Friday, June 27, 2008

A Small Footprint




Yesterday. 7 a.m. RUDE awakening. The roar of bulldozers, backhoes, chainsaws. Whatever... Noise. Really irritating noise. Fingernails on the blackboard, dentist drill, squeaky balloon rubbing, cat in heat yowling, teeth grinding NOISE! What a nasty way to wake up. NEXUS has begun destroying the neighborhood with their unique NEXUS style - that is - with a vengeance.
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One of their first actions (frontal assault) - chopping down the two hundred year old evergreen trees. Now they are NEVERGREENS. Now they are dead. For 200 years, they survived droughts, flooding, storms, lightning, winter cold, bugs and disease... But they couldn't survive NEXUS. (Who can?) Sex Offenders R Us wiped out their 200 years in a matter of minutes. Those trees were special. Magnificent. Irreplaceable. Surely NEXUS could have built their road a few feet to the north and saved them. But NEXUS has already shown that they prefer to bulldoze anything or anybody that stands in their way. Too inconvenient or costly to go around. Geez. Why should they respect Nature. They don't respect people. (Hey Vic, I'll testify to this. Not only is it my OPINION, it is my EXPERIENCE.)
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NEXUS wins again!


Well, they certainly showed those naysaying trees. That'll teach them to put down roots where NEXUS might someday decide to TAKE. It was the trees own damn fault. They should have seen NEXUS coming and got out of the way.
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Remember Jim D'Angelo at public hearings??? "We will leave a small footprint..." Or how about when he talked about the limited number of trees that would be taken??? Folksies, they are clear-cutting those woods. Looks like they forgot their promise to work with local residents and include the neighbors in the planning stage... Oops.
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Who could have foreseen the lies? (Well, except for Hannabelle...)
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And it is nesting time... Well, that will teach those stupid birds a lesson. Don't get in NEXUS' way! It's their own fault, you know. Those birds shouldn't have built their homes in trees NEXUS promised not to cut down even if they fully intended to clear-cut and destroy. How dare them! Those birds should have shown proper respect...
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Baby rabbits... The helpless little ones nesting on the 38.81... Oh well. It's okay to sacrifice the baby rabbits for the good of the community. The HUMAN community... Of course, the parents can always move away and have more. They breed like rabbits, after all.
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But then, let us not forget what NEXUS is replacing this glorious wildness with... 94 convicted juvenile sex offenders who have been adjudicated through the courts after causing sexual harm to others. Personally, I prefer the deer, the bears, the foxes, the bunnies, the birds, and other animals to toddler molesters and their handlers. And if I express myself further right now, NEXUS will hit me with yet another frivolous lawsuit.
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Because... that's just how they are.




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Video coming soon.
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And a few words for Onamia Councilman Bob Mickus...
Stay tuned.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

What a CROCK!



Imagine...
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One day, the Fed Ex guy left a package on your doorstep. It's addressed to you. "Hmm. What's this?" you ask, carrying the package inside. "I didn't order anything." Inside the box is an ugly, red crock pot and a credit card receipt - YOUR credit card receipt for $75.99 from a local store.
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"There must be a mistake," you think. "Why should I have to pay for something I don't want, didn't order, and will never use?"
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What a hassle. Now, like it or not, you have to deal with this shit. Otherwise you're stuck paying the bill on this over-priced crock pot you don't need.
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So you call the store, asking to talk to the salesperson listed on the receipt.
Maybe he can sort this out.
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"Hello?" he answers.
"Hi. Are you the guy who sent me the crock pot?"
"Uh... who is this?" he asks nervously. You tell him. His response is baffling. Haughtily, he tells you that you will have to talk to the crock pot manufacturer. You notice a condescending, dismissive tone in his voice. Why is he so hostile?
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"But I just have a few questions. Please don't hang up, I just want to know..."
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CLICK
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Don't you hate it when people hang up on you? So what do you do next? Now you really don't want this uninvited crock pot. You resent the way that guy treated you - as if he had the right to force you to buy something you didn't ask for and don't want.
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So you look up his email address and send him a note. You tell him you don't appreciate his demeanor. It was extremely rude and unprofessional of him to hang up on you.
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He responds. His email still doesn't acknowledge the problem or answer your questions. It merely says: "Thank you for shopping at Crock Pots R Us."
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"But I DID NOT shop there!" you say. How do you feel? Are you pissed? You look at the crock pot. You'll never use it. Besides, it doesn't match your other cookware and clashes with your kitchen countertop. Jeez. There's even a chip on the rim. They sent you a defective product! You can't just return it. You want your money back.
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You look up the store's policy online. It says: It is our mission to keep the customers satisfied. All employees shall be polite, pleasant, and helpful in the spirit of serving the community.
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Aha! That creep certainly didn't follow store policy. So you send an email to the store manager telling her your bad experience. It's an informal complaint, but she should know that this nasty, rude employee behaved badly. You feel it's almost your duty to report him. Of course, you're still stuck with the god-awful crock pot. It's frustrating.
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A few days later, there's a deputy sheriff at your door. He serves papers on you. It's a lawsuit! It says:
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The defendant (that's you) complained
to the store manager about the plaintiff (that's the crock pot guy),
which caused him to be embarrassed.
It raised doubts about his competency
and caused him to lose the esteem of his colleagues.
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"Well, duh!" you say. "Maybe he shouldn't have been such an asshole!"
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You have 20 days to find a lawyer and respond or you will lose by default, having to pay the jerk an undetermined amount of damages. This is just silly! Yes, maybe his own behavior should embarrass him, but since when is it "defamation" to lodge a complaint about the aggregious way someone has treated you? Damages? You think: Hey, he's the one who sent me the crock pot! I'm the one who has to pay the bill for this thing I didn't order! And he SUES me???
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Welcome to the world of
Peter Freeman vs. Hannabelle...
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Isn't it ironic that somebody named FREEMAN has spent so much money, time, and effort on taking away Hannabelle's FREEDOM?
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The Silent Treatment is one of the cruelest form of societal punishment, as he well knows.
Peter Freeman teaches Social Work at St. Thomas University.
One of his special interests?
Why, "SCAPEGOATING", of course - which is exactly what Nexus has done and continues to do to Hannabelle...
Peter Freeman was recently promoted to Chairman of the Board of Nexus.

Monday, June 16, 2008

The New Lawsuit's Here!



THE NEW LAWSUIT'S HERE! THE NEW LAWSUIT'S HERE!

And it's not even my birthday!


NEXUS, the company that just keeps giving and giving.


Is this the way they "work with the community"? Sue the new neighbor repeatedly - (those pesky First Amendment rights) - in bogus SLAPP suits? Please keep in mind that despite my efforts this past year, to COMMUNICATE with these ... people, anyone connected with Nexus refuses to speak with me. STONEWALLED. If not for for the threatening letters and lawsuits from their lawyer, I'd hear nothing but the Sounds of Silence from these "good neighbors". I.e. the Silent Treatment... The Nexusians just keep getting nastier and nastier. More aggressive. Maybe they should ask their psychologists for help with their Anger Management... This aggressive behavior may be hurting their image.


Nobody has ever tried to ease the pain they have brought to my neighbors, my family, or myself. Methinks Nexus has taken on the role of neighborhood bully. Quick! Somebody loan our new neighbor a cup of sugar! They could use a little sweetness. (Vic, that goes for you too.)


If Love means never having to say you're sorry,

Nexus must love me quite a lot...


But I have to compliment them on their cleverness. Nexus operates primarily through tax dollars paid to them through county contracts. Since Nexus functions off tax dollars, they must pay their lawyers with tax dollars. hmm. I am a tax payer. Therefore, they are suing me with my own money! Does that mean I am suing myself?


HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


Sunday, June 15, 2008

100 Years, 100 Sex Offenders


Every year, the Big Event in Nexusville is the traditional town festival: Onamia Days! Having lived here for thirty years, you can imagine that I've been to a few of these, even participating upon occassion. I've ridden my horse in the Sunday parade down Main Street. (Of course, after some joker in the crowd thought it would be amusing to throw firecrackers at the horses, I never rode in the parade again.) Then of course, there's the beer gardens, midway, and all the fair food. I remember one year (long ago) being asked to dance - by a guy with a wooden leg. Really. Only in Onamia.
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As an artist, I've sold some of my miniature paintings in a booth on the sidewalk. I bet you didn't know that I painted. Mostly oils. I used to paint a lot. A couple of my acrylic miniatures are in a museum in Alabama. Yep. There's more to Hannabelle than just a nasty vocabulary. Hannabelle was a different person before Nexus... Actually, Hannabelle hibernated until Nexus set off the alarm which woke her up.
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The last time I attended the city celebration was five years ago. My illness makes it hard for me to get out and about, but that year I just had to have a corndog. You know? Fair food is good food that is bad for you. It's the only part of the event I miss though. Onamia Days does put on a pretty good fireworks display. But guess what? We can watch the show from the comforts of our own home, (whether we want to or not) right above the horizon where the sex offender facility is being built.
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Last year we boycotted Onamia Days because of Nexus and the city council. I know, I know... Since we rarely go anyway, nobody noticed that we weren't there. But still, there was a sense of personal satisfaction. A private little "fuck you", if you will.
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This year I had a bit of a dilemma though. I actually wanted to go. It's the Big Centennial Celebration!!! Onamia: 100 Years! 100 Sex Offenders! Larry Milton and the city council have made it their cause to make the town look good for the event. They made everyone mow their lawns. Whoop-di-do. Someone even mowed all the vacant buildings overgrown plots. I haven't looked lately, but I wonder if Larry did anything about the house nextdoor to his, which was boarded up after a fire several years ago, abandoned, looking like crap. Or did he make Bill Hill clean up around his grocery store? It's the first thing people see when they approach Onamia (Nexusville) - Councilman Bill Hill's mess. Probably not. I'm pretty sure that the council operates on an uncontested "Do as we say, not as we do" system. But I'll leave that discussion - bullying the citizens about the appearances of their homes - for another day.
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So, yes... the activist in me wanted to print up flyers and posters to distribute to all of the happy, drunken, brat-stuffed (and corndogged) folks at the festival to educate them to what really goes on in Nexusville. What a horrible place it has become. And no... I didn't bother.
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The real reason I wanted to go to Onamia Days was to see my old painting teacher - Ken Zylla, who was commissioned to paint the town portrait for the big 1-0-0 and was in town this weekend to sign and sell prints. Mom and I studied oil painting with Ken in his basement studio of his house in Hamel, Minnesota (long before I moved here). He is an incredible artist, a wonderful teacher, and a very nice guy. I haven't seen him in forty years. Wow!
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I decided not to go. What would I say to him? Would I tell him about how my terrific career as a performing musician, orchestra conductor, and college instructor had been tragically cut short by rare disease? How depressing is that? Would I thank him for teaching me the skills which at times really helped to supplement my meager income while I was going to school? And he'd ask if I still paint and I'd say no - all I do now is fight sex offenders and their handlers. How awkward. Could I compliment him on the fine job he did painting a beautiful portrait of Nexusville? Well, I could easily praise his work. It's a fine painting. But then, could I refrain from spewing forth about how much I hate this town and the people who chose to be bamboozled by the Pronexus rather than stand up for our rights as American citizens. You, dear readers, know how I can go off on a tangent. We may have been "Sacrificial Lambs", but it was the community that threw us to the wolves. I don't want to rain on Ken's parade, even if he isn't riding a horse.
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So no. I decided that the past is the past. Ken won't miss me at Onamia Days. Nobody will. But it makes me sad that I don't feel like I can just go there and talk with my former teacher and be cheerful and happy and tell him how proud I am of the town I've spent over half of my life and nearly 1/3 of the town's life. I'm ashamed of Onamia and its people who throw firecrackers at horses for entertainment and support forcing sex offenders next to day cares and vulnerable little old ladies. I'm ashamed of myself for living in such a place where the mayor is overly concerned with outward appearances - like short grass - but underly concerned about internal character and integrity - like protecting citizens.
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BUT, you say.... Hannabelle - you said "100 sex offenders" when there are only 94 convicted juvenile sex offenders at the Mille Lacs Academy! Why are you exaggerating?
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I'm not. Not at all. If anything, I'm underestimating. I'm counting the Nexus 94, and conservatively figuring in local adults. I'm pretty sure there are several more that I missed.
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So, if you happen to see Ken Zylla in Nexusville today, could you do me a big favor? Please tell him I appreciate everything he did for me. He had a very positive impact on my young life, and I'll never forget him. Who know, maybe some day I'll look him up and thank him myself. But not today... Not in Nexusville.

Friday, June 13, 2008

In the mind of a sex offender

Some people believe that there is no "cure". This poor troubled man was once a poor troubled boy. I don't hear any remorse. Do you? Would you want him to move in next door and be your neighbor? How about 94 hims?

StarTribune.com June 10, 2008

Audio Slide Show: Dennis Linehan: In the mind of a sex offender

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Basic Instinct

You know, sometimes it feels so good to be right about stuff, especially when it seems that you've been swimming against the tide. There is a certain self-satisfaction about being able to say "I told you so." The war in Iraq is a good example of what I mean. Not only was I against the war from the very beginning, I told Poncho "Something about this whole thing stinks". It didn't feel clean. No offense to any used car salesmen, but that is how the war in Iraq felt to me. Like we might get cheated. (And of course we did.) I felt that this war was being sold to us. I recognized tactics and strategies used on the American people that were meant to: bamboozle us, rally us, rile us, confuse us, redirect us, distract us, etc. etc. I have pretty good basic instincts, but why couldn't other people see what I saw? Why did they believe all the propaganda? Why didn't they question our leaders? Why didn't they say no? (I did. I wrote my representatives.)
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When it turned out that my suspicions were correct, that we'd been lied to, and that the American government had played us like proverbial fiddles, I didn't feel much like saying, "I told you so." In fact, I wished I hadn't been right about the war in Iraq, and about our own government which sacrificed our democracy for their own agenda. I felt sad that our country had come to this. I felt bad that the people allowed themselves to be hoodwinked. I felt ashamed to be part of an America I could barely recognize anymore. I didn't want to be right. I wanted to be proven wrong!
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When I learned that Nexus was infiltrating our neighborhood, not only was the invasion of Bradbury Township comparable on many levels to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, I also experienced those same negative feelings. Nexus was being "sold" to the community just as the war in Iraq had been. People were lied to about Nexus, and the same tactics and strategies were used by the government and the corporation itself to bamboozle the public for an independent agenda. This whole deal wasn't for the "good of the community", as advertised. It was solely for the good of Nexus the corporation, as well as a few individuals within the community who stood to gain from Nexus remaining in our community.
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Again, I was swimming against the tide. Again, I wanted to be wrong. But the more involved I became in trying to keep Nexus out of my neighborhood, the more I dug in, researched, learned and experienced, the more certain I was of just how right I am about them. I even gave them ample opportunities to prove me wrong. They never did. They only proved that my basic instincts about them were right on target. Its a BINGO, folks. As we stand now, the community continues to be bamboozled. But just like it happened with the war in Iraq, the Truth about Nexus will eventually come out. Its only a matter of time. I believe that once folks realize what has been done to our community, they will no longer stand for such oppression - by either the local government or any corporation which takes away the constitutional rights of We The People. Yes, as a community, we aren't the sharpest blades in the drawer. But that's also because so many people are trusting and totally unaware of the tactics used to keep them in line. One day, you can be assured that there will be an epiphany that will change the way people think about Nexus. Once that bubble bursts, it will never be the same. It is impossible to "un-know" something. And eventually, everyone will be unable to un-know what happened in Hannabelle's town.
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And when everyone knows what I know about Nexus and the local government of Onamia, I'm pretty sure I won't feel like saying "I told you so." But then, maybe I will. After all, I can be a real bitch.
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"If by the mere force of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written constitutional right, it might, in a moral point of view, justify revolution."
Abraham Lincoln

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Another Poor Troubled Boy


Charges: Masked rapist was sent to Minnesota after trouble back in D.C.
By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune
Last update: June 10, 2008 - 11:20 AM
Brian Donnell Bridges
A troubled young man who escaped an East Coast residential facility before being sent to an Iron Range juvenile detention home is accused of nearly choking the life out of a woman and repeatedly raping her in a middle-of-the-night attack that left her unconscious for a time.
Brian Donnell Bridges, 20, was charged Monday with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and one count each of burglary and third-degree assault.
According to the criminal complaint:

Bridges, a masked stranger to his victim, entered the woman's Hibbing home about 3:15 a.m. on June 3 -- either through an unlocked door or a screen that was cut -- and choked her, threatened to kill her and then raped her.
Then she passed out.

She soon came to on the floor next to her bed, struggling to catch her breath. As she started to pull herself to her feet, Bridges reappeared, put her on the bed, raped her again, threw her to the floor and demanded money. She told him about some coins in a can and a jar. As he asked where her purse was, he started choking her again and left.
The woman's collarbone was broken in the attack, during which she fought back, at times trying to kick him in the groin and reaching to gouge his eyes.

Bridges, a former Hibbing Community College student in the summer of 2007, was arrested two days later and is in the St. Louis County jail on $1 million bail. His next court appearance is Friday.
During questioning by police, Bridges denied the attack -- he offered two versions of where he was that night -- and acknowledged having to live in numerous facilities on the East Coast, having escaped from one in Pennsylvania. His transfer to the Mesabi Academy juvenile detention center in Buhl followed for what the charges described as "an unknown juvenile offense [that] occurred in Washington, D.C."

Star Tribune staff writer Pamela Huey contributed to this report.
Note by Hannabelle: Mesabi is comparable to the Mille Lacs Academy. We have been repeatedly assured that our citizens are safe - that these convicted sex offenders pose no threat or danger. But then, we have been repeatedly lied to also - especially about safety/criminal records. hmmm. You might think I'm weird, but I don't want someone like Brian as my new neighbor. 94 Brians...

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Goliath and Davidette

GOLIATH: SURPRISE! WE'RE MOVING IN! IT'S A DONE DEAL. THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. SO SIT DOWN, SHUT UP AND STAY OUT OF OUR WAY - OR ELSE.

davidette: Wait a minute. You can't do that. There are laws...

GOLIATH: LAWS? BWAHAHA! WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' LAWS! WE'RE BIGGER THAN ANY LAWS. WE DO WHAT WE WANT. WE CAN CHANGE ANY LAW THAT DOESN'T SUIT US. THAT'S POWER BABY, REAL POWER! NOTHING CAN STAND IN OUR WAY.

davidette: But you can't just barge in here. This is my home. I've been here for thirty years.

GOLIATH: SO? WHAT'S YOUR POINT? LOOK AT IT THIS WAY - YOUR CASA IS OUR CASA. WHAT'S YOURS IS MINE. HAVEN'T YOU BEEN WATCHING FOX NEWS? THIS IS HOW BUSINESS IS DONE THESE DAYS. WE WIN. YOU LOSE.

davidette: Wait. You don't understand. This is my life!

GOLIATH: YOUR LIFE? HAH! YOUR LIFE IS UNIMPORTANT. YOUR LIFE IS MEANINGLESS. SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP. YOU'LL ONLY GET IN OUR WAY. WE DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU. HEH HEH.

davidette: But you are hurting me. You're destroying everything I ever believed - about Humanity, about Freedom, about America... I have my Rights, you know.

GOLIATH: YOUR RIGHTS? YOU DON'T HAVE NO STINKIN' RIGHTS. WE BOUGHT YOUR RIGHTS, BABE. NOW GET OUT OF OUR WAY!

davidette: What about my Right to Freedom of Speech? You can't stop me from telling what you're doing here. You can't stop the Truth from coming out.

GOLIATH: IF YOU TELL, WE WILL KILL YOU!

davidette: Some things are worth dying for.

GOLIATH: YEAH, AND SOME THINGS ARE WORTH KILLING FOR. SO SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP BEFORE YOU MAKE US DO SOMETHING YOU'LL REGRET.

davidette: Why are you threatening me? Why are you torturing me? I've done nothing wrong.

GOLIATH: YOU'RE NOT SHOWING US PROPER RESPECT! HOW DARE YOU QUESTION OUR AUTHORITY! WE TOLD YOU - WE DO WHAT WE WANT. WE TAKE WHAT WE WANT. YOU HAVE NO CHOICES. YOU HAVE NO FREEDOMS. YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS. THOSE THINGS HAVE BEEN BOUGHT AND PAID FOR - BY US! DON'T FUCK WITH US, BITCH. WE CAN USE OUR MILLIONS TO DESTROY YOU. YOU CAN'T FIGHT US. YOU HAVE NOTHING. YOU ARE NOTHING.

davidette: But what you are doing is wrong. It is unethical. It's unconstitutional. You're right about one thing: I don't respect you. How could anyone respect you? You're nothing more than an evil bully going around pushing and shoving the little people, using tactics of fear and intimidation to get your way. You haven't been fair. You haven't been reasonable. You haven't been kind or decent. You certainly haven't shown me any respect. And all the lies you've told...

GOLIATH: HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH THINGS! DEFAMATION!!!! THAT'S IT! UP UNTIL NOW, WE HAVE TOLERATED YOUR LOUSY, MEANINGLESS EXISTANCE. BUT NOW, WE'VE HAD IT WITH YOU! LOOK WHAT YOU'RE MAKING US DO, YOU NAYSAYING BITCH! YOU BROUGHT THIS UPON YOURSELF! ITS YOUR OWN FAULT! WE'LL TEACH YOU A LESSON YOU'LL NEVER FORGET! WE'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S THE BOSS! SUBMIT, YOU PAIN IN THE ASS! SUBMIT! WE WILL CRUSH YOU! WE WILL SQUASH YOU LIKE A BUG! WE'LL TAKE YOU DOWN AND SUFFOCATE THE LIFE OUT OF YOU!

davidette: Why? Why are you doing this?

GOLIATH: BWAHAHA! BECAUSE WE CAN, YOU STUBBORN IDIOT! WE CAN AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP US.

davidette: But I can tell on you. I can tell them your secrets and show them what you really are. I might not have millions of dollars, but I do have a sling...

GOLIATH: NO!!! DON'T YOU DARE TRY IT! YOU'RE DEAD MEAT! DO YOU HEAR US? DEAD MEAT!!! FUCK YOU, YOU BITCH!!! FUCK YOU!!!!

davidette: hmmm. Fuck me? No. Fuck you.