Google: Fred Thompson's Wife is not Debra LaFave

Click for Screen Shot

As I mentioned in the previous post, the Plains Feeder has been getting an increasing number of hits from cats doing Google searches for Fred Thompson and his lovely wife, Jeri Kehn Thompson. This is all well and good, but...

Today, the Google Image searches for "Jeri Kehn" have produced results linking to one of the old feeder's posts about Debra LaFave, the naughty schoolteacher. This seems odd, since PF has published a nice picture of Fred and Jeri.

Could some twisted liberal geek that works for Googliath have tweaked the algorithm for this particular search? Official Google policy to obfuscate searches for Fred Thompson? Daily Kos readers skewing the results deliberately? Michelle Malkin suspects Google has a bias and ain't afraid to apply it to their search engines. World Net Daily and others agree.
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For some very nice pictures of Jeri with a smiling Fred Thompson, see this post by Riley at Virginia Virtucon, reporting that Robert Novak mentioned in his column that Jeri is supportive of a Thompson candidacy.
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Any guesses when Fred will announce? The Chuck Hagel announcement pool was a bust.

PETA coming to Omaha

PETA coming to Omaha

If you get bored this rainy weekend, you might want to stop by Omaha, Nebraska's Old Market Hippie Zone. The fruits from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and their alter ego, GoVeg, will be putting on a Big Demo there this Sunday. They promise to have nude human vegetarians wrapped in cellophane and lying on platters. How kinky is that?
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After the demo, the old feeder recommends a nice meal at one of Omaha's famous steakhouses.

Omahans must learn to love their city

Omaha: Cool or Un-Cool?

The Omaha Visitors and Convention Bureau is having a hard time keeping Omaha folks smiling. The expensive slogans, PR campaigns, annexations, footbridges, skyways and riverfront face-lifts have left Omaha denizens with a bad self image. They think their city stinks, no matter what Mayor Fahey and his cronies can dream up to fruitify and Disneyland-up the once rough cow town.

Naturally, the solution is to hire more consultants and fund more programs. It is the way of liberal politics: if the medicine isn't working, you just need to take more. The prescribed medicine being the taxpayers' money, of course.
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Video at 10:00

Stick a fork in Senator Hagel: he's done!

Officially Cooked

I have always been against Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel's efforts to gain the 2008 Republican nomination for President. Today, the Street Sweeper at Leavenworth Street blog has made the old feeder's day by officially declaring that "Chuck Hagel’s GOP Presidential ambitions are D-U-N."

I agree with the Sweeper 100% that the major factor that ruins Hagel as a viable candidate is the indelible mark of the Viet-Nam war he bears. I also believe that Senator Hagel is sincere, that his heart is in the right place. But, as the Sweeper puts it:

Hagel is deeply, deeply scared by Vietnam, both literally and figuratively. Those scars have shaped his view on Iraq.Those scars have shaped his view on Iraq. Couple that with his Christmas-time receipt of letters from his father to his uncle in WWII where his dad told his uncle, “if I thought I would ever have a son who would have to go through this, I would never get married.” You can bet that closed the door on Hagel ever being open to the continuation of soldiers dying in Iraq, even if it were for a good cause.

I can't remember how many good friends were marked for life by that war. What was wrong with Viet-Nam is a whole 'nother topic, but the harm of it is yet to be fully realized. You can't be angry forever, but you can be sad for a long time.
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Fellow Nebraska blogger, Uncle Wiggily at the Heartland Notebook has published even more scathing remarks about our Chuckus treasonatus:

Hagel is quite simply a shallow, egomaniacal political opportunist who years ago spent the last of his thirty pieces of silver and is now frantically and irrationally casting about for entry into a race he has already lost and is too self-absorbed to recognize that fact.

Do you think he might be having a nervous breakdown or something as UW reports Brit Hume and others are beginning to suspect? Maybe it is a delayed case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.

Shame on Nebraska Senators Hagel and Nelson

The old feeder couldn't think of a better way to say it than Austin Bay: "Shame on Nebraska’s Senators Hagel and Nelson. I expected better from both of them." Get out your veto pen, George!

Fred Thompson in new Gallup Poll

Hmmm...

The old feeder is surprised by the number of folks reading the Fred Thompson Background post. Cats are Googling him and his wife Jeri more every day.

Now, a blog I just discovered named Iowans for Fred Thompson reports a new Gallup poll of Republican presidential candidates which includes Fred Thompson. The author, Bob Waters, doesn't offer a link to the poll results, but the figures reported there got my attention. I need to make a News Alert to follow this trend.

Hot Air has the story here, with many comments. The New York Sun says: Thompson Takes Bites Out of Giuliani, Romney. Even wretched CBS News dares whisper of a GOP resurgence. As many are saying as they consider the Draft Fred idea, Hmmm...
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Vote in the GOP Straw Polls. Fred was pulling away from the pack the las time I checked.

Nebraska Sen.Chuck Hagel: Bush impeachment a consideration

Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel has gone off the deep end. Will there be no end to his bringing shame on the people of Nebraska that sent him to Washington? Now the papers are quoting him as hinting that he could support the impeachment of President Bush. I saw it in the Bayou Buzz:

GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who has been mentioned as a Presidential candidate is quoted to suggest that impeachment of President Bush might be a consideration. He said Bush has no regard for the will of the people.

"He's not accountable anymore, which isn't totally true. You can impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment. I don't know. It depends on how this goes," Hagel told Esquire magazine for its April edition.

I wish he would hurry up and announce whatever it is he keeps threatening to announce. Perhaps he is going to switch parties on us and shoot for a spot on the 08 ticket. Real Republicans wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole if what the Buzz has reported gets legs. The Omaha World Herald has it as "an option" here, while the New York Sun is reporting Chuck's off balance rant as a "warning" to Bush from Chuck.

I say we need to recall Chuck to Nebraska for consultations.

Royalty

Urf! I've dropped me fookin Orb!

Harry, Maybe by the Grace of God King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, Common Drunk and Crawler of the Gutters.

Don't you just love Royalty?

Hot Rod Dreams

Hot Rod Magazine

Before Jann Wenner's Rolling Stone, and before Hugh Hefner's Playboy, there was another cat who saw what was happening in popular American culture and put it on news stands. He published Hot Rod and Motor Trend and his name was Robert Petersen. He died last week.

As a teenager with a minuscule allowance I spent many hours browsing at the local drug store magazine section fantasizing about cars and girls until the druggist got tired of me and my deadbeat friends scaring away potential cash customers and would tell us to scram.

Thanks for the dreams, Mr Petersen.

Saturday on the History Channel

Medieval Tech Support

Hat Tip: David Koyzis, the Byzantine Rite Calvinist. I read his blog because he can find reasons to be hopeful where I cannot, and keeps a real sense of humor on days when I can only manage sarcasm. David is recovering from an emergency appendectomy.

John Edwards forces dying wife to campaign for him

I'm sure all of us at the feedlot wish Elizabeth Edwards well: that she be healed of cancer and live a happy life. That said, I agree with State 29: "John Edwards needs his ass kicked."

Happy Vernal Equinox

Today, day and night are the same length. From now until Summer, the days get Longer. I don't celebrate this day like some folks, but I like to take note of it. If your family does something special for the Equinox, I hope you have more fun than Jeff Birch of Medford, Oregon. Says Jeff, he would:

"rather have a peaceful weekend at home" than attend his family's Vernal Equinox celebration on March 21. I realize it's supposed to be a festive time of conception and new growth in the womb of Mother Earth and all," Birch said. "But I just know that within an hour of arriving, things will get so bad that I'll be reverting to my 12-year-old self, hiding in the rec room downstairs, wearing my Iroquois false face mask and fingering my runes for comfort. It's not worth it."

Fingering his runes? This story smells funny.

Fred Thompson Background

Updated: The Fredipedia >>04/19/07

Fred and Jeri Thompson
A collection of links to information
relevant to Fred's Presidential qualifications

Uncle Wiggily, our fellow Nebraska Blogger brought up the subject of Fred Thompson's possible run for the Republican nomination at Heartland Notebook after seeing Fred on Fox News Sunday. I felt like I didn't know very much about Fred Thompson, except that I had heard he was a supporter of Second Amendment rights.
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Updated: A newer list of Fred and Jeri Thompson links. But please peruse the rest of this post if you haven't already.
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Riehl World View also noted a lack of info, "I don't know enough about his back story, but based upon what I do know, he's someone I could support. He's also someone I think would play very well to the electorate, potentially the closest thing to a Reagan I've seen around lately." This really got me interested. I did a little checking around the internets and thought I'd share the resources I used:

The Hill: Another Hollywood star steps forward for GOP By Alexander Bolton, March 09, 2007

Fox News: TV Star, Former Senator Fred Thompson Considers '08 Presidential Bid, March 11, 2007

A selection of Draft Fred sites:

• fred08.com
• draftfredthompson.com
• draftthompson08.blogspot.com

Some folks aren't as enthusiastic, for example Why Fred Thompson Won’t be Elected President Posted by Bruce Barry, who calls his moves so far a "conservative panderfest", and AP's Hope Yen, Not enough "star" power in the GOP presidential field. (Hope, Yen, which is it?)

Below the Beltway has interesting comments on Fred for President.

The Krusty Konservative thinks Fred "looks the part" of President. I guess that is half the battle, these days.

Captain Ed notes Fred's efforts to distance himself from his former association with John McCain and the disastrous McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform fiasco. More at Wizbang Politics.

A commenter at Sister Toldjah says, "I just get all tingly at the prospect of Fred Thompson entering the 2008 race."

Fred versus moonbat: World Net Daily preserves an exciting exchange between Fred Thompson and Mike Farrell, aka B.J. Hunnicutt on NBC's "Meet the Press" program, March 2, 2003.

Fred Thompson's Congressional biography.

Fred Thompson's record on the issues, from ontheissues.org.

Fred Thompson's papers, a collection at The University of Tennessee Modern Political Archives.

Fred Thompson's IMDb filmography.

In June 2002, Fred married Jeri Kehn, the lovely lady in the picture. Read more about Jeri Thompson at blond sagacity's post For the Record: Fred Thompson's Wife.
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Update: Yorktown Patriot - John Fund: Fred Thompson for President?. A meaty article that also mentions another possible criticism of Fred: "failing to back some comprehensive tort-reform bills because of his background as a trial lawyer." Just ask John Edwards how much this kind of criticism stings.

More Support for Fred from Doug Hagin at New Media Journal, with more links.

The sarcastic self-styled libertarians at Liberating Our Heritage try to pick on his wife, Jeri, by describing her as 'surgically altered'. There you will also find links to some other moonbat criticisms of her, like someone at Wonkette calling her a 'trophy wife'. They got nothin'.
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Conservative Dad at Red State Kids notes that: "Fred Thompson is 6' 6" or 5 inches taller than Reagan. And a full 11 inches taller than McCain and 12 inches taller than Hillary Clinton." Not only is Fred's ideological stance the right one, but he is a man of stature as well. Our enemies will quake in their boots at the sight of this righteous Mensch. I can't see them fearing Hillary Clinton.
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Update: Fred Thompson discusses his indolent lymphoma, now in remission.
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Well folks, what do you think?
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New York City or Communist China?

The quaint oriental custom of Reeducation Through Labor, seems to delight New Yorkers. Especially when the one being reeducated is famous or just grotesque. I wonder if these reeducation programs work as well here in America as they do in Communist China.

Climate porn causes global warming despair

Causing Despair?

The Institute for Public Policy Research, a British think-tank that fronts for the leftist Labour Party, issued a report concluding that alarmists in the news media, environmentalist pressure groups and the government are offering what amounts to "climate porn" . The result, they say, is widespread despair, evidenced by the marked increase in public displays of weeping and hand-wringing. I don't see how this despair does anything but help the British Labour Party's use of Global Warming fears to justify a "New World Order". That is probably why they are the ones publicizing this dreary IPPR report.

I did a little research and found that global warming porn is nothing new. Starting from this trademark application photo sent to me by Love Global Warming blogger dm60462, I have discovered the trove of evidence that gave the IPPR's the idea to call it Climate Porn. Those naughty researchers.
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See what Planck Time has to say about The Fear.
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The ecoEquirer confesses: "I Was A Global Warming Porn Addict"
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Cross posted at LGW.

Political Tar Babies

Brother Rabbit & Tar Baby

John McCain grabs the tar baby in lovely, multicultural Cedar Falls, Iowa. Via the Des Moines Register:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain used the term "tar baby," which is sometimes associated with racist connotations, during a campaign stop in northern Iowa on Friday and immediately expressed regret.

The black cats in Iowa aren't going to vote for McCain anyhow. Most white folks won't either. He might as well call a spade a spade. Or a tar baby.
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Here are some other examples of political tar babies I have gleaned from the internets. If you have one, send it along and I'll add it to the page.

One dollar a pack is all they care?

Kid with an extra buck

I don't know which is worse, the cats that think it is their duty to run their neighbors' lives, or the politicians who pander to them. Iowa's Governor Chet Culver has signed into law a $1 a pack tax hike on cigarettes. Because Iowa government cares. Says Chet:

Iowa is sending a "bold message" that it takes the health care of its people, especially kids, seriously.

If Chet really cared about the health of Iowans, he would have pushed for a $10 or $50 per pack hike. Not many kids would smoke 'em then. Chet, why are you letting these kids fall through the cracks?

Regulation through taxation is a favorite ploy of liberal elitists that always know what is best for the unenlightened peons. This convoluted expression of social engineering is second only to the old-fashioned ban in popularity among the new establishment.
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Note that the Iowans over at State 29 blog are Still Smokin'. They also have a smokin' picture!

Khalid's Confession

Khalid Spills His Guts

The US Department of Defense has made public the confession extracted from Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, the hairy pig pictured above. You may read the confession in its entirety here. If you can't stand fooling with "all image" pdf files, the old feeder has excerpted the confession into ordinary text and posted it here.

Note the two redactions which I have highlighted in red. I'm going out on a flimsy limb here, but I am going to speculate that the redacted portions refer to Mohammedan fanatic involvement in the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Heck, he confessed to everything else, why not? There is no shortage of conspiracy theories surrounding the murderous OKC bombings. Any takers for this one?
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The libs will howl that Khalid confessed after being waterboarded. On the other hand, John at PowerLine blog wishes the DOD had released video of the waterboarding. As for myself I'd like to see if the process works better than the old 'head in the toilet' trick.

Does the Pope have food tasters?

Vladimir Putin and Pope Benedict XVI

Russian President, and living proof that there isn't a dime's difference between a Communist and a National Socialist,Vlad Putin, met with the Pope in Rome. I don't expect that Vlad the Poisoner went to bend his knee and ask to be absolved of his evil ways. Putin is scrambling for position to take full advantage of America's coming defeat in Iraq. Putin wants the Pope to know he was always against the war in Iraq.

San Francisco Dhimmitude

Drop the flower and get into your burqa!

The anything goes hip cats in San Francisco have dried up and turned into mullahs. From WND:

College Republicans at San Francisco State University desecrated the name of Allah by stepping on makeshift Hezbollah and Hamas flags, charged school officials who brought the students before a hearing yesterday.

It would seem that the so called squares of the 60's have mellowed out with the years, while the hippies have matured into the grim-faced enforcers of establishment values. What goes around comes around.
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I'll bet the flower people turned mullahs wouldn't even think Vinnie's hilarious Weekend Cartoon was funny. Did I mention that just across the bay from SF, the Berkeley Free Speech Movement led to classifying burning our own US flag as "free speech".

My, how the prune differs from the plum.
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There's still more:
If one hates something with a certain intensity and in a certain way, it is possible to become the hated object. The same can be said of fear. This is a form of old-time magic. Shamans, juju witch doctors, red Indian skin-walkers and shape shifters were said to do it all the time.

Most modern white cats aren't adept at this stuff, but they indulge in assuming powerful attitudes as hatred with naive impunity. Sometimes with such ferocity and single-mindedness that they accidentally turn themselves into grotesque caricatures of whatever it is they hate. It doesn't surprise me that some hippies have become like fascists.

I like to think of the 'you risk becoming what you hate the most' rule as a corollary of the basic iteration of Karma: 'what goes around, comes around', with a dash of 'if you keep making that face, it will freeze that way' added to suit Western tastes.

Good News and the Second Amendment

A District of Columbia federal appeals court has ruled that D.C.'s ban on the ownership of handguns violates the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. A good round-up can be found at Michelle Malkin's post: Second Amendment victory in DC. See also the caveat from Jeff Soyer at Alphecca.
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This comes much too late. My late Uncle Don was a dentist in DC; he obediently handed over the pistol that his Grandfather had carried in the Civil War.

More reasons America needs to move in a New Direction

The Democrats' New Direction is Left

Not a day passes that I don't see yet another reason that America needs to move in a new direction. This clear evidence arrived in my e-mail box this afternoon:

NEWS ALERT
from The Wall Street Journal
March 9, 2007
The Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls increased 97,000 in February after growing an upwardly revised 146,000 in January and 226,000 in December. Last month's gain was the slowest since January 2005, as a steep drop in construction payrolls offset strength in the service sector. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.5%.

More jobs and increasing wealth resulting from the capitalist free market are incompatible with Marxist Thought. Because these seemingly happy statistics result from non-revolutionary thinking, they cannot be as good as they appear. The statistics are tainted by politically incorrect thinking. Feel free to ignore them, call them distortions and lies, or to question the timing of their release.
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The surge in home ownership is even worse news. I question the timing of the Federal Reserve's leaking the news that the "net worth of U.S. households climbed to a record high in the final quarter of last year" and doubt the soundness of their conclusion that most of this increase in wealth resulted from gains on the "too risky" stock market. It just can't be. We need a New Direction - away from these disturbing trends.
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Now to get my tongue out of my cheek.

US Defeat in Iraq

Surrender!

Lorie Byrd has some thoughts at Wizbang blog worth reading on the new Congressional plan for US defeat in Iraq. She has stirred up some interesting comments there as well.

The old feeder has already declared defeat in Iraq. But I see it as just one battle in a very big war. The US has never won every battle in any major war. When all is said and done, the war against the Mohammedan Jihad will be a major war, in which Iraq and Afghanistan are only the West's response to the enemy's opening attacks.

The war in Iraq may be all over but the shouting, but the war on Jihad will continue for a very long time. Weak leadership will give way to stronger as the Mohammedan threat becomes less easily denied. I hope.

Feds indict accused child rapist John Monetti

Update: Click for the latest post on John Monetti.

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Update: 3/15/07: A Long Island reader sends us this link to a story by Joe Darrow at The Times of Smithtown. The title is Monetti heads west for trial in cuffs. For now Mr. Monetti is off the streets, perhaps for a long time. Folks won't have tell their kids to avoid him on the street or worry that he might be working at some equestrian event with them.
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Update: The Washington County Pilot-Tribune & Enterprise has gone the extra mile and interviewed Washington County Attorney Shurie Graeve. Evidently, Ms. Graeve was the one who asked the feds to review Mr. Monetti's case. Her concern was that Mr. Monetti might have gotten an inappropriately light sentence under Nebraska law. It is a legitimate concern. Quoting the prosecutor from the PT&E story:

"I wanted to insure that he would face a sentence that required incarceration and not probation. My understanding is there is a minimum prison sentence of 15 years (for the federal charges) and that's what we were seeking when we sought their assistance."

Our Nebraska legislature, as well as some of our prosecutors and judges, need to know about this sorry state of affairs. It is a shame on our state that we have to appeal to the feds for the kind of justice the people want for child rapists, molesters and internet predators.
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Update: with Video from News 12 Long Island
A feeder reader e-mailed this in along with this message:
"It looks like now maybe someone will do something with this case!"

John Monetti Indicted by the DOJ

Just got this surprising bit of news from NewsDay. John Monetti, the former teacher, school administrator and riding coach from Long Island, N.Y. is facing trial in Blair, Nebraska on charges that he met an underage Blair girl on the internet, and repeatedly traveled to Nebraska to have sex with her. Here is a lengthy quote:

Federal officials Tuesday will seek to extradite a former Long Island elementary school principal to Nebraska on federal charges related to child exploitation, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

John H. Monetti, 38, of St. James, the former principal of William Floyd Elementary School and a former member of the board of trustees at The Knox School in Stony Brook, was arrested last spring on charges related to what federal officials called "multiple sexual encounters" with a then 15-year-old Nebraska girl he met on the Internet.

A federal grand jury for the District of Nebraska indicted Monetti on the charges in February and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Federal agents from Immigration of Customs Enforcement located Monetti at his parents' home in St. James either late Monday night or early Tuesday morning and arrested him for extradition.

The complaint against Monetti seeks to have him removed to Nebraska, where he faces federal charges on sexual exploitation of a juvenile, travel with intent to engage in a sexual act with a juvenile and computer enticement of a minor.

Neither Monetti nor his attorneys could immediately be reached for comment.

Monetti is scheduled to appear Tuesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge William D. Wall at the U.S. Courthouse, Eastern District of New York, 100 Federal Plaza, Central Islip.

If convicted, Monetti faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison on the charge of sexual exploitation and a maximum of 30 years for each count, as well as a life term of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each count, officials said. The crimes Monetti is charged with allegedly took place between January and May of 2006.

I'm not sure of what to make of this. I do know that there have been several hits show up on my site meter of late from the Department of Justice. The feds seem to want to put him away for a long stretch. Perhaps Monetti thinks he will get to serve in a nice, cushy white-collar federal prison, like you hear about; with tennis courts and horseback riding. Or maybe this means justice will actually be served in this case. If the feds prosecute, we might avoid the vagaries of Nebraska justice in these matters.
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Updated: Here is the press release from the The United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York. Excerpt:

Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Joe W. Stecher, United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska, announced the arrest this morning of Suffolk County resident JOHN MONETTI, age 38, a former Long Island school teacher and elementary school principal, on federal charges relating to child exploitation. Footnote MONETTI’s initial appearance is scheduled this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge William D. Wall, at the U.S. Courthouse, 100 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, New York.

The complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York requests MONETTI’s removal to face an indictment in the District of Nebraska, charging MONETTI with Sexual Exploitation of a Juvenile, Travel with Intent to Engage in a Sexual Act with a Juvenile, and Computer Enticement of a Minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2251(a) and (e), 2423(b), and 2422(b), respectively. The indictment alleges that, starting in December 2005, MONETTI began communicating over the Internet with a then 15-year-old minor female in Nebraska to persuade her to engage in sexual activity, and that in May 2006, MONETTI traveled from New York to Nebraska, where he engaged in sexual activity with the minor.

Taking this unusual step is United States Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf, who has successfully prosecuted other such child molestation cases in conjunction with the DOJ's Project Safe Childhood, and Joe W. Stecher, United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska. These charges could conceivably lead to Mr. Monetti spending the rest of his life in prison.
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WOWT Omaha TV news has the story, as does AMNY. It seems Monetti will be extradited to face these charges in our Federal Court. This case seems to have caught the right eyes. Five government entitities were involved. According to Stecher, “The indictment was the result of the cooperative efforts of several law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Washington County Attorney’s Office, the Nebraska State Patrol, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. We appreciate the coordinated response from all agencies that have participated in this investigation.”
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Mr. Monetti's home town lawyer, Jerry Garguilo of St. James, New York seemed as surprised by the developments today as the rest of us. From AMNY:

Monetti's attorney, Jerry Garguilo, said the filing of federal charges took his client by surprise, but said he intended to plead not guilty when he is arraigned in Nebraska.

[Editor: Remember, he said he didn't really do anything wrong!]

Garguilo said it was not necessary to have federal agents arrest his client. "He has made every court appearance and there was nothing suggestive of a motive to flee," the attorney said.

No motive to flee? How about to avoid spending the rest of his wretched days in prison? Seems like motive enough to me. With Mr. Monetti's resources, (he posted $250,000 cash against a $2.5 million bond here in Nebraska) a twisted cat can find a happy reception in any of a number of countries. John Mark Karr would still be in Thailand if he'd only had a bigger roll of cash.
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Update: Most Recent NewsDay story doesn't make it clear whether Mr. Monetti remains in custody. This from the article sounds like they are hauling him to Nebraska toot sweet, "U.S. Magistrate William Wall denied Gargiulo's request that Monetti be allowed to travel back to Nebraska on his own."

Evidently he was indicted in February by a secret Grand Jury sitting here in Nebraska. The Fremont Tribune notes that only one witness was called to testify before the Grand Jury, Sgt. Jeff Young, Washington County Sheriff’s Office investigator. The jurors returned an indictment the same day Sgt. Young testified. I'm glad our Federal Prosecutors have the time and inclination to enforce these laws. I know they are working overtime on drug cases.
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Monetti faces no charges on Long Island: New York Daily News. Long Island's Homepage weighs in with this story. The New York Times buries the indictment.
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Update: Click for the latest post on John Monetti.

Arab - Israeli Agreement

Arab and Israeli Feedlot Visitors Agree

They both seem to be titillated by pictures of Debra LaFave. For the last 24 hours, the Plains Feeder has been getting an inordinately large number of "Google Image" hits from Israel and Saudi Arabia. They are all looking for pictures of Debra LaFave. Examples of these searches are shown above.

I guess this is good; it shows there are areas of agreement. Imagine, however, how much more nasty Ms. La Fave must look to a leering Arab than to a leering Israeli. The Arab isn't even supposed to think about such criminal salaciousness; the Israelis are as inured to nudity and sexual license as Americans. Nobody can leer like an Arab.
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Every now and then, the Plains Feeder gets a flurry of visitors seeking the picture of Debra LaFave astride a motorcycle. When this happens, I usually check to see if she has been in the news again. Since the former teacher copped a walk after confessing to having sex with one of her students, then gave an interview to Matt Lauer, she has been keeping a pretty low profile.

Maybe there's a LaFave buzz on the Middle East street.

Who put the ram in the rama lama ding dong?

Ram Implosion Wing

A year and a half ago I reported on Robert Patterson's Ram Implosion Wing which he claimed will double, if not triple, the mpg of Detroit's worst gas hogs. Enough time, I would think, for him and any copycat inventors to provide some evidence that the screwy looking thing might work. I was willing to give him a chance whereas others outdid themselves in labeling him a crackpot.

No verifiable evidence has been forthcoming, but that hasn't stopped the mad inventor from offering it for sale. You can purchase a kit and build it yourself or he'll build one for you.

As a lifelong motorhead by default there's one thing I've learned about guys and cars. We can be liars. When we're young we lie about how fast they are. We lie about how much we pay for them and how much we sell them for. And of course we lie about gas mileage. And most of the time I think we believe our own lies because we really want them to be true.

Too bad you're proving the point, Robert, but that needn't spoil your entrepreneurial success. There are guys who will buy them and, even though they won't work, they'll convince themselves that they do work, especially when they try to unload their ram imploded Lincoln Town Car on the first redneck to sit behind the wheel. But he better make sure Jim Bob takes a short test drive. That fuel gauge won't back him up.

Car Crazy Cutie

Car Wash Nymph

The appealing charm of this photograph is that it has nothing to do with being a 60+ old dude who found both doors to the house drifted shut Friday morning. I'm not complaining. I wouldn't trade my snow shovel and degenerative back for a fast car & cutie. But I'd probably turn out to be a liar if I said I'd turn down the opportunity for a test drive.