SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The FBI has launched an independent investigation into a deputy sheriff's killing of a 13-year-old boy while he was walking to a friend's house this week to return a replica of an assault rifle, a spokesman said on Saturday.

Sonoma County Sheriff Steve Freitas announced on Friday night that the FBI will conduct an inquiry into the shooting death of Andy Lopez Cruz in Santa Rosa, a community in northern California's wine country.

Hundreds of protesters, many of them Latino teenagers, have demonstrated daily, calling for an investigation into the Tuesday afternoon incident in a blue-collar neighborhood of Santa Rosa.

While the Santa Rosa Police Department and other local agencies continue to investigate the shooting, civil rights advocates have sought an independent federal investigation.

The FBI's San Francisco office will "review all the facts and see if there was any federal crime committed, whether the individual's civil rights were violated," said spokesman Peter Lee.

Freitas said he welcomed the FBI probe into the death of the popular eighth-grader who played the trumpet and basketball and enjoyed teasing friends.

Marcia Wallace dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Marcia Wallace, the voice of scoffing schoolteacher Edna Krabappel on "The Simpsons," whose wise-cracking characters on "The Bob Newhart Show" and other prime-time hits endeared her to generations of TV viewers, has died.

"Simpsons" executive producer Al Jean called said in a statement Saturday that her "irreplaceable character," the fourth-grade teacher who contended with Bart Simpson's constant antics, would be retired from the show. Wallace was 70.

"I was tremendously saddened to learn this morning of the passing of the brilliant and gracious Marcia Wallace. She was beloved by all at The Simpsons," Jean said. It's "a terrible loss for all who had the pleasure of knowing her."

The statement did not provide a date for her death, or a cause.

The longtime TV actress' credits ranged from playing a receptionist on "The Bob Newhart Show" to appearances on Candice Bergen's "Murphy Brown."

On "The Simpsons," Wallace provided the voice for world-weary Edna Krabappel (cru-BOP'-pul), who smoked cigarettes, made sarcastic comments and finally found love in the arms of Simpson's neighbor Ned Flanders after fans voted online at the end of season 22 to keep the unlikely couple together.

Wallace's trademark "Ha!" punctuated Krabappel's frequent wisecracks, and her character was also known for the catchphrase, "Do what I mean, not what I say."

Harry Shearer, the voice of Ned Flanders on the show, said Wallace "brought this huge, positive energy" to her work on "The Simpsons."

"She was just a warm and wonderful person," Shearer told The Associated Press.

Not just an old nest ... actually, a miracle, when you really think about it

I took Caleb for a short walk, and in our yard, under a large Pine Tree, was this nest. I think it is a Robin's Nest.

Think of the work that went in to this "miracle" of engineering, a miracle when you think of who built it.

It had probably served its purpose, for the year. It perpetuated it species, it brought precious little lives in to the world, that would grow, and, someday, build their own nests, and the species goes on and on.

Apparently the grass comes first, and is used as a base for the mud to come. It is probably shaped by the body of the bird, and she makes it large enough, to hold her brood. How many trips did it take to build this nest, all the grass and the mud. Tedious, meticulous work, so many trips, and she will repeat the task next year.

The story of one little robin, a mother, who had a mate, built this nest, with no plans, but, miraculously, she instinctively knew how to construct it. laid her eggs, hatched the egg, raised her children, and knew when it was time for them to leave home, and start their own family.

Think how incredible that is. And there are those who want to take .... "God" ..... away from our country. What you see in this photograph is an absolute miracle, and it is repeated millions of times, billions of times, every year.

Man has developed a machine that can create an object, could probably create a Robin, but could not give it life, and instill the knowledge that enables the species to survive.

Only God can make a tree, or a Robin.

Halloween memories

Seeing all these commercials for Halloween Costumes takes me back to the 30's and some in to the 40's. We had to make our own costumes out of sheets and pillow cases, old clothes. The only thing we bought was a mask, generally to go with the other items you put together.

I guess we did well, candy bars, a lot of "penny" candy, some popcorn balls, home made. I remember more the event rather than the goodies I got. I remember one house, on Chestnut Street, a big brick home, and an older couple, they gave a "penny." We thought they were the riches people in the world to give a penny.

We collected our "goodies" in a pillow case of a grocery bag. I remember decorating the grocery bag to look more impressive.

There were some house that I was afraid to go to, we heard "stories" about them. I remember a few housed that didn't have anything to give, and their kids didn't go out because they couldn't afford to, so we gave them some of our candy. I remember one year we even took some canned goods to one family.

Times were different then. I still remember one little girl, in a tattered dress, holding on to her Mom's leg, and they told us they had nothing to give us, and they apologized. We all chipped in and gave her some of ours.

No X-rays, no Dentists paying for our candy, no "incidents" that I recall. Didn't even need an adult to walk around with us. Those days are gone forever.

I kept those pennies for a long time, considered them "special" .... coming from a millionaire, or whatever he might be, we knew he was rich, to give away pennies, they were special.

I think my last year of "going out," I had my Mom take me to a store in Dayton that sold, blue jeans, the pants that the poor wore then. I bought a pair and went as a "hillbilly." If your wore those, in those days, you were poor, and probably from Kentucky and came to Ohio to work for GM.

They were good days though. "Backward, turn backward, oh time in thy flight. Make me a boy again, just for tonight."

My phone answering machine message

Thanks Jim ..... New USPS stamp issue

NSA Spying Threatens to Hamper US Foreign Policy

Secretary of State John Kerry went to Europe to talk about Mideast peace, Syria and Iran. What he got was an earful of outrage over U.S. snooping abroad.

President Barack Obama has defended America's surveillance dragnet to leaders of Russia, Mexico, Brazil, France and Germany, but the international anger over the disclosures shows no signs of abating in the short run.

Longer term, the revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden about NSA tactics that allegedly include tapping the cellphones of as many as 35 world leaders threaten to undermine U.S. foreign policy in a range of areas.

This vacuum-cleaner approach to data collection has rattled allies.

"The magnitude of the eavesdropping is what shocked us," former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a radio interview. "Let's be honest, we eavesdrop too. Everyone is listening to everyone else. But we don't have the same means as the United States, which makes us jealous."

So where in the world isn't the NSA? That's one big question raised by the disclosures. Whether the tapping of allies is a step too far might be moot.

The British ambassador to Lebanon, Tom Fletcher, tweeted this past week: "I work on assumption that 6+ countries tap my phone. Increasingly rare that diplomats say anything sensitive on calls."

Diplomatic relations are built on trust. If America's credibility is in question, the U.S. will find it harder to maintain alliances, influence world opinion and maybe even close trade deals.

Spying among allies is not new.

Madeleine Albright, secretary of state during the Clinton administration, recalled being at the United Nations and having the French ambassador ask her why she said something in a private conversation apparently intercepted by the French.

Football Saturday

9:00 AM, Saturday Morning, and the ESPN show is on, a big crowd in the background, they are in Oregon, it is not even sunrise out there yet, and the football show has started.

Not sure of the word I am looking for, that happens a lot nowadays,there doesn't seem to be words to explain what is happening in the world. Football, for a month now, millions and billions have been invested to promote the games. millions and billions have been spent to construct "cathedrals," or stadiums in which to play the games. Millions and billions spent on "scholarships" to attract the best athletes, and to fill those stadiums that generate those millions and billions.

Pop Warner, grade school, high school, then, college, many with the goal to then play in the NFL. I imagine that is the dream of any kid playing at any level.

So, millions and billions are spent on football with the anticipation of playing in the NFL, and, what now, is a concern in the NFL, head injuries. As I understand it, the brain is floating around in the skull, and each hit and tackle, that results in serious contact, perhaps "slams" that brain that is floating around in there, and causes a severe blow to it, which may, in fact cause very serious damage later on.

So, universities are spending those millions and billions on stadiums, elaborate scoreboards, more seating, elaborate up-scale enclosed, decorated boxes, more seating, lower the field and add more seating, generating millions and billions of dollars for the university. Coaches are paid more than the university president, the AD, or athletic director is the BMOC, Big Man On Campus. TV is making millions and billions on advertising. Use your stopwatch sometime, compare ads to actual game time.

We hear all about a player, his life, his family, his accomplishments, his awards, and then, who drafted him in the NFL, and then, after hes career, we hear about his brain damage, his lack of memory, his inability to function as a normal individual.

We rarely hear about Bill Smith, who graduated, went to work for a company, worked his way up the ladder, became CEO, raised a family, became involved in his community, volunteered many hours to good causes. He may even have paid exorbitant prices to attend a game, and see someone he graduated with in college. He probably even donated money to the university to help erect a new stadium.

Brett Favre, played out this whole scenario, now, there are many things he can't remember. He packed stadiums, but, he can't remember it. There has to be a word for this whole process, I just can't think of it. 

Where do we put the blame for all these injuries, what level did they start, how about the parents for encouraging them to play? The university who paid their way in to the NFL. The NFL who paid the player millions, and gave him a "venue" to enable him to receive all these head injuries. He was paid BIG bucks, to play a game he loved, and KNEW he could suffer damage, still did it, and then, at the end of his career, he feels that he should seek damages from the NFL for his suffering them. How about college, your high school, your Pop Warner team, your Mom and Dad?

Another month of fixes for health care website

WASHINGTON (AP) — It should be working well by the end of November. That's the Obama administration's rough timetable for completing a long list of fixes to HealthCare.gov, the new, trouble-plagued website for uninsured Americans to get coverage.

Summarizing a week's worth of intensive diagnostics, the administration acknowledged Friday the site has dozens of complex problems and tapped a private company to oversee fixes.

Jeffrey Zients, a management consultant brought in by the White House to assess the extent of problems, told reporters his review found dozens of issues across the entire system. The site is made up of layers of components that are meant to interact in real time with consumers, government agencies and insurance company computers.

It will take a lot of work, but "HealthCare.gov is fixable," Zients declared.

CNN airs 90-minute segment showing people trying to navigate Obamacare website

Troubles plaguing the federal government’s Affordable Care Act website are big news. But to get the point, do we really need to watch people physically attempting to navigate the site?

CNN says "yes," and devoted 90 minutes of programming on Thursday to just that. And they’ve brought back their countdown clock to mark the proceedings. The countdown clock has been a go-to move for CNN recently, rolled out to keep a running timer on the government shutdown and the debt limit ceiling.

For the Obamcare website segment, “Situation Room” host Wolf Blitzer stationed three guests at desktop computers and monitored their attempts to register on the federal government’s Affordable Care Act site.

So, what kind of breathtaking results were viewers treated to?

“I’m actually able to look at the different options quite easily,” guest Laura McNeil told CNN’s Emmy award-winning journalist Tom Foreman as the newsroom cameras zoomed in and out on her and the other two individuals looking at their computers. However, “It won’t tell me what I need to finalize to move forward,” she added.

Fellow would-be enrollee Gabe Cohen added, “I think I saw a couple of options, but I wasn’t quite sure if I qualified for them.”

From there, the drama continued to unfold. As if waiting more than an hour to get health insurance isn’t bad enough, Foreman informed Cohen that the government has suggested people who can’t enroll online consider filling out a paper application. “I can’t believe it,” Cohen said in shocked response.

The segment also featured a number of expert guests who were asked to weigh in on the proceedings, including former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.)

3 Children Killed, 6 Adults Injured in 2-Alarm Bronx Blaze

A two-alarm fire in the Bronx has left three young children dead and six adults seriously injured.

Fire officials say the fire broke out around 7:45 p.m. Friday evening on the second floor of a three-story building on West 165th Street in the Concourse section.

Responding firefighters found two young children dead inside an apartment, authorities said.

A 3-month-old child was rushed to a nearby hospital where they died a short time later. Six adults were also brought to the hospital where they are listed in serious condition, officials said.

None of the victims have been identified and there is no word yet on how the fire started.

Our old place .....

The home my Mom and Dad built in 1961. It was sold many years ago, that buyer still lives in the house. Apparently the damage was confined to the garage area. It  was a lovely home with a nice pond in the front yard. Apparently no one was hurt, as well as their pets. We lived in it for a few years. Spent many pleasant hours on that front porch to the right. I once ran a Chris-Craft on that pond.

Man fired for aiding woman rejects Wal-Mart offer to hire him back

A Michigan man rejected an offer from Wal-Mart Stores Inc to rehire him after he was fired for helping a woman who was being attacked in the store parking lot during his meal break.

Kristopher Oswald, 30, who worked nights stocking shelves at a Wal-Mart store in Hartland Township, located northwest of Detroit, said on Friday that he does not feel safe going back to work.

"I believe my job was only offered to me because of the negative publicity they received," Oswald said. "There is no way I can expect to walk in as if I was a new hire and everything would be OK."

A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart said the company has a strict policy against retaliation and offered to accommodate Oswald with safety measures such as an escort to and from his vehicle into the store.

"His position is still open to him now if he wants to come back to the store. We'd welcome him back," company spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said.

She also said the company offered to reimburse Oswald for lost wages.

Wal-Mart said Oswald's initial firing resulted from his violation of company policy that requires employees to alert store management and call police instead of intervening in dangerous situations.

Revealed: Grand jury probing JonBenet Ramsey's death had indicted parents for child abuse

DENVER — And we still don't know who killed her.

A grand jury investigating JonBenet Ramsey’s death found her parents did “unlawfully, knowingly, recklessly and feloniously” put their daughter into a situation that resulted in her slaying,according to documents released Friday. Those stark words — printed on four pages of grand jury documents from 1999 released by the Boulder County District Court’s office — indicted John Ramsey and his wife, Patsy, on two counts each:

On or between December 25, and December 26, 1996, in Boulder County, Colorado Patricia Paugh Ramsey did unlawfully, knowingly, recklessly and feloniously permit a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation which posed a threat of injury to the child’s life or health, which resulted in the death of JonBenet Ramsey, a child under the age of sixteen. An identical indictment contained John Ramsey’s name.

Another document, Count VII, alleged that each parent did “render assistance to a person, with intent to hinder, delay and prevent the discovery, detention, apprehension, prosecution, conviction and punishment of such person for the commission of a crime.”

“The grand jury found probable cause to believe that both of the Ramseys were responsible for their daughter’s death,” Karen Steinhauser, a former prosecutor and current defense attorney in the Denver area, told Yahoo News.

But while the grand jury believed there was probable cause to prosecute the Ramseys, the district attorney at the time disagreed. “Whether it ever means there’s going to be a prosecution, whether it means there’s ever going to be justice for this little girl, I don’t believe it changes anything,” Steinhauser said. But she added that, hypothetically, new evidence could drag the case back into the spotlight.

Lin Wood, John Ramsey’s attorney, was not immediately available for comment, his office said.

Mayoral politics threaten NYC horse-carriage rides

NEW YORK — Horse-drawn carriage rides through the streets of New York — an experience nearly as old as the city itself — could be clip-clopping to a halt.

Animal activists who have long argued that horses have no place mixing in the traffic of the nation's biggest city now have the backing of both leading candidates for mayor. And the front-runner heading into the Nov. 5 election, Democrat Bill de Blasio, supports a plan to replace the horses with old-timey electric cars to take tourists on slow-speed jaunts around Central Park.

To the top-hatted horse drivers who dispense lap blankets and tour guide wisdom along with the rides, that plan has about as much charm as a plastic pony.

"People come for the clip-clop of a horse's hooves," said driver Christina Hansen. "Nobody wants to pet a fender."

Ending the city's 155-year-old horse-drawn carriage industry has emerged as an unlikely issue in the recent mayoral debates, and one of the few points of agreement in an otherwise bitter race between de Blasio and Republican Joe Lhota.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2013/10/25/3057972/mayoral-politics-threaten-nyc.html#storylink=cpy

AP sources: foreign help to US could be exposed

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Western diplomats say U.S. officials have briefed them on documents obtained by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that might expose the intelligence operations of their respective countries and their level of cooperation with the U.S.

Word of the briefings by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence comes amid questions swirling around overseas surveillance by the National Security Agency, which has angered allies on two continents and caused concern domestically over the scope of the intelligence-gathering.

The two Western diplomats said officials from ODNI have continued to brief them regularly on what documents the director of national intelligence believes Snowden obtained.

The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the intelligence briefings publicly.

The Washington Post, which first reported on the matter Thursday evening, said some of the documents Snowden took contain sensitive material about collection programs against adversaries such as Iran, Russia and China. Some refer to operations that in some cases involve countries not publicly allied with the United States.

The Post said the process of informing officials about the risk of disclosure is delicate because in some cases, one part of the cooperating government may know about the collaboration, but others may not.

TGIF Morning thoughts

I nave done some research, contacted some whose opinion I value, and the general consensus of opinion seemed to be that the magnitude of the Obamacare niche on the internet, should have been tested for as much as five years before placing it out there for the public. I am not sure when, or even if, such an enormous internet program has gone public.

Some feel it may never be corrected and usable in that it is difficult to repair while it is operation. One compared it to building a large ship, putting it into operation, and trying to repair many hings while it is underway. He concluded that, "Even ships take an extended underway "shakedown" before being put into commission. An Idahoan commented that "you plug up one hole and another one occurs."

We had the expertise available to avoid this, our "Misplaced arrogant" president apparently opted to not tap that valuable resource in his haste to offer this "Opportunity for Golden Health" to his followers, his memorial made of "Band aids" to future generations.

I had occasion last evening to chat briefly with an outstanding your Doctor. One of the nicest I have met in many years, a 4.00 point Bedside Manner. He "worked" for out local hospital and was happy with that. He had no desire to have his own private practice. What a great shame and a great loss to what could be. Going to see this more and more, I think the "complications" of such a practice are becoming insurmountable. My Dad, the Doctor, when in Private Practice was a Doctor, Minister, Lawyer, Adviser and Friend to his patients. He decided to make a change and go in to OBGYN and left his practice. The night he saw his last patient, came through the door that separated our home and office, was the first time I saw him cry.

I imagine that physicians cry today, when their real estate "deals" fall through, when they get caught double billing or billing with no services rendered, or they get caught in some "malpractice" lawsuit. Such as recently, the one that got caught, performing unnecessary operations where appliances were used, from a company that he had a great deal of stock in.

I hope all have a nice weekend. Cold in Ohio, but a warm-up next week is expected, no Indian Summer yet.

It will not end for many years ..................

On Monday, Kaiser Health News reported that health insurers are sending thousands of cancellation notices to consumers who buy coverage through the individual market because of requirements imposed by Obamacare. While Affordable Care Act critics are certain to use the news as proof that the health law is unworkable, the reality is that the Americans who own these skimpy health policies will get far more robust plans through Obamacare’s marketplaces — and most will qualify for government assistance to pay for that insurance.

Many policies currently sold through the individual market do little to help people who actually get sick. These plans come with appealingly low monthly premiums to draw in consumers. But those supposedly “affordable” rates typically mask high deductibles, big gaps in coverage, and large co-pays for essential care like prescription drug services that consumers tend not to realize until they actually need to use their coverage. And if you have a pre-existing medical condition or get sick, your rates go up — if you’re even able to buy a plan in the first place.

Insurance companies have been able to get away with this because they were largely unregulated before the health reform law’s passage. Now, Obamacare is changing that.

Under the health reform law, insurers can’t discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions, or set lifetime or annual caps on people’s health services. And insurance plans must offer a broad range of ten “essential health benefits” including maternity care, prescription drug coverage, and mental health services. That explains why major individual policy sellers such as Florida Blue and Kaiser Permanente in California are discontinuing large swaths of their current health plans — they simply don’t offer a minimally acceptable level of health coverage.

Devastation of Sandy

Aerial views of Hurricane Sandy’s destruction
Many New York City residents affected by Hurricane Sandy still need assistance and are struggling to return to their homes after the second-most costly storm in U.S. History made landfall in New Jersey last October after hammering Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas. All told, 286 died in the storm. (Yahoo News)