian churches.

Two quick fixes seem as plain as day. One is allow priests to marry. This should weed out many who see the priesthood as a sanctuary for closet homosexuals. The second fix is to allow women to become priests. Neither of these reforms will end the crimes by priests against young children but nothing else is being done so they couldn’t hurt.

All churches and religious organizations downplay the sexual abuse story for obvious reasons. Although much of the information is kept secret, two web sites are quite good at investigating the data available. They are;

http://www.religioustolerance.org/clergy_sex.htm

and

http://www.catholicleague.org/research/abuse_in_social_context.htm

Check these sites out if you are interested.

Music at the top of the charts on February 13^th through history;

1948 Ballerina - Vaughn Monroe
I’ll Dance at Your Wedding - Buddy Clark with The Ray Noble Orchestra
Now is the Hour - Bing Crosby
I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) - Eddy Arnold

1956 Rock and Roll Waltz - Kay Starr
No, Not Much! - The Four Lads
Teenage Prayer - Gale Storm
Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford

1964 I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
You Don’t Own Me - Leslie Gore
Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um - Major Lance
Begging to You - Marty Robbins

1972 Let’s Stay Together - Al Green
Without You - Nilsson
Precious and Few - Climax
One’s on the Way - Loretta Lynn

1980 Rock with You - Michael Jackson
Do that to Me One More Time - The Captain & Tennille
Coward of the County - Kenny Rogers
Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight - The Oak Ridge Boys

1988 Could’ve Been - Tiffany
Seasons Change - Expose
I Want to Be Your Man - Roger
Wheels - Restless Heart

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

www.brucebrennanlaw.com

http://www.brucebrennanlaws.com/

www.lawyerbruce.wordpress.com

http://www.brucebrennanattorney.com/

http://www.diabetes4all.com/

www.eldercare4all.com

http://www.history4everybody.com/

http://www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com/

http://www.lawyerbruce.blogspot.com/

www.lawofficeofbruceabrennan.yolasite.com

http://www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com/

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.law.officelive.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.webs.com

http://www.lawyerbruceabrennan.webstarts.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/attorneybruceabrennan

Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase an interesting and inexpensive read. My second book should be available by February 15, 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

http://ebooks.ebookmall.com/ebook/497984-ebook.htm

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (do a quick search, Title, my name)

http://www.smashwords.com/ Do a Title or author search, Check this site out.

https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/dashboard NEW SOURCE FOR BOOK

Check out the site below. Paybox is a new site, competing with PayPal, etc. Sign up is free. It seems good for small businesses or ebay users.

http://www.paybox.me/r/lawyerbruce

“Never say you know a man until you have divided an inheritance with him.”

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Want to have a baby on 11-11-11? Here's how.

February 12, 2011

February 12 is … National Plum Pudding Day

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

Do you want to have a baby on November 11, 2011 for a birthday of 11-11-11? If you do, you and your significant other should start getting busy. The perfect day to conceive would be February 18, 2011 but the natural delivery is rarely right on. You can always get the delivery date close to 11-11-11 and plan a C-section.

President Mubarak resigned as President of Egypt. Ultimately he did the right thing but he did it wrongly. The price of oil went down $1.40 a barrel within an hour of the announcement of the resignation. Egypt is not a big oil producing nation but oil companies and oil speculators are always looking to raise prices. When the prices retreat, they never seem to go all the way back to where they were before the event they blame the increase on.

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln, he would be 202 today; the good, they die young. Like Abraham, Martin and John. Do you remember the 1968 song by Dion about four American men who advocated for social change and were assassinated? Abraham, Martin and John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler and first recorded by Dion. It is a tribute to the memories of icons of social change, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. It was written as a response to the assassinations of King and the younger Kennedy in April and June 1968.

Each of the first three verses features one of the men named in the song's title, for example:

Has anybody here, seen my old friend Abraham -

Can you tell me where he's gone?

He freed a lot of people, but it seems the good, they die young

But I just looked around and he's gone.

After a bridge, the fourth and final verse mentions Robert "Bobby" Kennedy, and ends with a description of him walking over a hill with the other three men.

Look the song up on Pandora or Grooveshark and give it a listen. The good ones die young but never get old.

His life was what America was all about. An average boy, born on this day in 1809 on a farm in a log cabin in Hodgenville, Kentucky, was able to become the 16th President of the United States.

He studied hard, by the light of a fireplace, to become first, a lawyer, then a statesman. Abraham Lincoln, one of the most revered U.S. Presidents, served his country during one of the most turbulent times in its history. The term of his presidency (1861-1865) encompassed the Civil War between the States. His Emancipation Proclamation made on January 1, 1863 to free slaves; and his Gettysburg Address given on November 19, 1863 at the site of one of the most famous battlegrounds of the Civil War are still held high as classic statements of democratic beliefs and goals.

President Lincoln was also responsible for one of the most popular holidays in the U.S.: Thanksgiving Day. He proclaimed that the last Thursday of November shall be observed as such. And so it was, and still is.

Abraham Lincoln lived during tragic times and died a tragic death. While watching a performance of Our American Cousin at Washington’s Ford Theatre, he was shot by John Wilkes Booth and died a few hours later. Lincoln was the first U.S. President to be assassinated.

‘Honest Abe’ earned his nickname when he was practicing law in Illinois. It was his unfailing honesty that made him known throughout the state. When convinced that his client was right, he could argue the case strongly. If not convinced, he was hardly powerful in his client’s defense. Lincoln would persuade clients to settle out of court even though that meant he would receive a lesser fee. And, when this was not possible, he could argue a case equally as well before a judge or before an uneducated jury. To Abe Lincoln, being a lawyer or President meant seeking the truth for client or for country. No brag, just fact.

The FBI has a very good web site. If you want to learn about crime in America, you can find it there. The information about gun crime, especially handgun crime, you will find on the site is not talked about by the liberals who want my guns. They only make noise when a horrific crime occurs. By definition, horrific events, things out of the ordinary, are news. These types of events astound everyone. I remember an old turkey hunting friend of mine from Mt. Ida, Arkansas named George Washington Stanley, (GW Stanley) telling me over thirty years ago that the only gun control we needed was the intelligence and knowledge to control the gun in your hand. To him, that was gun control. Visit the FBI site;

http://www.fbi.gov/

Go for it Arizona. Where do I send my check? Accusing the Obama administration of failing to enforce immigration laws, and rightly so, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said Thursday the state of Arizona will counter-sue the federal government for the right to police its border with Mexico. The claim will be filed as part of the Justice Department's challenge to Arizona's controversial immigration law, according to The New York Times and other news outlets. SB 1070, signed by Brewer last year, requires local police to check for the immigration status of anyone stopped under "reasonable suspicion" of unlawful status. The law was halted in court after the administration argued that only federal authorities have the right to enforce immigration laws.

At a news conference in Phoenix, Brewer called border security "by far the No. 1 issue" in Arizona. "Illegal immigration is costing us a billion dollars, a billion dollars a year to maintain the level we're at, and the federal government sits by and does nothing," The telling part of that statement is it costs one billion dollars to accomplish very little. The level they are at is unacceptable but the Obama administration would rather spend United States’ citizens tax dollars to benefit illegal non-citizens than do the tough job that obviously needs doing. Brewer says no taxpayer money will be spent on the court fight, CNN reported. Instead, Arizona will raise funds from private donors.

"Arizona did not ask for this fight with the federal government," Brewer said. "But now that we are in it, Arizona will not rest until our border is secured and federal immigration laws are enforced." The Justice Department officials did not immediately comment but it isn’t hard to figure out what they will say. It is time for the Federal Government to lead or get the hell out of the way so somebody can.

As mentioned above, Abraham Lincoln was born on this date in 1809. Also born on the same day was Charles Darwin. Now those two guys would make great guests at any dinner party.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

www.brucebrennanlaw.com

http://www.brucebrennanlaws.com/

www.lawyerbruce.wordpress.com

http://www.brucebrennanattorney.com/

http://www.diabetes4all.com/

www.eldercare4all.com

http://www.history4everybody.com/

http://www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com/

http://www.lawyerbruce.blogspot.com/

www.lawofficeofbruceabrennan.yolasite.com

http://www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com/

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.law.officelive.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.webs.com

http://www.lawyerbruceabrennan.webstarts.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/attorneybruceabrennan

http://ebooks.ebookmall.com/ebook/497984-ebook.htm

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (do a quick search, Title, my name)

http://www.smashwords.com/ Do a Title or author search, Check this site out.

https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/dashboard NEW SOURCE FOR BOOK

Check out the site below. Paybox is a new site, competing with PayPal, etc. Sign up is free. It seems good for small businesses or ebay users.

http://www.paybox.me/r/lawyerbruce

“No one can feel as helpless as the owner of a sick goldfish.”

Friday, February 11, 2011

Psychosocial dwarfism ; Mubarack won't leave.

February 11, 2011

February 11 is … White Tee-Shirt Day and Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

President Mubarak of Egypt is apparently a slow learner. I personally do not care who runs this desert country. They have a long history of being an aggressive, war mongering nation. I think that is how this will end. Mubarak will either leave or be dragged from power after violence erupts in the streets. Right now, the military is waiting to pick sides. They will end up running this ancient country but very little will change for the citizens. History teaches us that.

An Ohio couple is in jail facing charges they kept a 9-year-old girl locked in their bathroom for six years, letting her out only to go to school and for special occasions, the Dayton Daily News reports. Brian G. Hart, 50, and his wife Rivae L. Hart, 49, told Dayton police they started locking her up when she was 3 years old because she had behavioral problems. A psychologist who examined her at that age reportedly said her behavior was normal. Sgt. Larry Tolpin told the Dayton Daily News that the girl's development is normal for a fourth-grader, despite being kept in the bathroom, which was blocked by two dressers. Inside, she slept on a cot with a blanket but no pillow. Authorities say they believe the last time she was allowed out of the bathroom for a reason other than school was in 2007. "Meals were inconsistent at best, and basically the living conditions were deplorable," Tolpin said. The girl is the granddaughter of Rivae Hart, and the couple are her legal guardians. Her captivity came to light after she told a school nurse about her living conditions. The victim and three other children who lived in the apartment the girl's brother and the couple's biological children have been placed in foster care. The Harts were indicted Feb. 4 on kidnapping and felony child-endangering charges.

It is amazing the young girl developed normally, physically, after being kept away from society for so long. As an attorney, twenty years ago I represented a couple in Will County who had their children taken from them by the State for similar reasons. This couple had two children, a five year old boy and a nine year old girl. The parents led a seemingly normal life. The father was fully employed while the mother was a homemaker. The mother volunteered at the school the children attended which was within a block of their house. The two children had friends and fit into the school environment. They were both very small, even tiny, for their age.

School personnel did not raise any concerns about the children. Both kids received above average grades. They did not cause problems in class and were always in attendance. They were not always sick and never raised any issues themselves about their home life.

The father’s sister was concerned. She and the rest of the family visited each other often. The children were taken to a doctor on a regular basis. The only concern was the growth of the children. She contacted the State of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. They started an investigation. What was uncovered was that the father had minimal contact with the children, spending all his time at home in his work shop. The mother, although she cared for the children’s needs by cooking, cleaning, etc., she had very little other contact with the children, rarely speaking to them. She had a hobby of sewing dolls clothes and constantly was doing that.

Physical abuse was not involved. The investigation determined the nine year old girl was the replacement mother for the real mother. The nine year old had no replacement mother to turn to. The boy was closer to normal size than the girl but he was nearly25 lbs. under normal weight. The girl was almost 45 lbs. under normal weight.

Once DCFS got involved, they took the children from the home and placed them with the aunt that reported the situation. That is where I got involved. I was hired to get the children back for the parents. Numerous doctors, therapists and counselors were involved in the case once it got into Court. By law, when the State removes children from a home, the case takes precedent over all other cases being handled by the Court. This case could not be completed in a week, however. Both sides had to hire experts and coordinate examinations.

The case went to trial that was conducted over a five week period. The trial did not go every day but we often had multiple sessions in a week. In all, from my first involvement to my last contact with the family, I was dealing with this family for four months. During that four month period the children lived with the aunt. The parents had supervised visitation. I supervised a few of the visitations and the mom, dad and kids seemed to get along.

The Judge that heard this case was careful and thoughtful. He was really concerned for the kids. Three doctors agreed on a diagnosis of psychosocial dwarfism, also called psychosocial short stature. The perceived lack of love the children felt manifested itself by refusing to let the body grow. The children saw mom liked doll clothes and they did not want to get to big so as not to be a doll. This was not a reasoned response but an uncontrolled reaction caused by the brain. The best evidence to support the diagnosis was the children grew quickly while with the aunt. The boy gained over 20 lbs. while the young girl gained over 40 lbs., nearly getting to average weight by the time the Court action was completed.

I have never run into psychosocial dwarfism since then or before then. I have done some follow-up research on the subject after that case and it still exists. It is called other names other than psychosocial short stature but it is the same thing. It is not a very common diagnosis and many doctors would not recognize it if they ran across it. It was a very interesting case and I am glad it remains uncommon.

Events on this date in history;

1794 1st session of US Senate open to the public
1808 Anthracite coal 1st burned as fuel, experimentally, Wilkes-Barre PA
1809 Robert Fulton patents the steamboat
1810 Napoleon marries Marie-Louise of Austria
1811 President Madison prohibits trade with Britain for 3rd time in 4 years
1812 Massachusetts Governor Gerry signs a redistricting bill-the 1st "gerrymander

1854 Major streets lit by coal gas for 1st time
1858 1st apparition of Mary to 14-year-old Bernadette of Lourdes France
1861 US House unanimously passes resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state
1861 President-elect Lincoln takes train from Springfield IL to Washington DC

1960 Jack Paar walks off his TV show
1961 Robert C Weaver sworn in as Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency then the highest federal post by a black
1961 Trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem
1963 Beatles tape 10 tracks for their 1st album, including "Please, Please Me"
1963 CIA Domestic Operations Division created
1964 Beatles 1st live appearance in US; Washington DC Coliseum

1990 James "Buster" Douglas KOs Mike Tyson to win heavyweight boxing crown

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

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