A Nashua, NH, mother who forced her 10 year old daughter to stand all night and write in a notebook has been sentenced to 2 – 10 years in prison.
According to newspaper reports, Theresa Bergeron, 37, formerly of Nashua, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault, second-degree assault, reckless conduct, falsifying physical evidence and two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor.
The investigation started when the girl arrived at school limping and with bruises on her feet. She told school officials about the previous day’s punishment by her mother. She had to stand from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. and write a phrase in a notebook. She was sprayed with water when she moved out of position.
Other punishments included:
–Confinement in a bedroom overnight, its heating duct taped shut in the winter. She had no blankets or clothes and could not access the bathroom.
–A diet of only Cheerios for breakfast and dinner.
–Getting struck with a crutch after eating too slowly.
This is one case of animal cruelty that PETA can leave to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration to investigate.
Seems an employee at a Kentucky Fried Chicken store in Manchester, NH, was cleaning the exhaust hood above a deep-fryer unit when he fell into the fryer. He suffered burns to his arms, chest, and face.
As I have noted here before, PETA is in an on-going battle with KFC to find more humane methods of slaughtering the millions of chickens that end up those hot Friolaters. Mind you, they are not talking about giving up eating meat; they are pressing KFC to “harvest” their product without scalding chickens alive, breaking their beaks and bones, and otherwise abusing live animals.
If you have the stomach for chicken, perhaps you also have the backbone to watch this PETA investigative report about KFC’s operations. Or visit Kentucky Fried Cruelty for more information.
In the meantime, I would caution people about eating at a franchise where they not only practice animal cruelty, but lack the proper safety precautions to protect employees from cruel working conditions.
A mother in Manchester, NH, gave her 10 year old daughter a black eye and bloody lip for taking presents from a sibling. The mother is being held on $20,000 cash bail pending arraignment in Manchester District Court.
For those of you who think hitting children is OK, this is another instance where the “right” to beat your children turns into abuse and an assault and “endangering a child” charge. You might start off thinking you will never abuse your child, but a spanking leads to a slap, then a punch, then a kick, then a full-blown assault on your child. You will destroy your child and end up a felon.
Don’t spank children.
To read the story from the Union Leader, click here.
Seems we weren’t the only ones disgusted by coach Jim Calhoun’s temper tantrum when Ken Krayeske asked about his $1.6 million salary.
While others in the sports media were gloating about the way Calhoun “man-handled” an activist reporter, the governor of Connecticut essentially told the coach to stuff it.
According to an Associated Press report:
Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun’s tirade at a freelance journalist posing questions about the his $1.6 million salary was an “embarrassing display,” the state’s governor said Tuesday. Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she believes Calhoun regrets the outburst directed at Ken Krayeske, who questioned the veteran coach about his salary after a game Saturday.
“I think if Coach Calhoun had the opportunity right now, he would welcome a do-over and not have that embarrassing display from last week,” Rell said after meeting with local college officials and business leaders.
Rell said Calhoun’s whole tone was embarrassing.
I guess the Governor wasn’t too impressed with all that trash talk from Calhoun about his program dumping $12 million into the state’s coffers.
I have also decided that an “activist reporter” is a journalist who has the balls to ask coaches the questions the locker-room queens are afraid to ask.
So, some freelance reporter, not part of the rump-kissing crew that usually sucks up to UConn’s Jim Calhoun, had the audacity to ask a coach who makes his living showing the mentally disadvantaged how to shoot a ball through a little round hoop, to explain why he should make $1.5 million annually when local, state and federal budgets are in a meltdown.
In brave, Bobby Knight fashion, Calhoun had one of those ” you have a nerve” responses, even though he is a public employee and the public has a right to ask such questions.
Maybe Calhoun’s cancer medicine is affecting his temperament, or maybe he just grew up with a major hair across his ass. But for someone who has so little to show for his millions in salaries and endorsements at UConn (just two NCAAs? How many did Wooden have?), I am not surprised he would be so defensive. He should be defensive.
At least four times Calhoun pounded out the idea that his basketball program contributes $12 million to the university. In fact, if you look at net figures, the program is a big loser. Sure, it generates those revenues, but with Cal’s salaries, the other coaches, travel costs, the opportunity costs of running his gym, the scholarships, the PR programs, etc. etc. That program is costing Connecticut money.
Of course, Huskie slaves in CT deserve the chance to pay for the honor of having such a mediocre program. I listened to one of their games, just a few years ago. They are the worst college basketball fans in the Big East, probably in the U.S. Their team — I stress, THEIR team — was down a few points and they started booing their own college players and their over paid coach.
So, I guess everyone is getting what they deserve.
Connecticut is getting screwed financially and loving it. Calhoun is finally coming out of the Bobby Knight closet to prove what a creep he is. And the basketball media in Storrs shows that the only balls are on the court — certainly they haven’t any between their legs or anywhere else where it might do them some good.
So here’s Calhoun telling a reporter to “shut up — my public salary is none of your business.” It will be fun to replay this when he finally retires.
A voice for moderate Democrats and Independents, Rake Morgan believes that the best politics is a synthesis of political extremes. A long-time friend and supporter of Hillary Clinton, Rake is co-editor of the Hillary Clinton Quarterly. In "A Rake's Progress" he offers his take on politics, society, and the detritus of modern life. He lives in a small town in central New Hampshire.
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The header image for this blog is "Rake in Bedlam" from William Hogarth's series of prints entitled "A Rake's Progress."
Notebook
"A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help."
--Albert Schweitzer
A Rake Classic
Spanking children -- a euphemism for beating -- only teaches kids that violence is OK. Here is Rake's story about disciplining children and a news article about "hot saucing."
