Franz Kafka, meet Jordan Brown

Hi Friends;

Franz Kafka wrote The Trial in the mid twenties about a secret court, inaccessible to the common man, who would arrest and proceed against citizens without giving them the information as to what they have done to cause this procedure. The theory, the defendant knows what he has done wrong, it is not necessary that the court spell things out. The Defendant in this work....of fiction?...is forced to proceed from disbelief that he could be charged such, on towards fear and desperation, and finally is forced to defend himself against any and every possible wrong he may have committed in his life. The razor edge of this is, of course, that he had to defend himself without incriminating himself of the crime the court has in mind as well as others. It is a story of the power of the state run amok.

I was just on the Justice4Juveniles.com page, reading some of the topics under consideration for little Jordan. I read the official court documents spelling out the denial of Jordan's application for juvenile court adjudication for his alleged - and I stress, alleged crime of murder. The court denied his application to juvenile court because "his failure to take responsibility for his crime" calls into question the rehabilitative ability of the juvenile system for someone who denies the crime. Of course, this is all pretrial and fails to point out that the defendant has the right to not incriminate himself, be considered innocent until proven guilty, and assumes that should he incriminate himself that would send him on toward the juvenile system. You see, as an adult, he faces life in prison, as a juvenile he is looking at 21 years of age as a max. Seems a fair gamble. Right?

What was something I wondered if could have possibly been true, has come out as fact: The state has decided to try an eleven year old as an adult, and since he refuses to incriminate himself and admit the crime, will not consider this eleven year old as a child. I don't know what more to say on this. I'm lost for words as how this could continue in this country where simple logic ought to win out. I'm dumbfounded as to how this is allowed to continue. And I'm frightened that this sort of foolishness is done by a judge - who we can only presume didn't get his position as a Cracker Jack prize.

Good Luck, America.

See Scottie's Toybox

Hi Friends; All you out there, please see Scottie's ToyBox http://scottiestoybox.com/2011/04/02/a-must-see-video/ It was such a great vid. It brought this one to my mind:

Update on Jordan.

• Hi Friends; (I'm having trouble getting the posts to use simple syntax rules. It all flips into one long paragraph. So, forgive this patch until I can find the solution.)
• You all hopefully remember the story of Jordan Brown, the young guy who's facing life in prison for allegedly commiting a crime at the age of 11. (see blog post March 03, 2011) Seems you can be an adult at the whim of the State now .
• As some of you know, I have a real problem with calling a child an adult. The throught process isn't the same and the feelings are more in control. To tell a person on onehand that as a child you are unable to understand the consequences of voting, signing contracts, driving, purchasing a gun, drinking, smoking, deciding not to attend school, but on the other hand quite fully capable of understanding the consequences of your actions if a crime is committed is ludicrously illogical. Only a politician could come up with something so foolish.
• Well, got a comment from Melissa, the adm for a website called Justice4Juveniles.com. I stopped in to look around. It's just such a sad issue. There's no real justice in such a case. The poor woman and her baby is dead, the boy is in prison, the father and the boy's sister are destroyed, where is justice to be found in such a case? I am a fan of the concept of "Restorative Justice". The irony is that there is nothing saying that young Jared committed this crime outside inuendo and possibility. But, google the RJ theory. The state is too quick, in my mind, to throw people away.
• Also, stop in and check out Justice4Juveniles.com.
• The update on Jordan is this: the case is before the Supreme Court, seeking the removal of the case to the juvenile system. The horrid thing, this has been going on over two years now. I will update as other things come through. Keep this youngster in your thoughts and let's hope sanity comes to these judges.
• Perspective: http://www.wsbt.com/news/sbt-20110402sbtmicha-01-03-20110402,0,5650649.story?track=rss This is an article I found in the news recenty of someone who killed her child. Her punishment: 13 years. seems a bit odd to me.

Irena Sendler

Beautiful to the Core

Irena Sendler. 1910-2008

A 98 year-old German woman named Irena Sendler recently died. During WWII, Irena worked in the Warsaw Ghetto as a plumbing/sewer specialist. Irena smuggled Jewish children out; infants in the bottom of the tool box she carried and older children in a burlap sack she carried in the back of her truck. She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking covered the kids’ and infants’ noises. Irena managed to smuggle out and save 2500 children. She eventually was caught, and the Nazis broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar buried under a tree in her backyard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived and reunited some of the families. Most had been killed. She helped those children get placement into foster family homes or adopted.

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This story came to my attention today. I was slow in that. This beautiful woman who defied evil died in 2008. But, in her defiance of the worst sort of authority, in her refusal to sit idly by and be even an unwilling part of the horrible acts of evil men holding the reins of a mighty nation, she showed the world what it means to be human. I am humbled by greatness.

Lessons learned from my Friend

Hi Friends;

This is the start of the new go at it....got some flesh to share. So, you ask, how does one call this Lessons from my Friend?

You ever seen how dogs introduce themselves? Maybe it has merit! Ha! (Couldn't help myself)