Saturday, May 16, 2009

If You Tell, We'll Sue You!

Dear Readers,
This is a Mille Lacs News article about the SLAPP lawsuits, dated May 28, 2008 - reprinted here for your information.
If You Tell, We'll Sue You!

by Hannabelle
Mille Lacs News Staff Writer


"Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want rain without thunder and lightning."
Frederick Douglass

It would appear that Nexus is all in favor of Freedom of Speech - unless you say something they'd rather you not say - about them. The old mantra your mother may have taught you: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" seems to have become obsolete. According to the new lawsuit threatening Hannabelle, Nexus' stance is: If you can't say anything nice, we'll sue you.

And of course, Hannabelle can't find anything nice to say about Nexus. She has, however, taken up the role of Town Crier, letting the world know what she has found out about Nexus, in spite of the oncoming lawsuits meant to shut her up. Hannabelle can't say anything nice, but she keeps telling it like it is. But keep in mind that Nexus hasn't shown Hannabelle any of the "Minnesota Nice" that might temper her comments about the multi-million dollar private corporation which has forced itself upon her. They've been feeding her fire.

Jim D'Angelo - Plaintiff
The first defamation lawsuit facing Hannabelle was filed by former Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo and Nexus board member Peter Freeman, who is a college teacher in the Social Work Department at St. Thomas University. The D'Angelo portion of the lawsuit complains that Hannabelle called him "arrogant" and said that he is a "snake". One must wonder how this corporate president made it through grade school unscathed. Or perhaps he was indeed scathed. Of course, he will probably sue Hannabelle for mentioning that he might have been scathed... The point is, Hannabelle did not defame D'Angelo. If calling someone "Poopsie" is defamation, the courts would be filled with second graders.

Peter Freeman - Plaintiff
The Peter Freeman portion of the lawsuit is equally ridiculous. When Peter Freeman, a teacher of Social Work, used hostile tactics of ostracism against Hannabelle, he behaved in a manner incongruent with the mission of the University which employs him. Just hanging up the phone on someone is unprofessional and immature, but it can also be strategic. Freeman hung up on Hannabelle as soon as she identified herself, refusing to even listen to why she has contacted him. But it wasn't this typical Nexusian act - the Silent Treatment - that prompted Hannabelle to lodge a complaint against the professor - who has special interest in "scapegoating" by the way... Hannabelle, who was also a college instructor (before a health crisis left her permanently disabled), expressed her concern to the Dean of his department via a personal email, and only after Freeman sent a maliciously cruel response obviously meant to cause pain to her. It was this show of cruelty which disturbed Hannabelle. Now, keep in mind that Hannabelle didn't over-react by filing a formal complaint. She merely notified the Dean that one of St. Thomas' teachers had behaved badly. (An apology by Freeman would have gone a long way...) It was private and personal until Freeman himself couldn't let it go. He retaliated. Shortly thereafter, Hannabelle received the "We're gonna sue your ass" letter from D'Angelo and Freeman's lawyers.

Is litigation justifiable for a simple complaint?
Since when is it forbidden for a person to complain about being treated badly, (especially about someone who is forcing 94 convicted sex offenders down the street from her elderly, frail mom?) The First Amendment of our Constitution says that Freedom of Speech is not forbidden. It is something to be protected. It is something that makes us America. Both D'Angelo and Freeman are using this lawsuit to silence, damage and punish Hannabelle. Money might not be able to buy everything, but it can buy several lawyers unethical enough to wage a frivolous lawsuit intended to gag the Town Crier. Think about it... You are no longer allowed to complain about anything or anybody without the threat of a lawsuit against you? If that's the way it works, perhaps a countersuit against Peter Freeman is in order. After all, he complained about Hannabelle... when he sued her.

Nexus - Plaintiff
On the same note, Nexus is now threatening to sue Hannabelle for writing about and making a video which exposes the homicide of one of Nexus' clients by an employee of one of their affiliates - Gerard, in a former facility in Mason City, Iowa. Hannabelle made a comment that Nexus didn't like - so they are threatening to sue her for defamation. The comment? "Nexus - getting away with murder."

Getting away with murder
The interesting part is that in order to tell Hannabelle why her statement is "defamatory", the lawyers also proved her point. They basically emphasized that they got away with murder. The boy died in a "take-down" situation in a Nexus facility. He was smothered to death by the employee. The medical examiner ruled it a homicide. Yet, Nexus attorneys point out that Nexus was never charged. Exactly. The boy was killed. Nexus got away with murder. Is this defamatory? Nope. Opinion based on facts. Remember, Hannabelle has merely reported about Nexus. It is not Hannabelle's fault that Nexus has skeletons in their closets.

But why Nexus would want to go to court to explain the fact that one of their boys was killed by one of their employees is beyond me. There's sure to be negative publicity. In the discovery phase of the lawsuit, wouldn't all the nitty-gritty details come out? Dirty little secrets? The angry parents of the boy claimed that the employee had not received proper training. They intended to sue Nexus for the boy's death - but never did. Don't you wonder if there was a settlement and how much money Nexus paid to make this horrible situation go away? hmmm. Frankly, I'm surprised that Nexus didn't sue the boy's parents for expressing their anger about the homicide.

Suing their victims
The problem with Nexus is that they have victimized property owners in my neighborhood, then threaten to sue us if we complain - about having 94 sex offenders, a five building institutional complex in our rural area, about laws and ordinances being changed or ignored, our rights being disregarded, and the outright lies about safety/risk, etc.

Indeed, Nexus seems to utilize some of the very tactics of the sex offenders they purport to treat. If you study juvenile sex offenders, you will find that in order to control their victims, they often make threats like:

"If you tell, I'll kill you..."

Friday, May 15, 2009

millelacsnews.com

Good morning Readers,

And what a gorgeous morning it is. Its the kind of day that used to fill Poncho and I with absolute awe, as we took in the beauty of Nature and exclaimed, "Wow! I can't believe we live here!" Of course, that was before NEXUS.... Now its more like, "Shit! I can't believe we live here!" By now it should be pretty obvious that NEXUS stole our happiness and ruined our lives. They ruined yours too. Its just that some of you haven't realized it yet. Don't worry. Eventually you will...

The reason I'm writing to you today is to talk about the Mille Lacs News website. Its been a long time since I checked on it, even longer since I've worked on it, and last night I realized it is having problems with its pictures showing up, or if you are of the "half-empty glass" ilk, NOT showing up. My sincere apologies.

As you know, I created the Mille Lacs News to counter the pronexus propaganda imposed on the public by the local newspaper - the "real" newspaper.... You see, we don't have advertisers to answer to or worry about. We are free to write the Truth without the fear of losing accounts. I'm not saying that the Mille Lacs Messenger is in bed with the sex offenders, but you have to admit it is a pretty good metaphor. They certainly have treated the Mille Lacs Academy with "kid gloves".

I know.... eeeeeyooooo....

Anyway, here's the deal. Our war to save the neighborhood ended a year ago - when NEXUS broke ground and began destroying the 38.81 acres. We lost. Of course I'm bitter. Who wouldn't be? But, I had planned to "move on" with my life. What was left to fight for? Well, our rights, I guess. There was still the horrible city council which had changed or ignored the Law in order to serve a private corporation; a council of five poorly-educated incompetent wannabees who described citizens who opposed them as "outsiders"; who greedily chose their own personal agenda over our Constitutional Rights; who were derelict in their duties and failed We The People. Actually, they threw us under the bus....

There was also the Mille Lacs board of horrible commissioners... (I'm not through with them yet...) So, even though my neighborhood was lost, there were still issues to fight for (and against). Did I want to continue fighting? Well, to tell you the Truth (and I always do), I didn't think so. You The People re-elected these clowns in the last election. So be it. You made your bed, now lie with them in it.

My enemies wish I'd go away. They have told me so. They have, in fact, tried to force me to "go away". At least, that is what Jim D'Angelo said when I asked him why he was suing me. He said, "We thought you'd go away!" Later he lied (shock of shocks) on his sworn affidavit, denying that he said that. But of course, he did.

With the Freeman/D'Angelo SLAPP lawsuit and now the Nexus Inc SLAPP lawsuit, I have no real choice but to keep my website, my blog and my videos on the Internet. Kind of ironic. But in trying to bully me, to make me "go away", they have in fact, forced me to "stay".

All of this is a long explanation of why I will be working on fixing and improving the Mille Lacs News website. I may have lost the War against City Hall. Now there is another war to fight. The War against Nexus. The War against tyranny. The War against Big Business abusing the Justice System to crush We The Little People.

The War to protect our First Amendment Rights.

(sigh...) In my opinion, Nexus must be even stupider than I thought. (Go for it Vic!)
Oh what a beautiful morning.
Oh what a beautiful day.
I've got a beautiful feeling
everything's going my way.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Hannabelle: "I told you so".

Recently, a Mille Lacs Academy (NEXUS) sex offender escaped from the unlocked correctional facility. Apparently nobody working at the institution noticed he was missing for two hours. Where did he go? Well, presumably, he bee-lined to Onamia councilman Bill Hill's grocery store parking lot to steal a car. Maybe he didn't bee-line. Maybe he walked around in town for awhile. I don't know. We don't know. They don't let us know... No matter, the end result is that he stole a car and drove it all the way across the county and all the way to St. Cloud, Minnesota. The escaped convict is thirteen years old. Should he be driving??? hmmm. While "on the lam", he stole a laptop computer and pornography. This in itself might indicate the sick nature of these criminals.
***
When the "poor, troubled boys" are moved to the new facility, where will they go when they escape? Well, what do you think? Where will they find cars to steal out here?

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The sex offenders NEVER escape. Or so they tell us.

Dear Readers,

Brett Larson, editor of the Mille Lacs Messenger, often reprints articles written by other authors on his blog. So, in the same spirit of sharing the news, here is an article he wrote today. You can click the link to go to their website. (Tell 'em Hannabelle sent you.)

Mille Lacs Academy resident steals car

Written by Brett Larson
Wednesday, 06 May 2009 13:22


A 13-year-old boy from Mille Lacs Academy stole a car from a grocery store in Onamia and drove to St. Cloud, where he was apprehended Tuesday night with a stolen laptop and stolen pornography.
The boy was picked up at about 8 p.m. when St. Cloud police officers noticed a vehicle that had been reported stolen driving southbound on 33rd Ave. The police report says the vehicle had been left with the keys in it and that the boy had stolen a laptop computer from a landscaping company near Foley and pornographic materials from various gas stations.
The boy was being held in a secure detention facility until his first court appearance.
According to Onamia Police Chief Bob Matzke, the boy was reported missing from Mille Lacs Academy between 10 a.m. and noon on Tuesday. He said he filed his report with Mille Lacs County, but he expected the boy to be prosecuted in Stearns County. Matzke said the boy was a resident of Itasca County and was a "sneaky kid." "How he got out, I don't have a clue," Matzke said.
Paul Smith, the executive director of Mille Lacs Academy, acknowledged that the incident had occurred but could not provide any details beyond that because of confidentiality laws. "It happens," Smith said. "Once in a blue moon, but it happens." He said the Academy would be looking at policies to reduce the chance of it happening again.
He also provided the following written statement:
"Federal and State laws exist to protect the confidentiality of residents in our care. These laws are in place to contribute to the therapeutic environment so residents can fully benefit from treatment and make progress toward goals. Nexus takes these responsibilities seriously and we do not release any confidential information regarding our residents. "As active and responsible members of our community, Mille Lacs Academy takes its obligation to look out for the welfare of our residents as well as the welfare of our friends and neighbors. As part of a best practice effort, we regularly review all policies, protocols, and procedures to provide the best care for our residents and to maintain positive relationships in our community."