In 1975, Lloyd Lee Welch pulled up to a relative’s home along a steep hillside in Virginia, 200 miles southwest of suburban Washington. He carried two duffel bags, each weighing about 60 or 70 pounds, that had red stains and an odor of decay. A fire was built. The bags were thrown into it.
The account, described in court documents unsealed Wednesday in Bedford County, Va., appears to be one of the most compelling pieces of evidence implicating Welch in the long-ago disappearance of Sheila Lyon, 12, and her sister Katherine, 10. Authorities also announced that Welch, a 58-year-old imprisoned child sex offender, was indicted Friday on two counts of first-degree murder in the course of an abduction.
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Go Set a Watchman: Tonight’s the Night
And herein lies the paradox at the heart of “Watchman” that many white Americans still cannot or will not comprehend: that one can at once believe in the ideal of “justice for all” — as Atticus once purported to — and yet maintain a deeply ingrained and unexamined notion of racial difference now based in culture as opposed to biology, a milder yet novel version of white supremacy manifest in, for example, racial profiling, unfair and predatory lending practices, disparate incarceration rates, residential and school segregation, discriminatory employment practices and medical racism.
Republicans cringe as Donald Trump continues to mouth flash
The head of the Republican National Committee, responding to demands from increasingly worried party leaders, spent nearly an hour Wednesday on the phone with Donald Trump, urging the presidential candidate to tone down his inflammatory comments about immigration that have infuriated a key election constituency.
The call from Chairman Reince Priebus, described by donors and consultants briefed on the conversation and confirmed by the RNC, underscores the extent to which Trump has gone from an embarrassment to a cause for serious alarm among top Republicans in Washington and nationwide.
But there is little they can do about the mogul and reality-television star, who draws sustenance from controversy and attention. And some fear that, with assistance from Democrats, Trump could become the face of the GOP.
Rather than backing down from his comments about illegal immigrants — whom he characterized as rapists and killers, among other things — Trump has amplified his remarks at every opportunity, including in a round of interviews Wednesday.
He insisted to NBC News that he has “nothing to apologize for” in his repeated remarks about Mexicans. But he also predicted that, if he secures the GOP nomination, “I’ll win the Latino vote.”
So the Dump Trump and Trump Trump crowd grows even larger. What an embarrassment. Trump is not only an embarrassment about immigration–he is an all-around embarrassment on pretty much all topics. He is an egotist and a blow-hard. He is, above all, un-presidential.
Meanwhile, the more interviews Trump gives, the more Republicans cringe. Unless Trump is contained, the Republicans are pretty much guaranteeing that they won’t retake the White House for decades, if ever. Isn’t there a way that political parties can filter out people who are simply unsuitable to run under their banner?
Disney removes Bill Cosby statue
A major Disney theme park is removing a likeness of Bill Cosby after this week’s revelation the comedian provided drugs to women with whom he wished to have sex.
I resisted jumping on this bandwagon. People are innocent until proven guilty. Or are they?
Bill Cosby has been like Santa Claus to me, since I was a very young adult. Now we find out that Santa Claus was really a pervert. Cosby allegedly not only was a sexual predator, but he drugged young women in order to accomplish his advances. Over 30 women have gone public with their accusations.
Cosby is a warning to us all. Not all rapists jump out of the bushes at us. Some, like Cosby, are beloved icons and steal into our living rooms via TV and recordings. They lull us into a false sense of security. We trust our sons and daughters with these “trust-worthy” figures because they say the right things. They make us feel safe. Such was the case with Bill Cosby. .
Rick Bentley RIP 1965-2015
No, Rick wasn’t his real name. I knew that Rick has been sick with pancreatitis. His Facebook page said he was waiting for a diagnosis of what they now thought was pancreatic cancer. I didn’t contact him at the time. I meant to. Yes, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
Today I was going to ask him if he had gotten some better news. I was going to ask him if he needed anything. As I went to his Fb page I saw the bad news. Rick died June 26, at his home. He was 49 year old. That’s just too effen young to die.
Rick was brilliant. I followed him on bvbl years ago and was impressed with his reasoning. He could also irritate the living hell out of all of us at one time or another. He was a provocateur.
Rick was quite an accomplished movie critic. He saw most of the new film. I am sure he got more out of a movie than I ever did. I sincerely hope he is in some great theater in the sky, chunking down popcorn and having the time of his life.
I thought about posting the obituary here but then decided not to. He used a moniker here and I will respect that, even in death.
I am extremely saddened by this horrible news. The good part of it is, he didn’t suffer long. He announced on FB that the doctors thought he might have cancer on June 18. He died on June 26 at his home.
I am heart broken. I will miss that smart ass horribly.
Gilbert and Lingamfelter obfuscate the issue of same-sex marriage
After the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage, Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly are preparing to push back in what they call a culture war aimed at destroying religious freedoms.
Del. C. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, said protections of religious liberties are going to be the primary focus for House Republicans in the 2016 General Assembly session, which begins in January.
“My concern is that the ultimate goal of the far left is not to secure rights for gay individuals but to tear down religious institutions and the belief systems that support them,” Gilbert said this week.
Asserting that this is the “next frontier for the far left,” Gilbert said he believes it is “more important than ever that we ensure that people’s deeply held convictions” are protected.
“If we are truly going to live in a world where everyone is afforded their rights to live their lives precisely as they please, then surely that has to include people of faith as well,” he said.
While GOP leaders in both houses of the legislature have acknowledged they will abide by the high court ruling that made same-sex marriage the law of the land, House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, said the most pressing concern now is protecting religious liberty.
“We will need to carefully evaluate how this ruling will be applied and make sure we take steps to protect faith leaders, churches, nonprofits and individuals,” Howell said in an email. “The House of Delegates will fight vigilantly to protect religious freedom.”
Gilbert was tapped to take the lead in reviewing current law and what other states are doing to determine what actions Republicans may take during the 2016 session.
I get it that some people feel gay marriage is wrong. That’s OK. They can have their beliefs. The question isn’t what they believe, it’s how they behave. Gilbert and Lingamfelter apparently want to legalize discrimination. How well I recall Del. Lingamfelter pontificating in front of the General Assembly against a Richmond prosecutor being appointed a general district court judge because he was gay. Actually, the delegate used every reason in the world other than he was gay. His message was still very transparent.
Someone please help me understand how religious rights have been violated or will be violated. Gilbert and Lingamfelter are both known for extreme right positions that border on the ridiculous. Unless Virginians are going to be lined up and forced to marry someone of the same sex, there are no violations. People are still entitled to believe what they want to believe. No one is suggesting that a “thought police” be formed.
Virginians need to send a strong message to Lingamfelter and Gilbert that Virginians do not discriminate. Since Virginia is for Lovers, that should include its elected representatives. Both legislators need to understand that people don’t choose who they love. They need to SDASTFU. Maybe they need to get busy and work out some Medicaid legislation. That issue is far more pressing for Virginians than who someone else marries. It isn’t hurting them.
I guess this is the only way either man can appeal to his base. How pathetic.
