Imagine an Occupied America

Last night's speaker for "Drones on Trial" at MCC, Kathy Kelly, mentioned a website www.antiwar.com that presents statistics that might be available only for 2-3 days at a time.

Be sure to click on "U.S. Casualties" in the blue menu bar near the top of the page.

As I surfed that website this morning, I spotted Ron Paul's name in the column of editorial contributors on the right. When I clicked on his name, a March 10, 2009 article appeared, entitled "Imagine an Occupied America."

To bring home the reality of the U.S. presence in the Middle East, read this article. It's too easy for us, sitting here in the Midwest and thousands of miles away from a hot war zone, to feel detached from war. Read it now: www.antiwar.com/paul

Alcohol in D-200 schools

How bad is the alcohol problem in Woodstock District 200 schools? No, not the quality, and not the speed of service. I'm talking about the prevalence of alcohol consumption by District 200 high school students, middle school students and, yes, grade school students.

This morning the Community Partnership Coalition (CPC) met at Woodstock North High School. Attendees represented District 200, Family Service, Youth Service Bureau, McHenry County Department of Health, After-glo Creative Services, AmeriCorps and others. I identified one other parent present who did not have an agency relationship.

The CPC is attacking the problems of drug use and alcoholism by students. Your attention is invited, and your participation in upcoming programs is also invited. It's going to take everyone's help to lick this problem.

Sept. 22, 7:00PM Woodstock North H.S. Auditorium. Ty Sells will present "Creating Connections That Count". For information about Ty, visit ww.youthtoyouth.net/speakers/tsells/index.html This program is to be fun and inter-active, and it is designed for parents, coaches, club advisors and any group of adults who are involved with youth.

Watch for announcements of other programs.

Woodstock McDonald's opens

The new McDonald's opened in Woodstock today at 5:00AM. I wasn't there to see the lines, but there were customers waiting to be first in the door and first through the drive-through. When I went by about 11:00AM, the parking lot was full, but places had opened up by the second time around.

Although the parking lot was full, there was plenty of room on the inside. Counter service was fast, the restaurant was clean, and there were plenty of employees. Corporate was represented by Joe Goc and by Ed Krause, the Operations Consultant for this unit.

The managers had tried to ID the first customer, but the crowd at the door apparently made it impossible to decide who was first. The customer probably knows... He would have been the one pressed up against the glass...

The new floor plan provides for plenty of comfort and space to enjoy your meal. Stop by soon.

My only comment was on the lettering of the pavement "Thank you" sign. Should the words be placed in order as you drive to them? So, does this sign read "Thank you" or "You Thank"?

Think about "School Ahead" signs on the pavement. Which word does the driver reach first?

U.S. drones in warfare

Every once in a while you get a chance to meet someone who is really making a difference in the world. It doesn't happen very often, but tonight at MCC was one of those times.

Kathy Kelly, 57, co-founder of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, addressed about 65 people in the MCC Conference Center on the topic of drones in warfare, those unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of surveillance and missile and bomb delivery in precision strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Kathy explained the growth of the U.S. drone program over the past nine years. In 2001, when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, the military had about 100 drones. By January 2009, when President Obama took office, there were about 7,000. Today there are 12,000.

How are drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan controlled? By military personnel in Nevada and New York, thousands of miles away. One operator watches the view from the drone's camera on his monitor, while another operator controls the flight with a joystick. The chain-of-command is involved in decisions to launch weapons.

According to the brochure for tonight's program, "The military itself acknowledges that for every one "bad guy" the DRONES assassinate, FIFTY civilians are murdered." See http://nodrones.com/factsheet.htm

Look at it this way: let's say a drone was circling over Woodstock, trying to spot a member of Al Qaeda. The spotter thinks he has got him; the controller causes the drone to circle while permission is sought to fire. Missile firing is authorized, and the command to fire is given. The missile may or may not get the target, and 50 people die. You lose family members, other relatives, neighbors and friends. Many children die.

How long would it take you to join the resistance?

What Kathy found on her visits to Afghanistan and Pakistan is that the people of the country do not want the U.S. there. Kathy puts herself on the line, with her voice, with her body and with her life. She spoke with passion tonight.

It's too bad there were only 65 people in the auditorium that would hold 300-400. Mostly adults, some students. Where was the effective promotion of her presentation?

For more information about Voices for Creative Nonviolence, visit www.vcnv.org

Source of a lie

Sometimes it's hard to track down lies. You hear them. You wonder where they came from. You wonder who started them.

And then there are other times.

Recently a Woodstock attorney posted on Facebook that the Woodstock Police Department "had a little chat" with me about a tip I phoned into the Crime Stoppers tip line, and which I followed with an explanatory email to the Woodstock PD. On Saturday his online comment was, "I understand that WPD had a little chat with Gus with respect to the Beth phone call he reported, that as it turned out never happened."

Today Woodstock attorney Ray Flavin posted on Facebook, "Hello Everyone, I was told by a Bentley family member that WPD had chatted with Gus. That is what I was told."

I responded to Ray on Facebook with questions - which Bentley family member told him that? And who told that family member?

I ought to know if the Woodstock PD had "a little chat" with me. Somehow, I don't think I'd forget something like that.

Woodstock Police Chief Bob Lowen knows that no officer contacted me. Det. Sgt. Kurt Rosenquist knows that no officer contacted me. Det. Jeff Parsons knows that no officer contacted me. I know that no officer contacted me.

Should I feel libeled by Attorney Flavin? And by the Bentley family member he says told him such a lie?

Bentley press in Mt. Vernon

Today's Mt. Vernon Register-News carried an article about Beth Bentley, 41, missing now for 14 1/2 weeks.

Woodstock neighbor Angela Montgomery voiced her displeasure toward the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, saying, "We’ve gone head-on with the sheriff’s department and police agencies in that area, because we believe it may be a personal opinion that Beth left on her own accord. I want them to know we believe she’s down there (in Southern Illinois)..."

Her sister and she like to use the collective "we", without naming others who feel as she does. I can't tell what she meant by "gone head-on"; did she mean "head-to-head"? And, if she does, why should the Jefferson County S/O deal with a neighbor of the missing woman? Angela seems to be trying to say that the sheriff and police departments believe Beth left on her own accord.

Of course, someone's "believing" Beth is "down there (in Southern Illinois)" doesn't make it so.

Where is she? Southern Illinois? Northern Illinois? McHenry County? Right here in Woodstock? Out-of-state? Somebody knows. Somebody will slip up.

All tips should be reported to 800.762.STOP. Persist when you reach the Crime Stoppers tip line. Present your tip. Then put it in writing to krosenquist@woodstockil.gov In my case, I provided limited information to the tip line and then provided full details to Woodstock P.D., along with the Tip Number assigned by Crime Stoppers.

Want to read the Mt. Vernon Register-News article? http://register-news.com/local/x2009600902/Friends-still-seek-missing-Woodstock-woman

Diners be "warned"

You have to wonder just who creates the wording on public notices! Do they even think about their words, or do they just follow the training in those expensive workshops they go to in exotic places on the taxpayers' dime or the verbiage foisted on them by the State Department of Health?

I was in a Woodstock restaurant today and had a little extra time while awaiting the arrival of the man I was to meet there.

On the health permit from the McHenry County Department of Health was the following wording, in part: "A Category 1 Risk Establishment (Food Service/Liquor) (The relative risk is not related to the sanitation level of the food establishment.)"

WHOA! Should I eat here? Is it safe? What's "Category 1"? Is that high or low? What's a "Category 1 Risk"?

My quarrel here is with the word "risk". Why would the County use the word "risk" on a health permit?

Of course, I'm probably the only person who ever read the Permit, which was framed and displayed, as required, in public view.

No need to name the establishment. The permit with that wording must be in every restaurant in the County.

Would a restaurateur dare complain about the word "risk"? Would that bring down the wrath of the Department of Health on his or her establishment?