MADsMom's Blog

PITTSBURGH - A McCain campaign volunteer made up a story of being robbed, pinned to the ground and having the letter "B" scratched on her face in a politically inspired attack, police said Friday.

Ashley Todd, 20-year-old college student from College Station, Texas, admitted Friday that the story was false and was being charged with making a false report to police, said Maurita Bryant, the assistant chief of the police department's investigations division. Police doubted her story from the start, Bryant said.

Todd, who is white, told police she was attacked by a 6-foot-4 black man Wednesday night. She now can't explain why she invented the story, Bryant said.

Todd also told police she believes she cut the backward "B" onto her own cheek, but she didn't explain how or why, Bryant said.

Todd initially told investigators she was attempting to use a bank branch ATM when the man approached her from behind, put a knife with a 4- to 5-inch blade to her throat and demanded money. She told police she handed the assailant $60 and walked away.

Todd told investigators that she suspected the man then noticed a John McCain sticker on her car, became angry and punched her in the back of the head, knocking her to the ground and telling her "you are going to be a Barack supporter," police said.

She said he continued to punch and kick her while threatening "to teach her a lesson for being a McCain supporter," police said. She said he then sat on her chest, pinned her hands down with his knees and scratched a backward letter "B" into her face with a dull knife.

Todd told police she didn't seek medical attention, but instead went to a friend's apartment nearby and called police about 45 minutes later.

The Associated Press could not immediately locate Todd's family.

Bryant said somebody charged with making a false report would typically be cited and sent a summons. But because police have concerns about Todd's mental health, they are consulting with the Allegheny County District Attorney.

Todd remained in custody, and police were preparing to charge her with making a false report to police.

"We had some serious cases going on, and this wasted so much time," Bryant said. "Our detectives have been working through the night just to verify the information we suspected was false from the beginning."

Todd worked in New York for the College Republican National Committee before moving two weeks ago to Pennsylvania, where her duties included recruiting college students, the committee's executive director, Ethan Eilon, has said.

Eilon declined to comment on the investigation Friday or to help The Associated Press contact Todd.

Earlier Friday, police said they had found inconsistencies in Todd's story. They gave her a lie-detector test, but wouldn't release the polygraph results. Investigators also said bank surveillance photos did not back up the woman's initial story of being attacked at an ATM.

Police interviewed Todd after she contacted police Wednesday night and again on Thursday, Bryant said. They asked her to come back Friday, ostensibly to help police put together a sketch of the man. Instead, detectives began interviewing her.

"They just started talking to her and she just opened up and said she wanted to tell the truth," Bryant said.

Bryant said it doesn't appear that anyone else put the woman up to the false report.

Police suspected all along that Todd might not be telling the truth, starting with the fact that the "B" was backward, Bryant said.

"We have robbers here in Pittsburgh, but they don't generally mutilate someone's face like that," Bryant said. "They just take the money and run."

(This version CORRECTS that police were preparing to charge Todd, not arraigning her.))

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

Associated Press/AP Online

My husband told me when he saw the news this morning that he KNEW it was a lie because no assailant would have carved a "B" into her face backwards.  Dont even talk to me about "stooping" to a new low - the McShame camp has just taken that award.    

 She must be Sarah Palin's cousin - too stupid to know that you cant stand in front of a mirror, carve something on yourself and NOT have it come out backward.  Priceless!!

What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review?  What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class? 

What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said "I do" to?  What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she no longer measured up to his standards?

 What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to pain killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?  What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard Law? 

 What if Obama were a member of the "Keating 5" (The Savings & Loan Banks demise)?  What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

 If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

 I also find it interesting that everyone has "glossed over"  Sarah Palin and her daughter's pregnancy.  I'm not held to the "let's not touch it" edict of Barack Obama or John McCain, so here goes.

This woman wants to legislate that the only sex education that may be taught in schools is abstinence.  Clearly that didnt work in her own household.  Not only was her daughter having pre-marital sex, she was having unprotected sex, thereby making her susceptible to not only the pregnancy that she got, but disease as well.  Someone didnt (or apparently was not clear if they did) talk about the consequences of unprotected pre-marital sex in the Palin household, and look what they got. 

 She wants to legislate the overturning of Roe v Wade.  Religious attitudes aside, I have my own feelings about abortion, but I would not pre-suppose to tell another woman what is best for her, and no other woman, or man, should.

Lipstick on a pig?  Barack Obama wasnt even talking about anything that day that would have been remotely attributed to a comment about Sarah Palin.  John McCain, George Bush, Bill Clinton and others have used that phrase countless times in the same context.  Lets stop with the smoke and mirrors.

It is expected that the usual suspects will use this blog to lodge personal attacks, stereotypical references to one race over another, descent into the use of improper grammar while posting a response and calling it Ebonics (of which there is no such thing, its all improper grammar) designed to attempt to get a rise out of someone who thinks they are offending , etc.  I'm telling you out front that I am ignoring those comments completely.  Anyone posting who wants to have a reasonable discussion about the blog is more than welcome.

Visiting from time to time to say hi to friends and post a funny or two - here's one for today, I was in tears.  Have entered these contests before, actually won one or two, but these folks are SERIOUS about their chili!  Posting it on NEWS since thats where most of you make your posts.

Chili Cook-Off
If you can read this whole story without laughing, then there's no hope for you. I was crying by the end. This is an actual account as relayed to paramedics at a chili cook-off in Texas .
For those of you who have lived in Texas , you know how true this is. They actually have a Chili Cook-off about the time Halloween comes around. It takes up a major portion of a parking lot at the San Antonio City Park .

Greetings to all my blogging friends:

Have a wonderful holiday season, whatever holiday you may celebrate.

I have decided to leave the blogs at Fox5.  I have made some wonderful friends here, and you will all hear from me going forward, but via email for those whose email addresses I have.

Well wishes to all of you, and enlightenment to several of you who desperately need it.  And if not that, get out and interact with those who are unlike you ( in appearance and/or  expression).  Some of you could use it, you might not be so quick to accuse and assume.

Will miss you Starr, buggy, grandad, beagle and believe it or not, ex-mpd........

Be well in 2008 and always

MADs

Enjoy!!!

A farmer named Clyde had a car accident.  In court, the trucking company's fancy lawyer was questioning Clyde.

Didn't you say, at the scene of the accident, "I'm fine," asked the lawyer.

Clyde responded, "Well, I'll tell you what happened.  I had just loaded my favorite mule, Bessie, into the..."

"I didn't ask for any details", the lawyer interrupted." "Just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine!'?

Clyde said, "Well, I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road...."

The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was just fine.  Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client.  I believe he is a fraud!  Please tell him to simply answer the question."

By this time, the Judge was fairly interested in Clyde's answer and said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule, Bessie"

Clyde thanked the Judge and proceeded, "Well as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi-truck and trailer ran the stop sign and smacked my truck right in the side. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other.  I was hurting, real bad and didn't want to move.  However, I could hear ole Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape just by her groans.

Shortly after the accident a Highway Patrolman came on the scene. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he went over to her. After he looked at her, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes.
Then the Patrolman came across the road, gun in hand, looked at me, and said "How are you feeling?"  "Now what would you say?"

Just couldnt resist y'all......a colleague sent this one to me, I thought it was funny so I'm passing it on.  And its posted in the news category because thats where we all usually chat.

Miss Beatrice, the church organist, was in her eighties and had never
been married. She was admired for her sweetness and kindness to all.
One afternoon the pastor came to call on her and she showed him into her quaint sitting room. She invited him to have a seat while she prepared tea. As he sat facing her old Hammond organ, the young minister noticed a cut-glass bowl sitting on top of it. The bowl was filled with water, and in the water floated, of all things, a condom!
When she returned with tea and scones, they began to chat. The pastor tried to stifle his curiosity about the bowl of water and its strange floater, but soon it got the better of him and he could no longer
resist.
'Miss Beatrice', he said, 'I wonder if you would tell me about this? pointing to the bowl. 'Oh, yes,' she replied, 'Isn't it wonderful? I was
walking through the park a few months ago and I found this little
package on the ground. The directions said to place it on the organ,
keep it wet and that it would prevent the spread of disease. Do you know I haven't had the flu all winter.'

I'm sure that many of you will be out and about, traveling, cooking and otherwise preparing for Thanksgiving over the next fews days so...........

This isnt news, but thisis the category that must of us who have developed a relationship with each other blog on so.......

I wanted to say "Happy Thanksgiving" to all of you and your families and I hope that you all travel safely wherever you are going, eat too much, watch too much football, and enjoy your family and friends as much as you can.

Make sure you take a walk after that BIG dinner....it will be good for your digestion, your heart and the weather should be lovely.

MADSMom

I first posted this blog in June 2007, on the entertainment pages.  A little lightheartedness for a Friday, its been a far too serious blogging week. Hope you all have a good weekend, and that you try this, its interesting.  Well, off to PA this afternoon for a spa weekend with my girlfriends, hope you all have a good one!

Hey all!  This is a website where you can enter certain information about yourself, both personal and health related (there are no ultra-personal questions, things like are you a smoker/drinker, family history of diabetes, are you married), and the "calculator" will give you an age projection up to 100 years old.  You do need to know a few things about your family history as well.

I thought it was pretty neat, but you have to be honest about your answers (for instance, it does ask you how much you weigh and how tall you are).  I just did mine, and it projected my longevity to 92.

I hope so....that would probably be fun, and its probably not too far off base.  My parents are both living and well at 85 and 75, and both of my grandmothers lived to 100 years of age, grandfathers were 64 and 80.  We will see....try it and tell what number you got.

Something a little less serious for all of us to blog about today.....sometimes we are all far too serious.

Did anyone hear this morning that Jack azz Johnson is now trying to distance himself from Washington after it was found out that a psychiatrist indicated that he had previously been in treatment for internal rage, homicidal and suicidal tendencies? (heard this on the local radio news station this morning on the way to work)

None of the diagnosis surprises me and Johnson's sudden "distance" doesnt either.

Watched the news on another network last night and saw this interesting story:

A Fort Lauderdale FL man was working at a restaurant and happened to look out of the window and see a woman being carjacked.  He ran out of the restaurant, apprehended the carjacker and held him until police arrived. Fort Lauderdale hailed him this week as a hero for doing so.

However, he was FIRED from his job that night after close of business for LEAVING the restaurant during his shift.  How stupid is THAT restaurant owner/manager?

Not to worry, he now has a job with the electric company, brought about after the city was made aware that he was fired for helping the woman.

DALLAS, Texas (CNN) -- A cheap, highly addictive drug known as "cheese heroin" has killed 21 teenagers in the Dallas area over the past two years, and authorities say they are hoping they can stop the fad before it spreads across the nation.

"Cheese heroin" is a blend of so-called black tar Mexican heroin and crushed over-the-counter medications that contain the antihistamine diphenhydramine, found in products such as Tylenol PM, police say. The sedative effects of the heroin and the nighttime sleep aids make for a deadly brew.

"A double whammy -- you're getting two downers at once," says Dallas police detective Monty Moncibais. "If you take the body and you start slowing everything down, everything inside your body, eventually you're going to slow down the heart until it stops and, when it stops, you're dead." (Audio slide show: A father describes his teen son's death)

Steve Robertson, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration in Washington, says authorities are closely monitoring the use of "cheese" in Dallas.

Trying to keep the drug from spreading to other cities, the DEA is working with Dallas officials to raise public awareness about the problem. Authorities also are trying to identify the traffickers, Robertson says.

"We are concerned about any drug trend that is new because we want to stop it," he says.

Why should a parent outside Dallas care about what's happening there?

Robertson says it's simple: The ease of communication via the Internet and cell phones allows a drug trend to spread rapidly across the country.

"A parent in New York should be very concerned about a drug trend in Dallas, a drug trend in Kansas City, a drug trend anywhere throughout the United States," he says.

"Cheese" is not only dangerous. It's cheap. About $2 for a single hit and as little as $10 per gram. The drug can be snorted with a straw or through a ballpoint pen, authorities say. It causes drowsiness and lethargy, as well as euphoria, excessive thirst and disorientation. That is, if the user survives. (Interactive: What is "cheese"? )

Authorities aren't exactly sure how the drug got its name "cheese." It's most likely because the ground-up, tan substance looks like Parmesan cheese. The other theory is it's shorthand for the Spanish word "chiva," which is street slang for heroin.

By using the name "cheese," drug dealers are marketing the low-grade heroin to a younger crowd -- many of them middle schoolers -- unaware of its potential dangers, authorities say.

"These are street dealers, dope dealers," Moncibais recently warned students at Sam Tasby Middle School. "They give you a lethal dose. What do they care?"

Moncibais then asked how many students knew a "cheese" user. Just about everyone in the auditorium raised a hand. At one point, when he mentioned that the United States has the highest rate of drug users in the world, the middle schoolers cheered. (Watch middle schoolers raise hands, admit they know drug users )

"You know, I know being No. 1 is important, but being the No. 1 dopeheads in the world, I don't know whether [that] bears applause," Moncibais shot back.

Authorities say the number of arrests involving possession of "cheese" in the Dallas area this school year was 146, up from about 90 the year before. School is out for the summer, and authorities fear that the students, with more time on their hands, could turn to the drug.

School officials and police have been holding assemblies, professional lectures, PTA meetings and classroom discussions to get the word out about the drug. A public service announcement made by Dallas students is airing on local TV, and a hotline number has been created for those seeking assistance.

Drug treatment centers in Dallas say teen "cheese" addicts are now as common as those seeking help for a marijuana addiction. "It is the first drug to have even come close in my experience here," says Michelle Hemm, director of Phoenix House in Dallas.

From September 2005 to September 2006, Phoenix House received 69 "cheese" referral calls from parents. Hemm says that in the last eight months alone, that number has nearly doubled to 136. The message from the parents is always, "My kid is using 'cheese,' " she says.

Phoenix House refers them to detoxification units first, but Hemm says at least 62 teens have received additional treatment at her facility since last September.

Fernando Cortez Sr. knows all too well how devastating cheese heroin can be. A reformed drug user who has spent time in prison, Cortez had spoken to his children about the pitfalls of drug use. He thought his 15-year-old son was on the right track.

But on March 31, his boy, Fernando "Nando" Cortez Jr., was found dead after using cheese heroin.

"I should have had a better talk with him," he says. "All it takes is once. You get high once and you die, and that's what happened to my son."

He knows it's too late for his son. Now, he is using his son's story to help others.

"All I can do is try to help people now. Help the kids, help the parents."

CNN.com senior producer Wayne Drash contributed to this report.

This is a very disturbing article.  I can't help wondering how long its going to take for this to get to the east coast.

The owner of an upscale steakhouse in Louisville said he asked O.J. Simpson to leave his restaurant the night before the Kentucky Derby because he is sickened by the attention Simpson still attracts.

"I didn't want to serve him because of my convictions of what he's done to those families," Jeff Ruby said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "The way he continues to torture the lives of those families ... with his behavior, attitude and conduct."

Simpson, an NFL Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner, was found innocent in 1995 of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman but was found liable in a civil trial that followed.

Ruby — who owns restaurants in Cincinnati, Louisville and Belterra, Ind. — said Simpson, who was in town for the Derby on Saturday, came in with a group of about 12 Friday night and was seated at a table in the back. A customer came up to Ruby and was "giddy" about seeing Simpson, Ruby said.

"I didn't want that experience in my restaurant," Ruby said, later adding that seeing Simpson get so much attention "makes me sick to my stomach."

He said he went to Simpson's table and said, "I'm not serving you." Ruby said when Simpson didn't respond, he repeated himself and left the room.

Ruby said Simpson soon came up to him and said he understood and would gather the rest of his party to leave.

Simpson's attorney, Yale Galanter, said the incident was about race, and he intended to pursue the matter and possibly go after the restaurant's liquor license.

"He screwed with the wrong guy, he really did," Galanter said by telephone Tuesday night.

Ruby said the incident had to do with Simpson's past.

"It was the first time since 1994 he has ever shown any class," Ruby said. "He showed it that night in the restaurant" by leaving quietly.

Ruby said after Simpson left, people in the restaurant started applauding him. He said he has received about 100 positive e-mails since the incident.

The walls of Ruby's restaurants are decorated with celebrity photos. A photo of Simpson and Ruby used to be on display, but Ruby said he took it down after the killings.

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The opinions of some of the people on MSN (where I found this) were interesting, some over the top.  What do you think about this?

IMO, the owner created the very thing he claims to detest.  He asked OJ to leave and then told the media about doing it.  Im quite sure that someone made a reservation on OJ's behalf (after all, this IS one of the most popular restaurants in the area-I've been there, and I guarantee there wouldnt have been a seat if there wasnt a reservation) and the owner indicated that he had been a patron in his restaurant before because he had his picture up on the wall until the murders.   If he got upset by another patron's acting "giddy" about meeting OJ (which by the way, many people, particularly some women, (God knows why) still do, why didnt he say something to THAT patron?

As far as the lawyer saying the request was about race, I disagree, but that appears to be really the only legal defense that he can hang his hat on.  The article is silent as to whether or not OJ requested that he pursue it on the basis of race, but the owner of the establishment expelled OJ because he didnt like him.  I know that an argument can be made that he can serve or not serve anyone he wants to in HIS restaurant, but there are also consequences to that action if there appears to be no basis for refusing service.  In this instance, it appears that the owner's distaste for OJ may not be enough justification.  I dont like OJ either. Didnt like him BEFORE the murders, for a whole different set of reasons. 

Yes he was found not guilty by a jury of his peers.  That doesnt mean he is innocent, it means he was found not guilty.  That is enough according to law, and I think that sometimes some white people fail to get that he PAID for the best representation that money can buy, because he had the money to pay, and he got a good outcome as a result, something that far more whites are accustomed to (Klaus Von Bulow, for one,  comes to mind).  I dont condone the cheering etc that was done by blacks when he was found not guilty, and I find it equally disturbing that white people wont let it rest.   Its interesting that OJ NEVER was a source of pride for the black community as he took great lengths to distance himself from anything black for years, and white people lauded him for as equal a number of years as the consummate "decent black guy."  As is typical of some blacks, he suddenly got "black" again when it suited him for purposes of his defense. And just as interestingly, his notoriety from the trial hasnt deterred people from wanting to meet him, nor deterred countless "white" women from pursuing him (no one has seen OJ with a black woman since his first marriage ended, a marriage that Nicole was instrumental in breaking up).

 He was found civilly liable, and probably hasnt paid much, but again, this is not because of some loophole that OJ or his representatives created or found.  His only "official" source of income is his pension from the NFL, and by law, this cannot be taken to pay the civil debt.  His writing, entitled "If I did it" goes even further in displaying what a bottom feeder he is.

He is a tasteless, arrogant individual, and to me, was that BEFORE the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.  But sadly, in this instance, the restaurant owner may have opened himself up to litigation for his 15 minutes of fame.   

I wish OJ would just go away.  But unfortunately, he is a free man, and as such, has a right to eat in restaurants, golf, write books, etc. as he sees fit.  IMO, incidents such as this one only serve to keep him in the spotlight, and add a little supposed "celebrity" to the people who initiate them.

What say you?

An Attalla, AL city judge ordered two people convicted of shoplifting at the city's Wal-Mart Supercenter to stand outside of the store for 4 hours each on two successive Saturdays wearing a sandwich board that says " I am a thief, I stole from Wal-Mart" in lieu of serving jail time.

The store manager said that most of the comments he got from customers coming into the store were positive.  One of the shoplifters said she was innocent, and that her's was a "misunderstanding" because she was trying to return a $7 item at the Customer Service Desk.  SHE said people told her that the punishment was "cruel."  The store manager maintains that maybe people will think twice.

IMO, good for the judge.  What do you think?