Bradbury Buzzz

Nexus Blinked

2012-01-16T08:56:00.004-06:00

I've been meaning to tell you how things turned out...

I won in the Minnesota Court of Appeals in the Nexus lawsuit and the case was sent back to District Court for a do-over. However, judge John Sommerville quit. The case was assigned instead to Joseph Klein. Ironically, I'd been a defendant longer than he'd been a judge. And whereas I should never have become a defendant, he should never have become a judge... But that's neither here nor there. I am no longer a Defendant. No doubt he will have a long and successful career in the Minnesota "Justice" System. What he lacks in knowledge of the Law, he makes up for in knowledge of politics. It helps to know which side of your bread is buttered, and by who.

I ran out of butter a long time ago. Didn't have much to begin with, but in the end I couldn't even afford a lawyer. But I didn't give up. (I never gave up!) Hannabelle became my lawyer. I am confident that at jury trial, she would have prevailed. But that day in court - MY day in court - didn't happen.

My trial was scheduled for September 6, 2011. Approximately one week before my trial, Nexus quit. Nexus moved to dismiss. And indeed, on the day my trial was slated to begin, Klein did what the corporation wanted and dismissed the case. He dismissed it without prejudice. Without prejudice means that Nexus and the court recognized that I was innocent of the charges of defamation. Nexus didn't want to face Hannabelle in front of a jury in court. It was over at last. In the four year "staring contest", Nexus blinked. I won. I beat them. Yay... Bring on the confetti.

It was a hollow victory. It was all such a waste.
Well, almost.

I abandoned my home in Onamia over a year and a half ago. I could not conceive of staying in such a community as this one had become - the one I'd once loved enough to put myself on the line for. Oh, don't get me wrong... There are good people in Mille Lacs County and if I thought real hard, I might even be able to give you a name or two. But for whatever reason - through fear, intimidation, apathy, or ignorance, the "good" people are powerless to stand up to the "bad" people. Mayor Larry Milton once called them "gutless". Maybe so. My guess is that it's just self-preservation. Look what happens when a person tries to express their opinions and do the right thing. Look what happened to me.

Anyway, in July of 2010, I packed up the remnants of my life and left Minnesota for good... well, other than those quick and nasty trips back for Nexus' court hearings... I left voluntarily - with my head held high, proud of what I'd tried to accomplish, still strong in principles and secure in the knowledge of who I am and what I stand for.

After what I experienced in my last years in Onamia, I never thought I could be happy again. But I am. I am still hurt, but the healing has begun. I moved to a very remote wilderness area that is exceptionally beautiful in both scenery and spirit. I already have a network of wonderful friends and neighbors - independent, good-natured folks that just wouldn't allow what happened in Onamia to happen here. For one thing, their sympathies lie with innocent victims, not with those who perpetrate the crimes that create victims. They have been very understanding and supportive of me. Not only have they made me feel welcomed and accepted, they've made me feel safe and protected. After the ostracism and harassment I experienced in Onamia - what I call "the New Minnesota Nice" - it is a little overwhelming to adjust to being treated with kindness and respect. But isn't that how it's supposed to be, after all? People caring for one another? Protecting our rights from corrupt government and greedy corporations? Standing up for each other? I believe that's how it should be. Happy MLK Day.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor;

it must be demanded by the oppressed."

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies,

but the silence of our friends."

Martin Luther King Jr.

Santorum - On Board for Poor Troubled Boys

2012-01-13T08:10:00.005-06:00

From 2007 to 2011, while Rick Santorum served on the board of directors of one residential treatment center for "poor troubled boys", I was totally engaged in a legal battle with another - a very similar institution in Onamia MN - the Mille Lacs Academy, owned by the Nexus Corporation. When I expressed my own concerns about building such an institution in my neighborhood, CEO Jim D'Angelo, board member Peter D. Freeman, and the Nexus Corporatino sued me for alleged "defamation". Of course I didn't defame them. That's ridiculous. But maybe there were reasons to silence me and frighten away any other would-be investigators who might scrutinize their facility and business practices.

Please click the following link to read this interesting article about a lot of alleged abuse, rape, neglect, murder, fraud, lawsuits... and see if you notice any parallels between these two institutions. You might find this article quite enlightening.

Rick Santorum-Linked Universal Health Services Facility: Fraud, Assault And Alleged 'Exorcism'

I'll have some more to say about this, after you've read the article. I welcome your comments.

Onamia Zoning Administrator Convicted for Child Porn

2011-10-19T09:21:00.005-05:00

Mickey Leroy Carter, who was the Onamia Zoning Administrator that conspired with the Onamia City Council in 2007 to circumvent city ordinances and Minnesota State Law (MN Stat. 462.357) for the purpose of erecting the Mille Lacs Academy 5-building business complex in a R1 Residential neighborhood has been awarded a felony conviction for the possession of child pornography.

According to Brett Larson's article published in the Mille Lacs Messenger, the original sentence of 18 months in state prison has been whittled down to a mere 60 days in jail with 5 years of supervised probation.

"As part of his sentence, Carter is also required to abstain from alcohol and controlled substances, keep the court informed of his current address, and register as a predatory offender. He is not allowed to have unsupervised contact with minors, unless preapproved, or to use the Internet without approval. He cannot possess firearms or dangerous weapons or pornographic materials and must supply a DNA sample and undergo random testing."

Although the Mille Lacs Messenger article reports how the police caught this predatory sex offender and briefly outlines the case against Mr. Carter, a former elementary school teacher, it does not mention Carter's role as city zoning administrator in the implementation of spot-zoning 96 convicted juvenile sex offenders in an unlocked facility built just a four minute stroll from small children at a daycare center.

"They seem to like what I do," said Carter in 2007, referring to the Onamia City Council, when citizens questioned him about his qualifications as zoning administrator. He admitted he had no qualifications or training, but was still given authority to mis-classify the sex offender facility as R2 Residential (instead of commercial or institutional) as well as spot zone the building site as R2 - all with the blessing of Onamia City Council members Mayor Larry Milton, Bob Mickus, Bill Hill, Jerome Kryzer, and Mark Loch. Milton, now deceased, was himself father to Sheldon Myron Milton, also a registered predatory sex offender. (See Predatory offender fails to register, Mille Lacs Messenger, March 8, 2011.)

The Onamia City Council may well have liked what Mickey Carter "did", as certainly did the Nexus Corporation - owner of the Mille Lacs Academy juvenile sex offender facility. They accomplished their goal, overcoming the laws forbidding their dream, as well as squashing the resistance of local citizens whose rights were abolished while the local government served the corporation instead of protecting its citizens. Yes, the Onamia/Nexus coalition got pretty much everything they wanted. Still, Minnesota Statute 462.357 succinctly states that:

"... a residential facility whose primary purpose is to treat juveniles who have violated criminal statutes relating to sex offenses or have been adjudicated delinquent on the basis of conduct in violation of criminal statutes relating to sex offenses shall not be considered a permitted use [in an area zoned residential]."

The Internet can be a wonderful tool... Perhaps things might have been different in Bradbury Township if the Onamia Zoning Administer had elected to use his computer (or his allegedly stolen school computer) to perform his job as a public servant- like researching Minnesota zoning laws for the good of the community .... rather than .... satisfying his personal desires.

Naw. Nothing can stop the inevitable.

Judge not, lest ye be judged

2011-09-10T21:40:00.003-05:00

from thinkprogress.org

43 HOUSE MEMBERS SLAM JUSTICES SCALIA, THOMAS, AND ALITO FOR ETHICS SCANDALS | As ThinkProgress previously reported, Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT) circulated a letter calling upon the House Judiciary Committee’s leadership to hold a hearing his bill ending the Supreme Court’s immunity to key judicial ethics laws. Murphy’s bill is inspired by numerous recent ethics scandals involving the Court’s most conservative members:

There have been alarming reports of justices – most notably Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito – attending political events and using their position to fundraise for organizations. These activities would be prohibited if the justices were required to abide by the Judicial Conference Code of Conduct, which currently applies to all other federal judges. [...]
Recent revelations about Justice Thomas accepting tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts from individuals and organizations who often have an interest in matters before the courts calls into question the Court’s impartiality. Canon 4D of the Code of Conduct incorporates regulations providing that “[a] judicial officer or employee shall not accept a gift from anyone who is seeking official action from or doing business with the court.” Yet Justice Thomas received a gift valued at $15,000 from an organization that had a brief pending before his Court at the very moment they gave him the gift. Incidents such as these undermine the integrity of the entire judiciary, and they should not be allowed to continue.

Forty-three Members of Congress have now joined Murphy’s call to end the Supreme Court’s ethics immunity.

Nexus - Leaving No Trees to Hug?

2011-08-16T10:32:00.005-05:00

More trouble for (and caused by) Nexus...

From the Mille Lacs Messenger:

Norway Pine lawsuit in Onamia

I can't get enough of these "I told you so" moments, and Nexus keeps providing me with plenty to gab about. Back in 2007, when the OACRG (Onamia Area Citizens for Responsible Growth) was battling the Onamia City Council as they forced the Nexus juvenile sex offender institution into our unwillingly ANNEXED residential neighborhood (MN Stat. 462.357, AND spot zoning, etc.) we ... expressed concerns about several issues.

One of our concerns was about the environmental impact of building the Mille Lacs Academy in the dictated location. We debated at length about the Rum River, Lake Onamia, wetlands and woodlands.... including technical stuff... like alluvial soil... We even wrote and started to distribute a petition for an environmental impact study - but gave up after we found out that it would be the city council who would decide (and they already had decided that such studies such as environmental impact and traffic weren't necessary.... since they also already decided to represent the interests of the corporation and the rest of the world be damned.) But after we were totally ignored by the Onamia City Council (at the time - Mayor Larry Milton, and Councilmen Bob Mickus, Bill Hill, Jerome Kryzer, and Mark Loch), once again Nexus proved us right. Who can forget that big oil spill that cost Nexus some $33,000 of your tax dollars for Minnesota Polution Control Agency fines for violations? [See: Wetland impacts, oil spill at Nexus site and Stormwater violations from Onamia Nexus project reported by the Mille Lacs Messenger].

Of course, the harm to our environment was just one of our concerns. If you recall, we were bothered by several things; for instance - the lack of security and the large number of escaping sex offenders. Well, have you read the sheriff's reports lately? Yep. I told you so. We were very concerned about taxes going up as our property values plummeted (Yep. I told you so.) We were concerned about not being able to sell our homes should we wish to leave a community which robbed us of our constitutional rights - such as the right to vote and/or run for office... which we were denied in the city of Onamia. (Yep. I told you so. My home has been on the market for over three years. Two others that I know of haven't sold either.) The list of Nexus problems goes on and on, folks, including the havoc they have reeked upon my family by suing me twice. Check out the Mille Lacs News for information and links.

Sooooo..... you say..... Just another bunch of tree-huggers whining about "Progress". Well, my friends, in order to be "tree-huggers" one needs trees to hug. And according to reports, Nexus chopped down a bunch of trees belonging to Citizen Bill Konze that it had absolutely no rights to whatsoever. But why doesn't this surprise me? Nexus is what Nexus is... It does whatever it wants - to benefit its own exclusive higher-ups. And nobody dare say no. Or else!

To quote Bill Konze quoting someone else as he summed up the futility of our situation in 2007.... "The Golden Rule: He who has the gold, rules." Nexus certainly has plenty of "gold". Taxpayer gold... Investment gold. Personally, I think they should use all that money to do good things - like help poor troubled boys [Criminal sexual conduct charge for Nexus worker ], perhaps better screening of potential employees?, pay their GOOD workers a decent wage, contribute to the community they have taken over, compensate people they wrong, as well as pay up for their mistakes - instead of using it to pay lawyers to sue outspoken people like me, circumventation.... manipulation... to get out of paying what they owe. Nexus has proven itself to be a big, bad wolf. And who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Why - everyone is.

Well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Good Neighbor Bill wins his lawsuit and gets a little of that gold to make up for at least some of the damages caused by the Nexus Corporation*. C'mon.... Certainly Nexus can't win ALL the time. Of course, money can't fix all ailments. It can't cure all the hurt. After the Mille Lacs County tax abatement meeting on December 4, 2007, Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo scorned Konze with a snide "Game over. You lost." Nice, huh? What a sensitive guy... Well, perhaps the "game" isn't over yet.

Good luck, Bill.

*According to the article in the Mille Lacs Messenger, Konze is suing the City of Onamia for damages caused by Nexus while constructing the juvenile sex offender facility. As I understand it, Konze is not suing the Nexus Corporation itself. Which is probably wise.... since Nexus' lawyers are still busy with me....

Is it Just Justice Just InJust? You be the Judge.

2011-08-11T12:19:00.005-05:00

Judge gets 28 years in 'kids for cash' case

One Nation with liberty and defamation for all

2011-07-19T22:12:00.006-05:00

By now, everyone who reads me knows about former Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo suing me because I called him "Poopsie" and said that he was "arrogant". And that Nexus board member Peter D. Freeman sued me because I embarrassed him when I said in a personal, confidential email that he was engaging in "unethical, immoral, and possibly even illegal" activities. (It wasn't defamation - it was my constitutionally protected opinion plus the truth. What he was involved with really is illegal*.) The Nexus Corporation sued me because after a zoning public hearing I used an idiom - saying that Nexus "got away with murder."

Now, for all of you who were so shocked and horrified by me - to the point where you think I deserved to be sued and harassed for four years, losing everything - my life savings, my music publishing business, my home, my community, my neighborhood, my friends, and my reputation - because I tried to do what I believed was the right thing to do (i.e. keep governmentally imposed sex offenders away from day care and vulnerable elderly widows and stand up for everyone's rights) here' a video for you to watch. (This means you too Victor... Marilyn? No, I don't suppose so...)

Now, please pay attention not only to the words of Bill Maher, but also to the words used in the discussion about his words. Everyone is bashing everyone - and it seems a bit worse than anything I ever said.... and keep in mind, I was trying to protect my family and save my neighborhood. Also, please take special note of the repeated use of the idiom "getting away with murder" - the exact specific phrase Nexus sued me for saying.

So do you still think I deserved to have my life ruined because I called poor D'Angelo "Poopsie"?

Should I have been judged the way I've been? Or alternatively, should Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman sue Bill Maher? And should Bill Maher sue Sean Hannity and his two guests?

Why is Freedom of Speech a Constitutional Right for all American citizens - except for me? Hennepin County 4th District Court Judge Marilyn Brown Rosenbaum recently censored one of my articles - "No Blood on My Hands - Peter D. Freeman", ordering me to remove it from the Mille Lacs News, although there was no defamation in it. It was just an article to let you know what's going on with the lawsuits. Freeman said that simply by my writing about the lawsuit he himself instigated, he was embarrassed and therefore the article should be removed. What kind of person, let alone a judge would buy into that kind of crap? At this point, I will refrain from further comment.

Lots to think about... Lots to talk about... and, lots to write about...

*Minnesota Statute 462.357

Peter Freeman Wins His Battle AGAINST Free Speech

2011-07-17T11:04:00.008-05:00

On July 7, 2011 Hennepin County 4th District Court Judge Marilyn Brown Rosenbaum granted Nexus Board Member Peter D. Freeman's injunction to compel the removal of an article written by Hannabelle about the court cases against her - specifically, the January 22, 2010 article "No Blood On My Hands". The article contained absolutely no defamation. It was simply an explanation - or DEFENSE - written for people (like Judge Rosenbaum) who just didn't understand my position, my motivation, or my methods. Once again, as he stated in his testimony at my trial, Peter Freeman was embarrassed about what I said. He didn't exactly "claim" - but rather suggested that the possible reason he is having difficulty landing clients at Omicron Dynamics, (his consulting business) was due to Hannabelle exercising her (former) Right to Free Speech on the Internet as she reported about his lawsuits against her.

Rosenbaum's ruling raises some important issues. Should a district judge have the power to control a citizen's speech through censoring our reporting the truth and offering our Constitutionally protected opinions on the grounds that someone is embarrassed by the truth or by the expression of our opinions?

Think of the consequences! Let me give you an example: There has been quite a national hullabaloo recently about the verdict in the Casey Anthony case. Not since the O.J. Simpson verdict has there been such an outpouring of opinion over a trial. Yet, imagine if a Minnesota District Court Judge rules that no one is allowed to talk about it? Should we never mention it again? Just pretend it never happened? Or do we have the right to discuss our opinions about the case, the verdict, - whatever our views may be? Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Connelly ruled in my case that Freedom of Speech extends to the Internet. Does that mean that we are free to express our opinions on a blog? Or can Judge Rosenbaum shut us all down if she doesn't like what we wrote (even if it is the truth)?

From the beginning of the Nexus/Onamia takeover of Bradbury Township in 2007, I have made some pretty bold statements and several predictions. Unfortunately, almost all of them have already come true. Now, I'd like to warn you about the outcome of Judge Rosenbaum's censorship. It might be just one innocent article on an unimportant person's blog - at first. But if someone doesn't do something to stop this, Freedom of Speech will soon be a wistful memory. I'm doing what I can to stand up for Free Speech. But I can't do it alone. We must all protect our rights. Or - alternatively, we shall have no rights.

Peter Freeman blames me for his lack of clientele. I could also blame him for my lack of a buyer. I've not been able to sell our farm in Onamia. I think it is due to that sex offender institution down on the corner. But can I say that? Will Nexus SLAPP me with another defamation lawsuit? Will Judge Rosenbaum order that I cannot express my opinion? Or will she say that Freeman has more rights than I do?

Personally, I believe that if I must tear down my article because of perceived potential damage to Freeman's client list, then - to be fair - Freeman must tear down his sex offender institution because of perceived potential damage to my buyers list. What do you think? Does anyone dare express their opinions anymore?

If you're not outraged, you're no paying attention.

"Criminal Sexual Conduct Charge for Nexus Worker"

2011-07-12T15:08:00.004-05:00

Reprinted from the Mille Lacs Messenger today. (I sure hope Nexus and their employee don't sue them for "defamation". I really hope they don't sue me again for sharing the information - as seems to have become habit.)

"Criminal sexual conduct charge for Nexus worker
Tuesday, 12 July 2011 10:13

John Michael Packard, 29, an employee of Mille Lacs Academy in Onamia, was charged with criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree after a client at the facility said the two had inappropriate contact.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Mille Lacs District Court, a Mille Lacs County investigator was told by a student at the Academy that Packard had touched him inappropriately, asked him to expose himself, and allowed him to view inappropriate material on his computer.Packer admitted that the boy had touched him inappropriately and that he may have touched the boy inappropriately over his clothing, the complaint states. The maximum penalty for criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree is 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.

Mille Lacs Academy Acts on Allegations of Inappropriate Staff Behavior
Tuesday, 12 July 2011 13:36

Mille Lacs Academy released this statement on Tuesday, July 12: "In response to recent allegations of inappropriate staff behavior with a youth in residence at the Academy, Mille Lacs Academy administration took immediate, appropriate action to investigate and report the incident to proper authorities, including state and local agencies and law enforcement. Swift action was taken by MLA administration to ensure the continued safety of all youth in the Academy’s care. Due to confidentiality constraints, the names of the parties involved and the details related to the investigation cannot be released."

PETTY-COATed inJUNCTION

2011-05-30T09:18:00.004-05:00

How I wish that Nexus board member/co-plaintiff Peter D. Freeman - psychotherapist, would stop giving me so much to write about. Last December, Judge Rosenbaum denied his motion for an injunction to abolish Hannabelle's First Amendment Rights. Freeman claims that Hannabelle had "embarrassed" him, and he wanted the judge to make her stop... to Order her to stop writing on the Internet. Can you imagine abusing the court in this way? For a self-purported expert in conflict resolution to more or less run whining to teacher instead of dealing with his problem himself, well... I guess I'd be embarrassed too, if I were him.

Now he's crying about an article I wrote in the Mille Lacs News back in January 2010. "No Blood on My Hands" is an explanation of the analogy I used in the private, confidential email I sent to Freeman's superior back in 2007, asking her to help us by convincing Freeman that convicted sex offenders in an unlocked sex offender facility do not belong next to day care and elderly widows. Now, that might have been the end of it, but Freeman sued me - placing that private, confidential email into the public record. In my opinion, that was kind of stupid. What did he think would happen when someone Googled him? Duh. But that's just my Constitutionally protected opinion.

I felt I had to explain the analogy - where I told how Freeman, who isn't part of our community, was making decisions that "destroyed a village". I wanted there to be no misunderstandings about my analogy. I went through it quite thoroughly. And I stand by what I said. In my opinion, it was the perfect analogy. Certainly, the "village" was destroyed for yours truly. I don't think Onamia will ever be the same. A lot of people suffered because of Nexus. Being their scapegoat, it was worse for me. Freeman and D'Angelo and their Nexus corporation displayed their "cornerstone values" as they destroyed my life. Mission accomplished.

So Freeman is now seeking another injunction to force Hannabelle to remove "No Blood on My Hands", charging her once again with "defamation". I wouldn't be surprised if this article I'm writing here doesn't show up in his next attempted injunction. I suppose he could drag me back into court every time my fingers touch the keyboard.

What's troubling about this current injunction is that Freeman wants to blame me for his failure to draw clients for his new consulting business. According to his own sworn testimony:

Freeman: "I can only conjecture, because I can't prove it's happened, but someone considering me for a contract and Googling my name and considering other people at the same time, seeing "bad professional judgment", "bad professional behavior", they might go, well, we don't know if this is true; but it's also, if it was me, quite frankly, I would likely go, maybe we should take a pass because I would feel too embarrassed to go back to this Peter Freeman and say, you know, we saw this on the web, can you explain it to us?" (Freeman testimony from the transcript in the Freeman and D'Angelo vs. Hannabelle trial. Thank you Victor.)

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO YOUR OPINION - ONLY AS LONG AS IT IS THE "RIGHT" OPINION? THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES GRANTS EVERY CITIZEN THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH - UNLESS WHAT YOU SAY EMBARRASSES PETER FREEMAN? No Dear Readers... this is not the American way. We must all be accountable for what we say and what we do. Even Peter Freeman.

It is my opinion that Freeman keeps making mountains out of molehills for himself. If he hadn't sued me, this pissing contest would have been over three years ago with the slaying of the first 200 year old pine tree on the ill-fated building site. I wouldn't have published the private, confidential email I sent. I wouldn't have felt the need to defend my analogy in an article about the Freeman/D'Angelo lawsuit. And I wouldn't be writing this now.

My mission was only to save my neighborhood from Nexus' sex offenders and from the malfeasant local government that was circumventing laws to make it seem "legal" to put a juvenile sex offender treatment center in an R1 residential area. (Mission Failed.) It was never about Peter Freeman or his business or his career or anything about him personally. I have no vendetta against him. Look - I didn't lodge a formal complaint about him; I asked someone with influence to help convince him he was making a mistake - a mistake that could very well embarrass him in the future. I didn't harass him with lawsuits; I wrote about the lawsuits he harassed me with. I don't know - and don't care - how good or bad he is as a psychotherapist. To all of you potential Freeman clients - hey, go ahead and give him a try. Don't let anything I said about his role in the Mille Lacs Academy relocation stop you. Who knows - maybe in other circumstances Freeman is the best damn psychotherapist in the world. But I stand by my opinion that in this particular situation of putting sex offenders next to day care, he exercised poor judgment. And in suing me, he continues to do so. He extends his spot in my limelight each time he abuses the Justice System to bully me into silence. Why does he keep repeating the same strategy? I don't know.

I believe with all of my heart that we still have the Right to Freedom of Speech, even if it means telling ugly things that people have done to us. Even if it embarrasses them. As long as it is the Truth. Our opinions are still Constitutionally protected, at least for now. We'll see if they still are after Judge Rosenbaum makes her decision at the June 22 injunction hearing.

If I were you, Dear Readers, I'd keep my fingers crossed for Hannabelle on this one. If I lose my Freedom of Speech, you will also lose yours. And Peter, this includes you; You will also lose yours.

A Fool for a Lawyer

2011-04-27T20:25:00.002-05:00

Comment:

"I'm following your case. You had a lawyer, but now you are pro se. May I ask why?"

Okay!!!!

Now, for all of you who have yet to be sued, let me start with a few legal definitions.

Pro se legal representation means advocating on one's own behalf before a court, rather than being represented by a lawyer. [Wikipedia]

Pro bono legal representation is a fantastical, nonsensical myth, often perpetuated in fictional stories popular in movies and television that lawyers will gladly represent you for free if you don't have enough money to buy them a new house . [Hannabelle]

Blood-sucking Lawyer is self-evident and needs no explanation.

We all know the old proverb “He who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client”. In my case, it's more like "She who represents herself has a fool for a lawyer." It was not my choice to go "pro se". After four years of the two frivolous lawsuits SLAPPed on me by Nexus, Jim D'Angelo (aka "Poopsie") and Peter D. Freeman (self-proclaimed specialist in "scape-goating"), I simply ran out of money. The lawsuits cost me my life savings and socked me into over $20,000 in debt.

My financial demise was no accident on Nexus' part. They counted on it. In fact, it's why they sued me in the first place. It's call a SLAPP (Strategic lawsuit against public participation.)

Of course, the lawsuits have cost Nexus a whole lot of (taxpayer) dollars too. Once again - where is the outrage? This company is using YOUR taxes to fund lawsuits against a private citizen, lining the pockets of their own blood-sucking lawyer instead of using the money to help kids.... What would all those county boards think if they knew?

There are only a few things in life that I'm good at, and being a lawyer isn't one of them. So yes, acting pro se, I have a fool for a lawyer. It's a matter of opinion whether or not my lawyer has a fool for a client. At least the jury is still out on that....

Onamia Zoning Guy BUSTED!

2011-04-23T22:18:00.007-05:00

Mille Lacs Messenger: Man Charged with Possession of Child Pornography

Yep. That's right, folks.

It's Mickey Carter, the Onamia Zoning Administer who intentionally mis-zoned the 38.81 acres from R1 to R2 in order to circumvent Minnesota State Law 462.357 which states that a juvenile sex offender treatment center (such as the Mille Lacs Academy) SHALL NOT be permitted in R1 zoned areas (such as the Bradbury R1 zoned neighborhood.) He knew what he was doing was wrong. He did it anyway.

Mickey LEROY Carter. When someone gets caught committing a serious crime, suddenly that middle name becomes prominent... When Mille Lacs Academy Executive Administrator Paul Smith got convicted for embezzlement, theft, lying to authorities, and fraud, he suddenly became Paul LYNN Smith. And the crimes these men have committed (allegedly in Carter's case as he has yet to be tried and convicted) are indeed serious.

Back in 2007, I wrote a letter of complaint about the Zoning Guy and submitted it to the Onamia City Council - who of course did NOTHING. Because you see, Mickey Carter is part of their group. He's one of them. One of their Good Ol' Boys Network. A network with at least one alleged pedophile who worked hard on improper (some would say "illegal") zoning through months of local property owners' opposition, to ensure that the Nexus sex offenders got a state-of-the-art unlocked facility just a four minute stroll to the day care center.

Kind of makes a guy wonder about Mickey's true motivation...

And this on the heels of Mayor Larry Milton's predatory sex offender son Sheldon MYRON Milton getting arrested for failing to register in Onamia as a sex offender. Mille Lacs Messenger: Predatory Offender Fails to Register (March 8, 2011)

It's starting to appear that in Onamia, there are more sex offenders outside of the sex offender institution than in... Boy was I naive! I accused the city council of conflict of interest because Councilman Bill Hill owned the grocery and gas... I mean, who'da thunk it?! These new revelations put a whole new spin on the conflict of interest issue... I always thought it was strange that Larry Milton was so proud to have the Mille Lacs Academy sex offender facility as his legacy. What a strange legacy. Now it's all starting to make a little more sense. They named their driveway after him, you know. Perhaps they should have named it after his son Sheldon... And Mickey Carter? I remember asking him for his zoning administrator credentials at a public hearing. He admitted "I don't have any - but they [the city council] seem to like what I do." Ha! I bet they do.

Mickey LEROY Carter used to own the Book Nook in town where he sold used books and rented out videos - including pornographic videos. It seems he was a "dealer" who provided the town with smut. More recently, he claims to be a "Godly" man and is/was a prominent member of the Onamia United Methodist Church. "The Mission of the Onamia Church is to live out Christ's example in the community and the world, serving people of all backgrounds, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or disabilities, thereby opening its doors to all people." I gotta ask: Is pedophilia a sexual orientation? Is Mickey Carter living out Christ's example? Anyway, I'm shocked. I thought all of the Onamia pedophiles were over at Crosier...

Carter did more than peddle porn though. Before he retired, he was a teacher at the elementary school in town. I don't even want to think about that... But perhaps we should.

Sex Offenders, Lies, and Videotape

2011-04-12T11:55:00.003-05:00

For the past four years, I've talked a lot about Rights and how the Onamia City Council* took ours away when they joined forces with the Nexus Corporation to put sex offenders next to day care. Watching as the local government changed and amended ordinances, ignored state statutes like MN 462.357, we realized that we DON'T have Rights. At least, not if our rights get in the way... And of course, ours did. Our "Rights" became an inconvenience to the Nexus Agenda, so the government simply removed them.

Another topic I often bring up is the fact that Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo committed perjury. I called him a liar many times - having written documentation and lots of witnesses to prove it. But I couldn't prove that he lied on a sworn affidavit by swearing that he didn't say he sued me because he thought I'd go away. I had no documentation other than my own journal. BUT, both D'Angelo and I know he said it. We both know he lied under oath about it. Unfortunately, the judge was clueless and ruled against my motion to dismiss under the MN Anti-SLAPP law. Once again, D'Angelo got away with murder.

I hope you enjoy today's video.

*In 2007, the Onamia City Council = Larry Milton, Mayor of Onamia and Councilmen Bob Mickus, Bill Hill, Jerome Kryzer, and Mark Loch; Also involved - Zoning Guy Mickey Carter; Clerk Kathleen McCullum; and of course City Lawyer Bob Ruppe.

It's Only Words - Seven of Them

2011-04-10T09:21:00.009-05:00

WARNING: The following will no doubt be offensive to some of you. So if you can't handle it, don't read it. I mean... it's only words. But some people get pretty freaked out by words.

It's Only Words

In the late 1960s and early 70s there was a lot of controversy over words, especially "dirty" or "inappropriate" words broadcast on television. In 1972, American comedian George Carlin first listed in his monologue "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television", following the arrest of Lenny Bruce for using the words in his act.

List of seven words George Carlin said you can never say on television:

In 2007 Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo and Peter D. Freeman sued Hannabelle for words she said in her opinion blog "The Bradbury Buzzz". The lawsuit charged that Hannabelle's words were "scurilous" [scur-ri-lous. adj. 1. Given to the use of vulgar, coarse, or abusive language; foul-mouthed.] and "defamatory" [de-fam-a-to-ry. adj. 1. (Law) injurious to someone's name or reputation].

Although both Freeman and D'Angelo admitted at trial that their names and reputations had NOT been injured, they persecuted Hannabelle in a lengthy court battle. D'Angelo admitted that several of the words he charged as defamatory were indeed NOT defamatory. Eventually both Plaintiffs dropped the lawsuit in December 2010, in order to avoid a jury trial and because they could not prove any damages. But they continued seeking an injunction to remove the blogger's Freedom of Speech. Judge Marilyn Rosenbaum refused to impose an injunction on Hannabelle. Freeman and D'Angelo wasted a whole lot of money, walking away with absolutely nothing.

List of seven words Jim D'Angelo said you can never say in a blog:

Egocentric
Arrogant
Snake
Narcissistic
Cold-blooded
Liar
Heartless (missing a heart)

Yes, these are some of the actual words in his lawsuit against me. Of course, to be fair, I DID use them while offering my opinion of him personally as he bullied his sex offender institution into my unwilling neighborhood. What can I say? D'Angelo was the aggressor. He selected MY home territory to invade with his sex offenders. He bamboozled the people in MY home town with false promises of jobs and money. He did not have to be so brutal when I opposed him. He chose to be. I honestly believe that he liked it! I based my opinion that he's a sadist on my personal experiences in dealing with him. I had evidence that he is a liar. He even lied on a sworn affidavit, committing perjury.

Hannabelle: Why are you suing me?

D'Angelo (laughing): We thought you'd go away!

D'Angelo: Keep sending me emails. I enjoy them.

Hannabelle: But you never write back.

D'Angelo: I don't want to give you the satisfaction.

D'Angelo : We WILL be neighbors!

Nothing I said or did could stop D'Angelo. My life was being ruined. What could I do? I used WORDS in self-defense. But I didn't defame anyone.

Ironically, the fact that Poopsie sued me kind of supports what I said about him, don't you think? Wouldn't it have been more professional to address my concerns and treat me like a human being rather than act like he did: ignoring me [the Silent Treatment is one of the most cruel forms of social punishment], refusing to answer my emails [didn't want to give me satisfaction?], belittling me in public, [like when he announced at the Onamia City Hall that he thought I was responsible for my mother's perforated ulcer], calling on his employees and MLA supporters to harass me [using the company intranet to rally the troops], etc. Wouldn't one expect a little more compassion from the CEO of the NEXUS corporation - the one who boasts of "cornerstone values"? The company that's suppose to help poor troubled boys? After all, the fight was over after the first bulldozer tore down the first 200 year old pine tree. The lawsuits were merely punishment. I was a scapegoat, an example for the rest of the town...

Also ironic is that when I began using words to fight for my cause, I researched "defamation" to make sure that I didn't cross any line. I learned that if you tell the truth and offer your opinion, you're safe from being charged. I was careful. Nothing I said was, according to law, defamation. They SUED me ANYWAY- probably using Minnesota and Illinois tax dollars. [In the settlement proposal, Nexus attorney Victor Lund said that Nexus, which subsists on tax dollars would pay for Freeman and D'Angelo...]

The nine words of Lenny Bruce and the seven words of George Carlin ended up in the Supreme Court. Nearly four decades later, the words of Hannabelle ended up in Hennepin County Fourth District Court. Although by denying Freeman and D'Angelo's injunction Hannabelle won the case, Judge Marilyn Rosenbaum ruled that her words were defamatory. The Law says they aren't. The judge says they are. What's a girl to do? Laws have become meaningless in Minnesota. Just ask Johnny Northside who was found guilty of defamation even though he told the truth.

I told the Truth. If I was a rich CEO with political connections, maybe Rosenbaum would have believed me... I wonder if she even read the documents. Freeman and D'Angelo offered no evidence. Not a shred of evidence. At least I won, but while doing so, I lost everything - even my reputation. Go figure.

Freedom of Speech: 7 Dirty Words - Check out Wikipedia.

The FCC regulations regarding "fleeting" use of expletives were ruled unconstitutionally vague by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York on July 13, 2010, as they violated the First Amendment due to their possible chilling effects on free speech.

It's Only Words

It's only words and words are all I have (to take your heart away.)

One Step Forward, Five Decades Back

2011-04-09T13:54:00.006-05:00

In our last episode [see MY Life on the D (defamation) List] we watched Fox News commentators display their outrage at somebody's use of words. WORDS. According to these so-called critics and social brain-washers, Kathy Griffin's WORDS were "inappropriate". In the clips they used, the "inappropriate" WORDS were bleeped. We aren't even allowed to hear the "inappropriate" WORDS. Fox News let us know that PEOPLE who use "inappropriate" WORDS are not to be tolerated in our society, but are to be scorned. If we aren't allowed to hear the "inappropriate" WORDS, how are we to learn which WORDS are "inappropriate"? Methinks, to be safe, one should perhaps keep thy mouth shut at all times. Remember: you still have the Right to Remain Silent. No one mentions Freedom of Speech or the 1st Amendment, do they? Not at Fox News.

The problem: Kathy Griffin didn't show Jesus the proper respect. She also uses "foul language". They don't think she's "funny". They are aghast at the WORDS.

When I asked convicted felon former Mille Lacs Academy Executive Director Paul Lynn Smith why the Nexus CEO was suing me, he answered with Fox News inflection: "You didn't show Mr. D'Angelo proper respect." Oh my... Who does MR. D'Angelo think he is? Jesus Christ? You can SUE someone for not showing "proper respect"? What IS "proper respect"?

How about declaring that you're building an unlocked correctional facility for 94 convicted sex offenders where tax paying property owners do NOT want it. Is THAT showing "proper respect"? How about disregarding the rights of long-term residents so that YOU can make a ton of money? Is THAT showing "proper respect"? Is "proper respect" a Constitutional Right? Let's look at this... SHOULD Jesus have SUED Kathy Griffin for defamation??? SHOULD Jim D'Angelo have SUED Hannabelle for defamation?

One thing the Fox News flock of angry chickens got right - using "inappropriate" WORDS and saying "outrageous" things DOES capture attention. And now you know the method to Hannabelle's madness. During the battle to save the Bradbury neighborhood, she wanted and NEEDED people's attention. Hannabelle's role was to stir the pot, throw a few dead mice into the recipe. She acted as "bad cop". My mission was to get people to THINK. To bring our cause to the forefront. The trouble was - there were no "good cops" in my neighborhood. Know why? Because my neighbors were all afraid of offending people! I don't understand this... THEY weren't the ones using "inappropriate" WORDS. Yet, although they adamantly opposed the location of the Mille Lacs Academy as much as I did, they were too stifled by their fears of social repercussions to risk voicing their opinions. Without the "good cops", there were no stars for anyone to hitch their wagons to. There was only Hannabelle and her WORDS. Scary, naughty, offensive WORDS. Tsk. Tsk.

Some people are champions of Freedom. They're willing to risk a lot - even themselves - for the principles our country was founded on - things like Free Speech, Freedom of the Press, Life, Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness, Liberty, and Justice for ALL... Other people? Uh... Not so much. They don't want to offend anyone. Which side do I wish to align myself? The Fox News WORD Police???? Well, obviously I have already chosen the side which defends freedom for individuals and their rights. (In case you didn't get that, I'm NOT a member of the Fox News chicken coop.) Nor do I support the so-called "for the good of the community" argument promoted by self-serving propagandists like the Nexus/Onamia Coalition that take those rights away from individuals. Call me crazy, but I never approved of Communism.

I am not afraid to stand up for what I believe in. And although I've always known the power of WORDS, I've never been afraid of WORDS. Now, the ACTIONS behind the WORDS... That's something else. And we should all be afraid - be very afraid - when someone like Jim D'Angelo targets YOU - because not only might he claim the right to dictate YOUR destiny, he has proven that he will take drastic measures to ruin YOUR Life, take away YOUR liberty, and destroy YOUR happiness - if you don't show him "proper respect". I know. He sued me because my WORDS offended him. He sued me because I called him "Poopsie".

(Sorry the video is a bit bigger than the confines of this blog space - but then Lenny Bruce was a bit bigger than the confines of his space in time - as well as our Fox News times...)

MY Life on the D (defamation) List

2011-04-08T20:20:00.005-05:00

Dear Readers,

In 2007, as you know, Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo and Nexus board member Peter D. Freeman sued me for defamation. Yes, it is true I called D'Angelo "Poopsie", said he was arrogant and egotistical, and I made fun of him a lot. Yes, it is true that I contacted Peter D. Freeman's supervisor in the Department of Social Work at St. Thomas University to ask her to help convince Freeman to stop the Nexus/Onamia coalition from building a sex offender facility in our residential neighborhood. The question is - should I have been put through the legal ringer for being a whistle-blower? Should I have been SUED for standing up for citizens' rights? For the last four years, these corporate crybabies have persecuted me - using the Minnesota "Justice" System. Nexus Corporation also sued me after I reported that a child was killed at one of their institutions - when in fact, a child DID die at the hands of a Nexus employee. I told the Truth.

Can you be sued for defamation if you told the Truth? Can you be sued for expressing your personal opinion? Can you be sued for offending someone? Can you be sued simply for embarrassing someone? Can you be sued for defamation even if you did not defame anyone?

Yes. If you live in Minnesota you can. Just ask Hannabelle and fellow blogger Johnny Northside.

Stay tuned as the Bradbury Buzzz explores these "defamation" cases, and examines the significance of Freeman/D'Angelo vs. Hannabelle and Nexus vs. Hannabelle. Your Freedom of Speech is in jeopardy. Do you really want to live in fear of being sued for anything you might say?

On Wisconsin, On Wisconsin

2011-03-10T12:09:00.006-06:00

Written on March 10, 2011

I hope you are following the news about what has happened in the state of Wisconsin. It is eerily similar to what took place in Onamia, Minnesota four years ago when city attorney Bob Ruppe and the Onamia City Council manipulated the laws which should have kept Jim D'Angelo and the Nexus Corporation from building an unlocked juvenile sex offender facility in my residential neighborhood. Government take-overs aren't pretty. In both cases, the government had its own agenda. In both cases, nothing would stop them from achieving their goal; not even the law.

Yesterday in Wisconsin, a group of Republican senators called an impromptu meeting to quickly pass a controversial bill (concerning Unions and the right to collective bargaining), despite the lack of a quorum and in clear violation of the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law. Some of you might remember when the Onamia City Council used similar tactics in the Nexus controversy. You might have heard that a group of Wisconsin Democrats fled the state as a matter of principle - in order to thwart the passing of this bill by refusing to form the required quorum. In Onamia we had Councilman Jerome Kryzer and Mickey Carter the Zoning Guy fleeing the state because they prefer a warmer climate and don't actually live in Onamia for months during the winter. Add to the scanty attendance record of then councilman, now mayor Bob Mickus and oh what the hell - Quorum Schmorum - let's pass the stuff anyway... (that seemed to be their plan until they were challenged by citizens. (see my videos) Had we not been there to stop them??? In Onamia, they postponed the vote until they had a quorum. In Wisconsin, they bulldozed ahead without one.)

Open Meeting Law violations were prevalent in both Onamia, Minnesota as well as in Wisconsin. The Cheeseheads voted their Aye Aye Aye Ayes amidst shouts of "This is illegal!!!!" In Onamia, we not only told the city council it was illegal, we provided copies of laws, including MN. Statute 462.357 which states that juvenile sex offender treatment centers shall not be permitted in a R1 zoned residential area. However, nothing we said, nothing we did made a difference. Because? Because they did what they wanted! The Onamia City Council: Bob Mickus, Bill Hill Jr., Mark Loch, Jerome Kryzer, and led by Mayor Larry Milton did whatever it took to pass whatever it took to assure that Nexus would succeed in forcing convicted sex offenders next to day care and little old ladies. There was no discussion. All votes were unanimous.

But there are differences between the Wisconsin government takeover and the Onamia government takeover. The good people in Wisconsin had the courage, the wisdom and the GUMPTION to protest the outrageous acts of a corrupt government run amuck as it threw Democracy out the window. Folks recognized safety in numbers; the power of the people. For the most part, the good people in Onamia remained silently complacent, or complacently silent as they stood on the sidelines watching their corrupt government represent and support a rich corporation while selling the Rights of citizens, including themselves. And yes, the council threw Democracy out the window.

I think it's safe to say that no one received quite as much punishment as I did, for my part of the protest. For my dedicated efforts to inform and persuade the Onamia government that the location of the sex offender institution was a bad choice, I was SLAPPed with not one but TWO lawsuits - which, of course, pretty much destroyed me. In Freeman/D'Angelo, Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo sued me for embarrassment because I called him "Poopsie" and said he was arrogant, egotistical etc. Nexus board member Peter Freeman sued me, claiming I also embarrassed him. In the second lawsuit, Nexus sued me because I used the idiom "getting away with murder." But, of course, the real reason to sue me was to pressure me to stop writing the Bradbury Buzzz, (Didn't work...) and use me as an example of what happens to people who just say no to Nexus...

What happened to me personally will probably not take place in Wisconsin. It's easy to launch two lawsuits against one citizen activist. Not so easy to sue thousands and thousands of citizen activists standing up against a government gone awry. Only a handful of citizens had the courage to oppose the Onamia city council's handling of their Nexus project - and when I was sued, everyone "went away". Had the people united against bad government back then, things might be different today. The city council doesn't have the money for lawsuits. Even Nexus could not have sued us all. Unfortunately, most citizens saw only the issue at hand and not the principles at stake.

Activist Michael Moore showed up at a Wisconsin Rally to support the working people protesting the stripping of the unions. Last night, on national television, he made a comment that sparked my attention. In referring to the Wisconsin Republican legislators, Mr. Moore said, "They're getting away with murder!" Now, if he calls Governor Walker "Poopsie", Michael Moore just might be in trouble.

Another Nexus "Cornerstone Values" Violation

2011-01-19T13:20:00.002-06:00

Since my speech has been significantly "chilled" by two lawsuits, I'll let someone else do the talking today...

City of Onamia - City said Nexus violated agreement

Written by Brett Larson
Tuesday, 18 January 2011 10:27

Trial Without Jury

2011-01-04T08:02:00.002-06:00

Your Honor,

I plead NOT GUILTY by reason of temporary insanity.

For a minute there, I was crazy enough to believe

we still had Freedom of Speech!

Dear Readers,

Just to keep you up to date - the "Injunction Hearing" took place on December 29, 2010, Judge Marilyn Rosenbaum presiding. Plaintiffs James D'Angelo and Peter Freeman, having dropped their first harassment lawsuit against me were seeking a judgment (injunction) to control my speech - both past and future. What can I leave on my blog and what must I remove? What can I say in the future without getting in trouble? D'Angelo and Freeman have demanded that I never be able to say anything about them or the Nexus relocation again.

The result? Well... The judge is still out. (Normally the phrase is: the jury is still out... but I was deprived of my trial by jury). It's now more of the Hurry-Up-And-Wait that I've come to expect after three years in the legal system as the courts try to decide whether or not there should still be Free Speech in this country and if a citizen can or cannot use WORDS (oh my! Those pesky little dangerous weapons- like "Poopsie"!) to defend herself when attacked by a 40 million dollar corporation hell-bent on forcing her to live next to their sex offenders.

So while D'Angelo and Freeman fight to rule over the Constitution by removing my right to free speech, I continue to fight for what I've been fighting for since the beginning of the Nexus/Onamia city council take-over: the privilege of being left alone.

But Who Is Sorry Now

You Really Hurt,

You Used To Take And Deceive Me

Now Who Is Sorry Now

You Got A Way Of Making MeFeel So Sorry

I Found Out Right Away

Don't You Come Walkin'-Beggin'

I Ain't Lovin' You

Don't You Get In My Way

('Cause There's A Time WhenYou're Right)

(And You Know You MustFight)

Who's Laughing Baby,

Don't You Know

(And There's The Choice That We Make)

(And This Choice You Will Take)

Who's Laughin' Baby

So Just Leave Me Alone

Leave Me Alone

(Leave Me Alone)

Leave Me Alone

(Leave Me Alone)

Leave Me Alone-Stop It!

Just Stop Doggin' Me Around

(Just Stop Doggin' Me)

lyrics by M. Jackson

A Hannabelle Christmas

2010-12-25T06:14:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I received a letter from the court notifying me that Judge John Sommerville's case load has been reassigned to another judge. I have no information as to why. Since he recently won the election (he ran unopposed), one wouldn't conclude that he suddenly decided to retire. I didn't find anything about it in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happened to Judge Sommerville... Maybe Victor knows...

Anyway, this is very good news for Hannabelle. Since my Nexus trial is still scheduled for September 2011, obviously Nexus didn't drop its lawsuit like Freeman and D'Angelo did. It gets confusing being sued twice by the same people with both lawsuits apparently being paid for by the corporation (using your tax dollars, Friends). Freeman and D'Angelo withdrew their lawsuit but Nexus joined into the "negotiation" for "settlement". I have no documents that anyone withdrew, but my jury trial was canceled and Victor told Judge Rosenbaum that Freeman and D'Angelo could not prove damages.

The "settlement" - which I will not agree to - offered to pay me $3,000 plus what the Court of Appeals awarded me IF I promise never to say anything about Freeman, D'Angelo, or the Nexus relocation ever again. Oh, and I'm not allowed to discuss the "settlement".... This is how these people operate, folks. They DO UNTO you and then demand you keep silent about what they did. I guess that's how they can claim those compassionate "cornerstone values". They make sure there's nobody to contradict them. If anyone examined those cornerstones, what do you think they'd find? Jimmy Hoffa? (That's a joke Victor. Just to be clear, it was not to be taken as fact. And yes, I thought it was funny.)

Isn't it awful to have to "chill" your speech? Anything you say can and will be used against you, you know. And the Suers are monitoring everything I write. No doubt this blog will end up in some court documents in the future. Luckily for me, in my experience most judges don't read the documents. But then, I've only had ten judges to judge so far... Ten judges for calling an arrogant son-of-a-bitch second grader insults. (Freeman and D'Angelo acknowledged that "Arrogant" is not actionable - after they previously sued me for saying it. We'll have to wait for the next lawsuit to see how they react to "son-of-a-bitch")

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that the old VIDEOS are back up on You.Tube, the Mille Lacs News is back online (although I'm still updating it), and my blog is obviously going full speed ahead. The more They threaten, harass, sue me, and inflict their "punishment", the more I will write to keep you informed.

Merry Christmas. Thanks for your continued support!

11th Hour - No Trials and No Tribulations

2010-12-22T07:39:00.007-06:00

"Just who do they think they are!!!"

That, spoken by my mother with such incredulous disdain so atypical of this mild, gentle woman, it sounded like cursing.

"Nexus," I replied unnecessarily. " The Omnipotent."

NEXUS - "A $40M+, 720 employee, not for profit behavioral health agency with operating locations in Minnesota, and Illinois." (1) It's the corporation that conspired with the Onamia city council to use our tax dollars to build a state of the art juvenile sex offender treatment center in our residential neighborhood (2) next to daycare, families with children, and elderly widows (including my mom). They are the company that sued me for reporting to the city council during a tax abatement hearing that a child died while in their care at Gerard of Iowa in Mason City back in 2001. That's right. Its CEO Jim D'Angelo also sued me for disparaging comments I made about him on this very blog. (I stand by what I wrote.) To strengthen D'Angelo's complaint, board member Peter D. Freeman jumped on the bandwagon, suing me for emailing the Dean of Social Work at St. Thomas University, asking her for assistance to convince Freeman to find a different, appropriate location - one that wouldn't jeopardize our safety, lower our property values, and make our homes impossible to sell. Peter sued me for embarrassment.

The battle to save the neighborhood began in April 2007. The lawsuits soon followed. For the last three years I've been trapped within the "Justice" System, fighting for an obsolete concept - Freedom of Speech. You might remember it as a "constitutional right" promised to us back in grade school, when we still believed we had rights in this country. Trust me... Free Speech is only allowed if you say what They want to have said. Color outside of Their lines and you'll find out how free you are...

With their Park Avenue lawyer Victor Lund, Jim D'Angelo, Peter Freeman, and the Nexus corporation sued me into a corner with no way out. If I didn't respond to their lawsuits, I would lose automatically by default and have to pay them all an undisclosed amount of money in "damages" (yet to be determined) (3.) As to why they took such drastic action of bringing two lawsuits against me, D'Angelo explained, "We thought you'd go away!" Of course, at the same time, they made it impossible for me to "go away". Part of their demands included that I confessed that what I said about them wasn't true and admit that I defamed them. Since everything I wrote was either the truth or my constitutinally protected opinion, to say that I sat at my computer making things up because I thought it was funny (4.) would be a lie. I am not a liar. Former Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo is.

For example, while under oath D'Angelo denied that he ever said, "We thought you'd go away." (5.) I'm not a lawyer, but to my layman's understanding, lying under oath is called "perjury". Suing opposing citizen activists who are seeking to procure government action favorable to their cause is an abuse of the Justice System and goes against the Minnesota Anti-SLAPP law. SLAPP is an acronym for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. If D'Angelo admitted to making the statement, he'd have admitted that he used the lawsuit for the purpose of intimidating me into complying with his demands. (Apparently, he thinks he is the Boss of me!) I don't call these "frivolous" lawsuits. I call them "harassment" lawsuits. A SLAPP waged against me for trying to keep Nexus' sex offenders away from day care and vulnerable people like my mom.

In Freeman/D'Angelo, Judge Marilyn Rosenbaum of the 4th District Court ruled against my Motion to Dismiss under the MN Anti-SLAPP law, citing her disbelief that I used the Internet to actually try to influence the government. Judge Terri Stoneburner affirmed Rosenbaum, citing "overwhelming evidence" against me. Plaintiff's had no evidence except Victor Lund's testimony that I was a "gadfly" who was bored and liked to stir up trouble at City Hall. Stoneburner was appalled that I sat at my computer making things up - like when she said that I said D'Angelo sent me death threats. Of course, I never said that D'Angelo sent me the death threats. Victor Lund said I said it. I was judged on Victor Lund's testimony. Victor Lund did not tell the truth. Winning the case superseded the Truth. Throughout the Motion to Dismiss hearings in my Freedom of Speech case, I was not allowed to speak.

In the Nexus lawsuit, Judge John Sommerville also ruled against me because he questioned the constitutionality of the Anti-SLAPP law itself, afraid that it would deny Nexus their Due Process. He indicated that Nexus had a right to their "day in court", which was ironic - because Sommerville denied me the same right. I had no day in court. I had only a day in chambers. He called us into his back room - without a court reporter present. He chatted with the lawyers. My lawyer was not allowed to make his presentation (my defense). I was again not allowed to speak. And after their casual chit-chat, Sommerville ruled against the Anti-SLAPP law and therefore, he ruled against me.

Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Connolly ruled that the MN Anti-SLAPP law is constitutional and that the First Amendment applies to the Internet. He remanded my case back to District Court - which means that I won. However, whereas he instructed Sommerville to perform a do-over and get things right this time, Sommerville just scheduled me to go to trial in September 2011.

Defamation is not a crime. It is a civil matter.

The Freeman/D'Angelo trial was scheduled for December 28, 2010. For three years Plaintiffs stressed their right to force me to face a jury for the uncomplimentary words I'd written about them on this blog and in the Mille Lacs News. They used a jury trial as a threat. However, in the Eleventh Hour - a month before the trial, they waived their jury. Now they didn't want Hannabelle facing any jury. They wanted Judge Rosenbaum to make the decision. Since it was Rosenbaum who previously ruled against me, stating "the Anti-SLAPP law is meant to be used as a shield, not as a sword", as if I was the one who manipulated laws for my own purpose... I demanded a jury.

Just days before my trial, Jim D'Angelo and Peter Freeman withdrew their lawsuit. They never had a case against me and they admitted they could not prove any damages.

Now, before my enemies get depressed and my Dear Readers break into song at my victory, listen to this: Now, having dropped the lawsuits, they're going for an injunction to control my speech. I'll be speeching quite a bit on this subject - at least for the next week until the judge tries to shut me up or even shuts me down. D'Angelo and Freeman again got what they wanted (don't they always?) They got an injunction hearing - which amounts to a trial WITHOUT jury.

(1.) from D'Angelo's website; D'Angelo Consulting

(2.) MN Stat. 462.357

(3.) Summons and Complaints

(4.) Victor Lund testified to this false charge as "fact" at every hearing.

(5.) D'Angelo Affidavit; Defendant's Interrogatories

Man accused of rape committed to academy

2010-12-09T15:18:00.003-06:00

Click here: Man accused of rape committed to academy

Our new neighbor at the Mille Lacs Academy...

Don't drink the tea...

2010-11-01T15:48:00.002-05:00

Chicken Little vs Big Chickens

2010-09-23T21:43:00.002-05:00

Well, Dear Readers...

Shucks. I have yet to face my accusers. At mediation, Freeman was hidden off in his own room and D'Angelo didn't even bother to show up.

The trial will be scheduled for December.

"Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards;

they simply unveil them to the eyes of men."

Bishop Westcott

More Taxes Needed to Fund Nexus Lawsuits?

2010-09-17T22:17:00.005-05:00

Something sure smells rotton in Denmark, or at least like pig manure in Illinois when a member of congress explains the need for "revenue enhancements" (i.e. higher taxes) - especially when this particular member of congress is, in effect, using tax payer dollars to sue a private citizen who exercised her Right to Freedom of Speech in opposing the government imposition of mandating a sex offender facility next to day care. Shocked? You should be. Illinois State Representative Lisa Dugan (D - 79th District) is not only a member of the House, she's a member of the Board! The Nexus board of directors, that is. (Can't you just smell the ... power?)

$
hmmm... Can you say conflict of interest?
$

Congresswoman Dugan serves on the Illinois House Bipartisan Task Force on Budget Reform and Spending Reductions. What? Maybe she could start reducing spending by telling "her" company to stop wasting Illinois taxpayer dollars on frivolous SLAPP lawsuits against private whistleblowing citizens who speak out against the un-American conspiracy between "her" multi-million dollar corporation and a small, malfeasant government (yes, I mean the Onamia city council) to strip citizens of their rights - especially my favorite - the 1st Amendment one.

She also serves on the State Commission on the Elimination of Poverty. Well, she didn't eliminate MY poverty. "Her" company's lawsuits CAUSED my poverty. Rule Number 1: If you want to eliminate poverty, don't sue. Just say "no!" to the sue-age you feel so compelled to spew. Nexus got everything they wanted. Why are they continuing to persecute me? Why not ask Lisa Dugan?

According to Nexus, Congresswoman Dugan provides Nexus with "extensive experience in community planning, education initiatives, and nonprofit fundraising". Well, well, well... Where was Congresswoman Dugan when Onamia screwed up their community planning and I was trying to initiate education? Oh yeah. Maybe she was busy helping with a little nonprofit fundraising... (i.e. raising taxes.)
$
Illinois - she's all yours. I don't think I'd vote for her in November - even if I had the privilege. At least from this video, she doesn't sound like she thinks very highly of her constituents' knowledge and intelligence. But then, maybe she's counting on that.

The First Domino

2010-09-05T09:20:00.003-05:00

"[Ramsey] county no longer has funds available to subsidize treatment for sex offenders ...."

And so it's begun...

According to an article in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune today, the cuts made in Ramsey County affect adult sex offender programs. All of you Pro-nexus can relax... for now.

Of course, the news was no surprise to me. However, I was stunned to read that adult sex offender treatment programs can cost "more than $5,000 a year" and that the offenders themselves will now have to "pick up the whole tab." Those without health insurance have to pay "a minimum of more than $100 per month."

$100 per month??? Wow!

Contrast that with the 2007 figure of each MLA juvenile sex offender costing us about $245 per DAY, which adds up to not $100 per month, but $7,350 per month, or roughly $88,200 per year... 1

And who pays the fiddler? Why, you do.

If you pay county taxes, you foot the bill - unless, of course, you've been granted tax abatement - like Nexus was back in 2007. If so, read my lips.

I called Mille Lacs County Commissioner Frank Courteau one day and asked if I too could get some taxpayer dollars to help pay for my legal costs in the two harassment lawsuits Nexus has waged against me. The answer, of course was a definite NO WAY JOSE'... Was I nuts to think that taxpayers would pay for a taxpayer's lawsuits she was SLAPPed with while standing up for taxpayers' rights in fighting tax abatement for a company primarily subsidized by taxpayers??? What was I thinking! (Actually, I was thinking it would be nice to have a lawyer...)

Although I'm pretty sure they intend your taxes to be spent on sex offender treatment and not on lawyer and court fees, it would appear that the county unwittingly only provides funding for the multi-million dollar corporate Plaintiffs in my bogus court cases. I am just the unlucky Defendant. I'm just a ... citizen... one who happenstancingly ended up in the way, darn it all. Besides. I'm honest. I'm broke. I'm not a wheeler-dealer. There's nothing to be gained politically or otherwise by granting me favors. I'm just a citizen like you. I am disposible. Like a diaper.

For those of you following the Trials of Hannabelle, the next step is court-ordered "Mediation"... Yeah, yeah... I know... yet another pointless and inconvenient trip to the Cities as I begrudgingly lend my support to BP (the other oil spill tycoon). It's yucky. I hate it. But then, I'm also used to it. These grab-a-rope proceedings have become my world according to garp- complement of my new cornerstone valued neighbors on the corner. (sigh)

Well, Dear Readers... with my "Free Speech" having been methodically and significantly "chilled" over these past three years and with "Mediation" scheduled for next Wednesday, I'd better just "well shut my mouth" before I acquire a few new frivilous lawsuits. After all, if I give up my Right to Remain Silent, anything I say WILL be used against me... or twisted by the opposing attorney into something that will be used against me. What a privilege these lawyers have! They can say anything at all - even lie to the judge - without fear of being sued for defamation! Lucky for them. Lawyers still have Freedom of Speech! Too bad the rest of us don't.

Like me, you'll just have to wait to see what happens.

To write, or not to write... That will be the question.

I'm pretty sure they'll demand that I "chill" out. But hey! I'm just getting warmed up! I don't know what they've got to whine about anyway. They brought me on by themselves. It wasn't my choice to play in their game. By concentrating their efforts to defeat me, they have provided me with a very important cause, while making sure I've got nothing left to lose. A clever strategy??? My personal opinion (so sue me) is that their time and our tax money would be more wisely spent on county politics - preventing the escalation of the Domino Effect that could and might actually destroy their business, rather than on beat up on harmless old Hannabelle who, as always, just wants to be left alone by them.

To all you casino patrons - wish me luck.

To all you Christ-y folks - say a prayer for me.

To Freeman and D'Angelo - see you there. Face to face at last. ;)

$

Cuts made to Ramsey County offender programs
The county no longer has funds available to subsidize treatment for sex offenders and domestic abusers.
By PAT PHEIFER, Star Tribune

$

1 The $245 per day figures apply to 2007-2008 data. It probably costs more now. (Everything does). Does anyone know what the per diem costs are today? Send me a comment if you do! Thanks.

When Corrections Fail to Correct

2010-08-17T06:33:00.005-05:00

Dear Readers,

Well, I didn't get the apology I thought I was due, considering the situation (see previous article). According to a friend of mine who actually purchased a hard copy of the newspaper, I didn't get a correction in the paper where their subscribers could see it. But I DID get a nasty, vindictive letter from the editor and this "correction" on their online website.

***

Correction In the article “Court reverses Nexus v [Hannabelle]” in the July 28 Messenger, it should have said, Judge John Sommerville didn’t agree with [Hannabelle]. The motion to dismiss was denied by Sommerville.

Write comment

This content has been locked. You can no longer post any comments.

***

I suppose I could make a big stink about this. No corrected dates. Nothing about that I won the appeal... However, my cause isn't what's wrong with the local newspaper (although perhaps yours should be, if you're interested in getting accurate information). Through the years, my noble attempts at encouraging accuracy in their reporting about the Nexus/Onamia coalition have seemingly failed. Coinkidink?

My cause is a what is wrong with the decision of the Onamia city council to represent the interests of a corporation rather than the citizens and the rights of citizens. Oh... and those pesky SLAPP harassment lawsuits... I guess they have also become my cause.

***

I am very sad that mean-spirited people continue to attack me with accusations of being mean-spirited - whenever I try to set a mis-story straight. I've learned more than a few things these past three years, including:

1. Our First Amendment Rights are precious and MUST be protected.

2. You still have the right to remain silent.

3. Anything you say will probably be used against you - if at all possible.

4. Freedom of Speech isn't free (you have to pay the lawyers).

5. When we exercise our right to free speech, we must be prepared to take responsibility for what we say.

These lessons might seem self-evident. I thought I'd learned them in grade school. But I've been forced to revisit these principles and re-learn them - the hard way. After all that has been said and done, one thing I still maintain: If you have the right to exercise your free speech to write a story about my lawsuits, I have the right to exercise my free speech to correct you when you make mistakes.

(See 5. above)

***

"It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind."

Voltaire

1694-1778

Back to Square One

2010-08-08T13:45:00.002-05:00

Here we go again.

We launched the Mille Lacs News, an online news source, in 2007 - to correct misinformation and Pro-Nexus propaganda being published by the Mille Lacs Messenger, our local newspaper. It was, and still is, my belief that people have the right to the Truth. Publishing the Mille Lacs News and the Bradbury Buzzz was a way for us to ensure that accurate information as well as our viewpoint reached the public.

After a long hiatus, I'm back - because once again, there is misinformation being printed in the Mille Lacs Messenger - and this time it's personal.... it's about me. So, once again, it is necessary to make the appropriate corrections and set the record straight.

Diane Gibas, a reporter employed at the "Mess" recently wrote an article about my lawsuits which included false information. She got her facts mixed up.

As you know, I was targeted with two harassment lawsuits by the Nexus corporation - not in 2009, as she reported, but in 2007 - three years of my life ago. I was sued as an attempt to silence and intimidate me with, apparently, the ultimate goal of destroying my life. They've done a great job! As my old friends and neighbors stood mutely watching on the sidelines, my life has unraveled before their eyes. Thanks a lot, guys. Guess I got what I deserved for trying to save your homes from the 94 governmentally imposed sex offenders that live with you now. No good deed goes unpunished and the road to hell is paved with good intentions. (sigh)

But back to Diane... She misinformed the community by stating that in the Nexus corporation vs. me case that Judge Sommerville sided with me and threw out the case. She stated in error that Nexus appealed and won.

THIS IS TOTALLY FALSE! I filed a Motion to Dismiss under the MN Anti-SLAPP law. Judge Sommerville questioned the constitutionality of the law. He ruled that Nexus, a corporation, had the right to "Discovery" as well as the right to put me on trial by jury. He denied my motion, but never ruled on their claim of "defamation". (I told the truth and stated my constitutionally protected opinion. I never defamed anyone.)

THE TRUTH IS: I am the one who made the appeal. Not Nexus - because as usual, Nexus got what it wanted - this time in district court. And here's the big news flash folks: I BEAT NEXUS IN THE MINNESOTA COURT OF APPEALS. The appellate judges reversed Sommerville's decision. Now we have to start all over again. Back to the beginning. Square One.

I called Diane Gibas to politely set her straight. She couldn't remember the source of her bad information and promised to call me back. She didn't.

Will I get a retraction? Will I get an apology? Will they correct their error? I don't know. I'm still waiting.

So, after three years, we have progressed to the destination of "Square One". Once again I've been forced into the position of writing in self-defense.

Encore, encore. I'm back.

More Pictures! Buy the Farm!

2010-05-23T19:18:00.009-05:00

2010-04-10T07:14:00.003-05:00

85 Acre Horse Farm for Sale

1 mile west of Onamia, Minnesota
Only 5 minutes to hospital
Just minutes from
Lake Onamia
the Rum River
Mille Lacs Lake
Mille Lacs Casino
Kathio State Park
Soo Line Trail

Main House: Custom built 2 bedroom, 3 bath Rambler
approx. 3,200 sq. ft.
Cedar siding
Pergo flooring and carpet
Six-panel doors
extra-wide doorways (handicapped accessible)
Open floor plan
Vaulted ceilings
Central heat and AC - propane
Beautiful views
Very private on dead-end road
High-speed Internet available
Brick sidewalk and landscaping
First floor features include:
Kitchen with oak cabinets and corner stainless steel sink
Refrigerator/ Freezer (stays)
Smooth glass-top electric stove (stays)
New Dishwasher (stays)
French doors to diningroom/office or computer room
Master bedroom suite
Large walk-in closet
Bathroom with shower and jetted tub
Bay window overlooking the pond
Bedroom 2
Bathroom 2

Living room has corner woodburning fireplace
Vaulted ceilings
French door to deck
Main floor laundry room opens to upper brick patio and
2 car attached garage
Front porch
Full walk-out lower floor is partially finished and features:
Library or ?
3rd potential bedroom
Bathroom 3
Furnace/Storage room
Huge open Family room +
Corner windows (wonderful office space)
Walk-out to lower brick patio and gardens

Wild Bird Sanctuary - brick patio in the woods on the south side of the house. Over 100 species of birds have been identified on property. Lots of wildlife.

2 Story Guest House/Mother-in-Law/Rental
New roof
New furnace
Large country kitchen/diningroom
Newer Gas range/oven (stays)
Newer Refrigerator/Freezer (stays)
2 Bedrooms Upstairs
Bonus Room
1 Bath
Living room
Family room or Bedroom 3
Central heat and AC - propane
Outdoor patio
Landscaped
Detached 2 car garage

32' x 70' Morton Horse Barn
New Roof
New Siding
New Doors
Dutch Doors
Water and Electricity
3 regular box stalls
1 large foaling or stallion stall with turn-out to paddock
(currently set up for goats)
Tack/Feed room
Tack area
Hay storage
Riding Arena
Pasture

For the equestrian - just minutes from Kathio State Park which has miles of fabulous trails!

Don't have horses? This barn could easily convert to storage for boats, ATVs, RVs, etc.

Workshop
concrete floor
workbench
electricity

Land
85 acres
creek
2 ponds
pines and birch trees
mostly forest, some low, some pasture
private but close to town

Serious inqueries only - please e-mail: info@millelacsnews.com

Good News!

2010-03-23T13:14:00.002-05:00

Dear Friends,

Hannabelle is going to stand TRIAL for calling Jim D'Angelo "arrogant"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Like trying to keep sex offenders away from daycare and little old ladies is a crime...)

I can't wait!

I'll finally get to meet Peter Freeman (and his colleagues!) You remember Peter. He's the one suing me for "embarrassment".

And I will FINALLY have a chance to SPEAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's going to be a great trial.

After two years of this Mickey Mousing around, we can finally get down to the business of the Truth. Why THEY want a trial, I can't imagine. But ME? I will finally have MY day in court!

I'll tell you more soon. I just wanted to let you know that I'm very busy preparing the evidence for my trial.

(Oh, and the book I'm writing is progressing quite well. Who'da thunk it?)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT! I REALLY REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!!

Let's Play Keep-Away! Shall we?

2010-03-06T17:18:00.006-06:00

This is a message to my neighbors in and around Onamia. You know who you are. I hope you're reading this.

I live on a private road. Unless you have business down here, please respect my privacy and stay away.

You want to go for a walk?
You feel like jogging?

Don't come here. There's all sorts of alternatives. The Soo Line. Kathio Park. The new track at the high school. Larry Milton Road. Highway 169... All sorts of places to run.

Wanna borrow a cup of sugar? Don't come here. I'm out of sweetness.

You want to get yelled at? You want confrontation? Sure, come down my road. You'll meet me. It won't be pleasant. I assure you.

Does it offend you when I tell your kid to find someplace else to deal his drugs late at night? Then keep him away.
Does it bother you when I ask you to not run towards my house from the direction of the Academy? Then run the other way.
Do I offend you simply because I don't want you or your "wonderful" kids in my life and have made no bones about it?

Of course I do. I'm Hannabelle. I offend everyone.

And if it keeps you away from here, I'm more than happy to offend you.

You put 94 sex offenders down the street.

I have to live with that.

And now you have to live with my reaction to people - strangers - "going for a walk" or "just jogging" down my private dead end road.
I suggest you keep your distance. I'm not very friendly anymore.

Of course, nobody can stop you if, out of all the miles and miles of roads you just HAVE to come down this particular quarter mile. After all.... it's a free country. Right?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Yeah. Right. Just keep telling yourself that.

Convicted Felon Paul Smith Goes to Prison Today

2010-03-04T22:22:00.002-06:00

Former Mille Lacs Academy Executive Director Paul Lynn Smith

who was convicted last month in Oklahoma Federal Court on four counts of embezzlement, fraud, theft, and lying to Federal Authorities was denied bond while he appeals the guilty verdict that sentenced him to four 27 month prison terms - to run concurrently.

According to court documents, Smith was supposed to turn himself over to the Federal Marshall by noon today.

Smith argued that since he lied to Federal Authorities while in Minnesota, there was a question of venue. He also claimed he was not a "flight risk" and that his motion was not an attempt to delay serving time in Federal prison.

The Honorable Judge Robin Cauthron denied Smith's motion to avoid prison time until after the completion of his appeal. Here is her decision:

"Because Defendant cannot demonstrate either a substantial question or entitlement to
a reduced sentence his Motion must be denied. For the reasons set forth herein, Defendant’s
Motion for Order Staying Execution of Judgment and Granting Release Pending Appeal
(Dkt. No. 48) is DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 3rd day of March, 2010."

Paul Smith Rides Again

2010-02-18T02:35:00.003-06:00

Paul Lynn Smith Appeals

It looks like Paul still hasn't tasted jail. He's suppose to turn himself in on March 4. But he has filed an appeal. I can't say if that means he'll remain free until after the appeal. I'm pretty sure he will be walking amongst us....

The documents are finally up on PACER so I'll get going on it soon.

Thanks for your patience. Hannabelle has been under the weather lately. And you know how bad the weather can be in MinneSNOWda.

Behind Bars - Where He Belongs

2010-02-05T14:38:00.000-06:00

Dear Readers,

I've updated the Mille Lacs News with information about Paul Lynn Smith. I've included some links to other sources. (Kudos to Dawn Slade of the Mille Lacs County Times for her excellent article.)

You also can read some of the court documents on the Mille Lacs News. I apologize that my webmaster capabilities are limited. I'm experiencing difficulty with some of the document links on the left. I'm working on getting more public documents available.

The victims of Paul Smith's scams have been waiting a long time for justice to be served. As one who considers myself a victim of Smith's Minnesota activities, (along with the Mille Lacs Academy, Nexus, and the local government who works for them all,) I am still waiting for justice. In the meantime, there is comfort in knowing that Paul Smith, who is one of those responsible for detroying the integrity of our private, rural neighborhood will no longer have the privilege to "choose to live in the country", at least not as a free man. He intentionally taunted me when he said that. I'd have the last laugh, if I thought any of this was funny. But I don't.

The way I see it, 27 months in federal prison is better than probation - but it is a far cry from the 30 years of incarceration his crimes deserve. That's just my opinion.

Thank you to my Oklahoma Readers. I appreciate your input, your kind comments and your continued support. I hope you'll keep reading and keep in touch.

Hannabelle

One step closer to vindication - thanks, in part, to Paul Lynn Smith, convicted embezzler serving time in federal prison, who has pointed out that it just might be possible that Hannabelle knows what she's talking about.

Mille Lacs Academy Executive Director Sentenced

2010-02-04T21:43:00.008-06:00

Ex-center director sentenced for embezzlement

Former Mille Lacs Academy Executive Director

Paul Lynn Smith -

Sentenced to 27 months in prison

and he has to pay

more than $91,000 in restitution

Perspective- As Simple as ABC

2010-02-04T03:34:00.005-06:00

I spend a good deal of time these days simply wondering "What is WRONG with people?"

Like:

Why did the Mille Lacs Community choose to support convicted sex offenders instead of rallying for their law-biding neighbors whose Rights were being abolished by a local government they couldn't even vote for?

Why did Nexus stand behind their director - a convicted embezzler but sue an innocent bystander for telling the Truth?

Why did Nexus prefer to spend our taxpayer money on their lawyer - to SLAPP me with a harassment lawsuit, while at the same time cutting jobs at the Academy?

And now Sarah Palin is up in arms about Rahm Emanuel using the word "retarded" but she has said nothing about Rush Limbaugh calling people "retards". I say FU Sarah Palin and the rest of your hypocrite friends. Oops. Now I've done it. I've gone over the top. Do you think she'll sue me like Jim D'Angelo did when I called him "Poopsie"? Naw. Probably not - since she got away with saying that Obama "palled around with terrorists".

These days you have to watch your Ps and Qs. You can't say the F-word, the N-word, the B-word, or the C-word... Now we have can't say the R-word. And if we're not careful, the rest of the alphabet could soon be all used up. We'll be doomed to silince. Yep. As it is, anything anybody says will PO somebody. But soon we won't be able to talk at all.

Am I the only one who sees all of this stupidity as a huge stinking pile of Number Two? If that's the case, I'd say our entire society is SOL.

Has the world gone crazy? Don't you wonder? Don't you wonder - What is WRONG with people?

Here's a video for you.

While you watch it, please keep in mind that I got sued for calling former Nexus CEO "arrogant", "heartless", a "snake", and of course - "Poopsie". There is no Freedom of Speech for Hannabelle.

Remember: "Sticks and Stones can break my bones, but words can - never justify a frivolous lawsuit."

Smith Sentencing Postponed AGAIN!

2010-02-02T11:26:00.001-06:00

There's no explanation given, but the Paul Smith sentencing has been moved to Thursday.
Let's thank ourselves for our patience. :)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NOTICE
vs
Case Number: CR-08-272-C
PAUL L. SMITH
______________________________________________________________________________
Type of Case ____CIVIL XXX _CRIMINAL
______________________________________________________________________________
TAKE NOTICE
That a proceeding in this case has been scheduled for the place, date and time set forth below:
______________________________________________________________________________
Place: U.S. Courthouse COURTROOM NO. 501
200 N. W. 4th Street DATE AND TIME
Oklahoma City, Ok. 73102
U Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 11:00 a.m.
______________________________________________________________________________
TYPE OF PROCEEDING
Sentencing
______________________________________________________________________________
TAKE NOTICE: that the proceeding in this case has been rescheduled as indicated below:
______________________________________________________________________________
Place: U.S. Courthouse Date and Time Previously Scheduled
200 N.W. 4th Street
Oklahoma City, Ok. 73102 U Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 8:45 a.m.
______________________________________________________________________________
ROBIN J. CAUTHRON
U. S. DISTRICT JUDGE
DATE: February 2, 2010 s/ Linda Goode
BY DEPUTY CLERK
AUSA: Vicki Behenna
Dft’s Counsel: Mack Martin

Waiting

2010-02-02T10:29:00.002-06:00

The Paul Smith sentencing was on the docket for this morning. I'm waiting to hear what happened. I'll let you know as soon as I find out. :)

For All You Paul Smith Fans

2010-01-31T01:48:00.002-06:00

Public information about convicted embezzler Paul Lynn Smith's court case has been posted on the Mille Lacs News online news source.

You can read actual court documents there. Links are provided on the left side-panels.

It is intriguing that CEO Dave Hutchinson and VP Patrick Rookey of the Nexus corporation practiced their "cornerstone values" by writing letters of support to the judge on behalf of their friend. They attack innocent bystanders like me, but defend convicted criminals like him? Really?

Smith's lawyer is asking the court for probation and possible home confinement.

If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.

(Thanks to my new friends in Oklahoma. I appreciate your kind-hearted support!)

Smith Sentencing Postponed

2010-01-28T09:32:00.004-06:00

Place: U.S. Courthouse COURTROOM NO. 501
200 N. W. 4th Street DATE AND TIME
Oklahoma City, Ok. 73102
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 8:45 a.m.
____________________________________________________

Sentencing of convicted embezzler Paul Lynn Smith, former Director of the Marie Detty Youth and Family Service Center in Lawton, Oklahoma; and more recently the former Executive Director of the Mille Lacs Academy in Onamia, Minnesota - has been postponed until Tuesday, February 2, 2010.

Check with us at the Bradbury Buzzz and the Mille Lacs News for Updates.

Trials and Errors

2010-01-17T03:18:00.003-06:00

I have been defamed by Victor E. Lund, attorney for Jim D'Angelo, Peter Freeman, and the Nexus Corporation.

Yes. He defamed me.

How? Victor Lund lied. He lied about me. He lied about what I'd written, about things I said. He personally testified to all the judges who have heard the lawsuits against me, and in doing so, he committed perjury. At least, to my knowledge, lawyers aren't suppose to lie to the court. They have a code of ethics they are bound to uphold. So if "perjury" is an incorrect term, please don't sue me. (They like to pick out certain words to sue me over... like "egocentric" and "arrogant", stuff like that.) Some of what he said is not defamation since it is his personal opinion, and everyone but me is entitled to his opinion... But I have to tell you, what he said about me? Its way uglier than anything Hannabelle said, even when she was really working at it. At least I based my opinions on facts. He just pulled his out of his ass.

Anyway, Victor Lund offered more than his opinion when he told the judges that I said that Jim D'Angelo sent me death threats. I never said that. I never said that JIM D'ANGELO is the one who threatened me. (I think I said "Poopsie and Company") Plus, I was being sarcastic. The fact is, Ladies and Gentlemen, that Jim D'Angelo told me that he was going to alert board members and employees as to my blog and website. At one point, he indicated that he was going to enlist them in opposing my opposition.... Does that make sense? You know - sic the dogs, round up the posse, rally the troops... That sort of thing. Shortly after he told me that, I began receiving harassing anonymous comments on this blog. I received one comment I interpretted to be a death threat. (Poncho agreed. So did the FBI agent I was in contact with.) I never said that D'Angelo is the one who sent the death threat. His LAWYER is the one who said I said it... His lawyer lied.

I can't accuse anyone of the death threat, but I have an idea who it was. And that person had MLA connections. But no matter who the individual is, the fact is that MLA supporters tried to intimidate me shortly after Jim D'Angelo told me he would be enlisting the assistance of his employees. That is why I said "Poopsie AND COMPANY" and not just "Poopsie". It is interesting to note that Jim D'Angelo himself decided that he was Poopsie. He claimed it as his own. I believe Jim D'Angelo had no knowledge of the actual death threat. But I also believe that he is, at least in part, responsible for the harassment and intimidation I endured prior to completion of the sex offender facility. I can tell you that I hold him totally responsible for the harassment and intimidation I've endured since. He chose to sue me, after all.

Victor Lund also said in his brief to the Minnesota Court of Appeals in the Nexus case that I have already been found guilty of dafamation. He says I admitted making the defamatory statements. I never admitted making defamatory statements. Not ever. I admitted making statements which he argues are defamatory. It has yet to be decided if by calling Jim D'Angelo a "snake" I am guilty of defamation. I'm not too worried about it.

What does worry me is that Victor Lund can get away with murder in front of these judges. He has told each judge: " [Victor] I think she just sits at her computer making things up because she thinks its funny." He has attacked my character with such vehemence that the judges are prejudiced against me from the get-go. He portrays Goliath as a victim of Little Davy. (And the only sling I ever had was on my arm - after I fell off a horse.) Victor calls me things like "gadfly", says I'm a malicious person who just wants a little attention. He implies that the OACRG only existed in my own mind. He says I like to pretend I'm the media. What's the difference between that and "we like to think he's kinky"? What I said was in the context of a blog. He said it in a legal document... He has presented my words out of context. He has claimed knowledge about my motivation - which of course he characterizes as NOT trying to procure favorable government action.

Everything. I mean EVERYTHING I said, wrote, or did was to procure government action favorable to my cause, i.e. to stop them from ruining my neighborhood and my life. How can Victor say otherwise? Why would anybody believe Victor? Folks, our justice system is in trouble.

A couple of the allegedly actionable statements on which Victor dwells are contained in the email I sent to Peter Freeman's department head. One says something about Peter being involved in "immoral, unethical, and possibly illegal" activities. That upsets the judges a lot. How dare I say such things!!!!! Well, Dear Readers, I said it because I believe it to be true.

I believe it is immoral to actively seek to remove a person's power of self-determination. What the Onamia city council did to us (and here I go- talking about the GOVERNMENT again... silly me) - what they did infringed on our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In fact, they knew that what they were pursuing was destroying our happiness - and did it anyway. Ho-hum. Again, we have been denied the power of the vote, and we as citizens had no representation. Remember - No Annexation Without Representation? Yeah. So it is my opinion that it is immoral to actively seek to remove a person's power of self-determination. This is still America, right? Peter Freeman was on the board of directors of the company that was forcing themselves into our neighborhood against the will of the people who live there.

I believe it is unethical to build a sex offender facility in a residential area. I'm not alone in this. In my research, one director of such a facility told me that the Nexus location was inappropriate and added that it was not only bad for the community, it was detrimental for the inmates. Peter Sex offenders do not belong next to elderly widows and day care. That should be a no-brainer.

Jim D'Angelo assured us that Nexus looked forward to working with the citizens. At the time, I believed him. I contacted most of the board members - but none of them would return my calls. Freeman was a Social Work professor at St. Thomas University. Who better to understand that Nexus would be making a mistake to relocate to the proposed site?

MN STATUTE 462.357 states that juvenile sex offender institutions are not permitted in R1 zoned areas. That could be why the Onamia city council zoned the Nexus sex offender facility as R2. They somehow managed to circumvent the law. Illegal? PERHAPS. But that wasn't even what I was referring to in the email. Anyway, similar institutions are zoned Government or Institutional or even Commercial. The Nexus facility was zoned R2.

So, I believe that Peter Freeman, as a professor in Social Work had enough training to know better. But there he was, definitely volunteering to put sex offenders next to my mom. Do I believe that's unethical? Hell, yeah! I had hoped that his colleagues could enlighten him, talk some SENSE to him. But instead, he became embarrassed and sued me.

Now the "possibly illegal" part. Hey, I'm not a cop. I'm not a lawyer (although I'm currently attending law school in the Minnesota Court of Appeals.) And most importantly - I'm not an accountant. We found some interesting financial figures and practices that were suspect. I won't take back what I said about "possibly illegal". I still don't know. But I'm sure things will come out at my trial. Make that trials.

Now, the felony conviction of Mille Lacs Academy Director Paul Lynn Smith for embezzlement, etc. doesn't have any bearing in my own legal troubles. I had nothing more than a suspicion and deep dislike of that crook. I didn't have any confirmation of Smith's illegal activities until long after Nexus found out. Is everybody okay with Paul working with disturbed kids up until his trial?

IMMORAL, UNETHICAL, AND POSSIBLY ILLEGAL....

I stand by what I wrote. But the judges haven't heard from Hannabelle yet. They will. I have a lot to tell the juries too. Victor is so wrong in so many things, but at the top of the list is his assertion that I want attention. No. I want all the attention focussed on his clients.

In my opinion, Victor Lund has performed brilliantly - and I would highly recommend him to any sleezy company who simply can't cope with a disabled, middle-aged music teacher - and needs a creative lawyer who will do anything - even cheat - to win a bogus case or two.

Convicted MLA Director Paul Smith = UPDATE

2010-01-16T18:24:00.003-06:00

(And Jim D'Angelo is suing me because I SPECULATED that he ran a crooked company... I'd like to personally thank Paul Smith for helping me out in my time of need. Thanks for being a crook and proving me right, Paul! I knew I could count on you!)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NOTICE
vs
Case Number: CR-08-272-C
PAUL L. SMITH
__________________________________________________________
Type of Case ____CIVIL XXX _CRIMINAL
__________________________________________________________
TAKE NOTICE
That a proceeding in this case has been scheduled for the place, date and time set forth below:
______________________________________________________________________________
Place: U.S. Courthouse COURTROOM NO. 501
200 N. W. 4th Street DATE AND TIME
Oklahoma City, Ok. 73102
U Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 8:45 a.m.
_____________________________________________________________
TYPE OF PROCEEDING
Sentencing
_____________________________________________________________
TAKE NOTICE: that the proceeding in this case has been rescheduled as indicated below:
______________________________________________________________________________
Place: U.S. Courthouse Date and Time Previously Scheduled
200 N.W. 4th Street
Oklahoma City, Ok. 73102 U Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 9:30 a.m.
___________________________________________________________________
ROBIN J. CAUTHRON
U. S. DISTRICT JUDGE
DATE: January 14, 2010 s/ Linda Goode
BY DEPUTY CLERK
AUSA: Vicki Behenna
Dft’s Counsel: Mack Martin

Source: PACER

Three Degrees Below Zero

2009-12-17T00:19:00.003-06:00

So I told you about last week when the cops were hanging out down the street and we just assumed another one of the sex offenders escaped. I haven't even bothered to confirm it. When you have 94 convicted sex offenders living in an unlocked institution in your back yard, and with Nexus' hefty track record of escapes, you are always on guard.

I live on a dead end road. Except for the mailman, we don't get much traffic. Last night two vehicles parked in front of my neighbor's house, leaving their headlights on. Eventually Poncho and I saddled up the old pickup truck and mosied up that-a-way to see what was what. We found a car with one headlight and an SUV. There were a couple of teenage boys from the car standing in the road talking to the people in the other vehicle. It was hard to see in the dark.

"You need help?" Poncho asked through the open window.
"No. No. We're fine. We're just talking," the blond boy answered. "We just came from the basketball game and...."
"Drugs," Poncho interupted. I didn't know if he was talking to me or the young man.
"No! No drugs!" the young man said. 'We were just talking! Can't we talk?"

Technically, they can. Its a public road after all. But we asked them to leave anyway and they suddenly seemed quite anxious to go. Perhaps they were all talked out. I didn't think they'd complain to the sheriff about Poncho and me. It would seem a trifle hard to explain why they chose to meet in front of a darkened house at night just to stand in the road and talk when it was three degrees below zero. (sigh)

We didn't know these guys. For all we knew, they planned to burglarize my neighbor. They could indeed be local drug dealers. Possibly, they were get-away vehicles waiting for escaping sex offenders. Or ... they could have just needed someone to talk to...

"WE WILL LEAVE A SMALL FOOTPRINT," Jim D'Angelo once said. Yeah. After metaphorically kicking us in the teeth and considering how much our lives have been ruined, I'd say Nexus wears a damn big shoe.

Another Day in Paradise

2009-12-07T12:28:00.002-06:00

Well, it used to be "Paradise". Now its "Nexusville" or better yet - "Dahmerville". Just another fine day in Dahmerville.

There was a sheriff's SUV parked down my road for about an hour this morning - parked by the day care place, but on the road, not in the driveway. The officer was in and out of the vehicle as if he was searching for something (or someone) and then perhaps the cold drove him inside to warm up. Its all conjecture. I don't know what he was doing there.

My conclusions were: 1. One of the sex offenders has again escaped from Mille Lacs Academy, an unlocked sex offender facility the Onamia city government helped Nexus build in our residential neighborhood; or 2. the deputy is here to serve me yet more papers for yet another Nexus lawsuit and can't find my house. hmmm. Well, let's put it this way - no papers were served here today. So what do YOU think?

You see, whether or not one of the sex offenders has escaped - (I have not verified that one has, and certainly nobody would bother to call to warn us if one or more did indeed escape) - those of us who have been forced to live with this clear and ever-present danger can only wonder WHEN something disasterous will happen. Its just a matter of time.

We don't know who is currently spending time at the Mille Lacs Academy. What we do know is that every inmate has been convicted of a sexual crime that has harmed someone. What we do know is that we have not been told the truth. We have been lied to. And our neighborhood is no longer safe. We will never be able to feel safe again.

In the thirty years that I've lived here, I've only seen the sheriff's deputy here in my neighborhood a handful of times. Once he was was searching in this vicinity when a Nexus sex offender escaped from the old sex offender facility - when it was still at Crosier in town. Twice he has been here to serve Nexus lawsuits upon me.

Why do you think he parked his vehicle next to the day care for at least an hour today?

You know, I think SOMEONE owes me an apology.

When you DON'T have the Right to Remain Silent

2009-11-15T02:53:00.004-06:00

Dear Readers,

Below is just one of the sources on which I based information I shared with the Onamia City Council at the tax abatement meeting (oh my, its been a couple of years ago now! The wheels of justice do indeed grind slowly!) It is because I found out about Tanner Wilson's death - and, like any good citizen, relayed the information to the city council at a public meeting - that Nexus has sued me - in order to shut me up. (Perhaps, and this is speculation, Nexus already knew about their Mille Lacs Academy Executive Director's criminal activities and impending conviction for embezzlement in Oklahoma.... Maybe we've only seen the tip of the Nexus Iceberg...) The Onamia City council had no knowledge that a child had died at Gerard (a branch of the Nexus Corporation), nor were they aware of the failed Fairmont, MN Nexus facility. (I'd bet money - if I had any left, that is - that Nexus also failed to disclose the Paul Smith indictiment of which he was recently convicted. I know that it didn't come up at a public meeting. I know that.)

Let me ask you this, my friends - do you think it is fair that Nexus sued me for repeating information which is and has been for years readily available over the Internet? I mean, really - I acted responsibly and checked out the validity of the case. It turned out to be TRUE! So, do you think that Nexus has the right to sue me because I told the TRUTH?

Here's a shout-out: Does anybody know if Nexus sued Dave Reynolds, the Inclusion Daily Express, or the Des Moines Register? (or anybody else - since these bullies seem highly litigious...) I would really like to know the extremes Nexus has taken to bury their skeletons- or did they just sue only little old Hannabelle when she discovered the Tanner Wilson case? (Information which is even available on Ebay, folks! Check it out!) Has Nexus sued anyone else who wrote or spoke about this child's death? Just me? Wow! Why do you think that is??? I don't know - since those folks with all the "Cornerstone Values" gave me the Nexus Silent Treatment.

Now, my enemies (yes... I know you're still here) I ask you this: If I, as a concerned citizen, discovered information about a company that the city council in MY town was unaware of , maybe a little dirt that uh... slipped past the overzealous councilmen - and this city council intended to grant this company a huge free ride of tax abatement, knowing what I know - did I really have the right to remain silent? Wasn't it my civic DUTY to inform that government as to suspicious data my research uncovered? BEFORE they committed to 15 years of tax abatement? Before it was too late?

Whether you are Pronexus or a patriotic American citizen, do you agree that a citizen has an obligation to be forthright with information - expecially when the company in question has withheld important (and quite controverial) information? I personally witnessed former Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo LIE about safety records to both the city council as well as the public. (He also lied on his sworn affidavit in one of my lawsuits....) Of course I don't have a high opinion of liars and I don't want to live next to sex offenders. I also admit a bias against bullies. But what about YOU? So, my enemies.... you The Loyal Pronexus.... what would you have done had you discovered something pretty bad about the company your city council was about to hand over the taxpayer dollars? Would you tell them? Or would you exercise your Right to Remain Silent?

OF COURSE YOU WOULD REMAIN SILENT!!!! You wouldn't want to get involved. (All that harassment and intimidation!!! "What if there is a fire?") What if Nexus got all huffy and sued you? What if the mayor organized your ostracization from the town you chose to build your life? What if the city council called you names? What if the local newspaper portrayed you in a negative light? Nope. Don't get involved. Don't share that important information with the Deciders.... You do have the Right to Remain Silent. Cherish it! It's just about the only right you have left. (You certainly no longer have your Right to Free Speech... At least I don't. That's pretty much as extinct as the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.)

Just one last thing and then we can all go to sleep. :) This is soooo sad! Nexus refuses to acknowledge Tanner Wilson's LIFE! Yes - the LIFE he lost at one of their institutions. Nexus attorney Victor Lund has made a big deal about me using this dead child's name. In the legal papers, Tanner is referred to as " T_W" or described as the "minor". I've been chastised for speaking his name. Although I no longer have any Freedom of Speech, I refuse my Right to Remain Silent (even though everything can and will be used against me in a court of law) - when it comes to the NAME of this minor T_W_ He had a LIFE and he had a NAME. Tanner Wilson is a name that nobody should ever forget- no matter how many lawsuits Nexus launches to silence those of us who care about children and dare to speak out (both of which I do, by the way. I devoted my life to teaching.)

I know I'm not always good at getting my points across - I know because of so much negativity surrounding .... well... ME. But I don't believe that I should be punished by Nexus - as they use the Justice System as their butt-paddle to beat me up and make me go away - because I found out about a few of their boo-boos and oopses. Tanner Wilson, age 11 died in a prone restraint hold at a Nexus facility and I didn't know about it until years after he was gone. But then, Tanner touched my heart. (Yes, its been proven that I have one. Look at how many times it has broken in the past few years!) Not only did I tell the city council about him, I tried to honor the memory of this little boy in a video - this T_W_ - this "minor" inconvenience which Hannabelle pulled out of the Nexus closet of secrets. His NAME was Tanner Wilson. And he didn't deserve to die.

Parents Sue Facility And Staff For Boy's Restraint Death
By Dave Reynolds,
Inclusion Daily ExpressAugust 16, 2001MASON CITY, IOWA--

On Tanner Wilson's first day at Gerard of Iowa care center two years ago, staff member Lori Ingham tried to "take him to the ground". During the attempt to restrain him, Ingham succeeded in breaking the boy's leg.

On February 9 of this year, a year and a half after being admitted to the mental health facility, Wilson died while being restrained in a "routine physical holding".
He was 11 years old.

Officials have ruled the cause of death as asphyxiation -- he suffocated to death -- and are considering it a homicide.

One of the employees allegedly involved in restraining Wilson when he died was none other than Lori Ingham. She now faces a charge of child endangerment in connection with the death.

This Tuesday, Tanner's parents, Robert and Karen Wilson, filed a lawsuit against Ingham and fellow employee Jeremy Witt, along with Gerard Treatment Programs and an affiliate known as Nexus Inc..

According to the Des Moines Register, the suit claims Ingham and Witt "used unreasonable and unnecessary force in restraining and eventually killing" the boy. It also charges Gerard, which was being paid $9,000 a month to care for Wilson, with failing to properly train and supervise its employees.

The Wilsons are asking for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. They say they do not want other parents to go through what they have gone through.

********

[Hannabelle's Note: Charges against the employee responsible for the deadly restraint hold were eventually dropped, the Wilson lawsuit was eventually settled out of court, and Nexus is still here.)

On a Clear Day

2009-10-27T12:48:00.003-05:00

So here's what happened.... Poncho read my last blog post (which he said he liked very much! :) except....

except..... he says that Nexus will probably sue me again for what I said. Yeah, I agreed. They probably will. If you tell, they will sue.

Poncho said I should maybe not have mentioned the board members in conjunction with my detective work regarding them. He's probably right, but we have a little different way of looking at things. He's much more pragmatic than I am. I say: THEY SAY ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR - AND THIS AIN'T LOVE, BABY! But it hasn't been fair. I haven't seen anything fair in all of this. I see it as a war Nexus waged upon me when they pushed themselves into MY neck of the woods with the declaration: "WE WILL BE NEIGHBORS!!!", used the city council to change the rules for them, then verbally attacked me and my real neighbors, lied to the public, not to mention ostracizing us from their Nexus Silent Treatment Center after promising to work with us, and on and on and on until it culminated in these two defamation lawsuits SLAPPed against me. This is THEIR war against a private citizen who is opposed to being forced to live next to THEIR sex offenders - convicted sex offenders who do not belong in a residential neighborhood. Nexus is a BUSINESS, folks. It isn't a "home", it isn't a "residence", it isn't even an "academy". It is a correctional juvenile sex offender facility licensed by the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

So anyway, after Poncho's warning, I thought about editting my previous post to exclude the part about Jack Abramoff and the Crosier sex offenders, etc. I wanted my readers to know what areas I'm exploring - perhaps somebody will send some hot tips. I've been lucky before in that way. But more importantly, I want Nexus to know that if you continue to sue me, your board members are fair game. Your finances are fair game. Don't be surprised if more skeletons fall out of your closet. I WILL defend myself. I will NOT succumb to your bullying. I wrote an article for the Mille Lacs News entitled "D'Angelo Plays Hardball" about his threats of a lawsuit. Well, Hannabelle can play Hardball too. Why not. Nexus ruined my life. I'm not being melodramatic. You are looking at a woman whose life has been shattered, RAPED, if you will, by Nexus' corporatism. Where were their "cornerstone values" when I needed them? Oops. Guess they only use them when its convenient.

In the past, I've written blogs - some pretty scathing if I do say so myself, which may have come a little close to the edge. On second thought, I've removed them from the Bradbury Buzzz. However, and this is quite interesting, they have come back (to haunt me?) in Nexus attorney Victor Lund's huge pile of papers. One was removed after just about an hour online. What... do they have a fulltime Nexus lawyer sitting at the computer 24/7 just in case I publish something? Am I really that important? Ha. I'm nothing more than a little gadfly buzzing around their heads. One good swat and I'm dead. No more Bradbury Buzzzz. It would be the Bradbury Splattt instead.

So, anyway, I'll leave the previous blog entry alone, knowing it has probably already been printed by the enemy as they prepare for yet another lawsuit against moi. How can I be so cavalier?

Its like this folks: D'Angelo objected to some things I wrote and threatened to sue me. I did remove some, if not most of the material he found offensive. His lawyers did not tell me specifically which material to remove - they just said to remove "anything defamatory", and apparently that is a matter of opinion. I never wrote anything defamatory - and my lawyers have told me I haven't crossed the line. I did remove things I thought had hurt his feelings - like the article when I was told he had committed suicide and I was happy until I found out it was another MLA employee, not D'Angelo. But here's the deal... Even after I removed the "offending" material, Jim D'Angelo continued to sue me. Removing it didn't help. Didn't stop the Nexus Steamroller.

After I removed the video that Nexus is suing me for, they still continued to sue me. Even though I complied with their demands, they continued to prosecute me. Or is the term PERSECUTE? Yes. Me thinks "persecute" is much more fitting. There seems nothing I can do to stop the Nexus Steamroller. I am just a little bump in their road that they are determined to level at any cost. Cover me with tar (and feathers?) and run me into the ground. Unless I go to trial (trials) I probably can't beat them.

But once again I would like to state that I am NOT accusing Crosier Father Jerry Schik of being involved in the Crosier Child Molestation Sex Scandal. Are we clear, Vic? If I was claiming "guilt by association", I'd most likely start with convicted MLA director Paul Smith, embezzler. No. I haven't done anything wrong Vic.

I am NOT accusing Nexus board member Francis Smith with any wrongdoing. The Jack Abramoff connection I mentioned allegedly involves Mr. Smith's son who as I understand it allegedly was NOT convicted with his alleged partner Jack Allegedly Abramoff. Are we clear here, Vic?

Now, Darnell Allen, Vice President of Super Valu is a person of particular interest in my case because of his alleged involvement with Human Rights. Hasn't he even allegedly won awards for his good deeds in this field? I think it is interesting that throughout the Nexus forced-entry into my life, nobody (including Darnell Allen) has lifted a finger to protect MY Human Rights. For some reason, I am not afforded any "rights". Not even Constitutional ones...

Oh. Oh. Oh. Except one. I DO have the Right to Remain Silent.
If I give up the right to remain silent, anything can and WILL be used against me - whether its fair or not. So what? What else is new? Nexus has painted us into such a small corner and keeps painting painting painting until there won't be anywhere to go. But unlike the Nexusians - I have NOTHING left to loose. They've already ruined my life. Irreparable damages.

Just so we're clear.

Yes. Hannabelle IS human. She makes mistakes occasionally. She bleeds when you cut her. She cries when she's been hurt. She cries out when she's been wronged.

Nexus is the Steamroller. I'm just a little bump in their road. But keep in mind - when you build your road on faulty ground, trying to cover up frost boils and ignore old corduroy timbers, you can definitely expect to see a few ugly pot holes in the spring.

High Crimes and Not So Misdemeanors

2009-10-27T07:30:00.006-05:00

Tomorrow is a big day for me. I have to get up at 4:30 a.m. to get ready for my first experience with the Minnesota Court of Appeals down in St. Paul. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Knowing myself, I won't sleep tonight. I'd be lying if I downplayed the stress; the anxiety. This is hard. There is an incredible amount of pressure in going to court. I know. I've already been to District Court three times - with Motions to Dismiss the two SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) that Jim D'Angelo, Peter Freeman, and Nexus The Corporation have waged against me. For some reason, I keep losing. Am I guilty? Guilty until proven innocent? I've never won even the smallest battle against Nexus. I don't expect to win tomorrow either.

"YOU SLANDERED THEM!" is what Bob Mickus, the unelected mayor of Onamia told me when he bumped into me at the hospital the other day. "Don't they have a right to defend themselves?" (THEY have the right to defend themselves but I don't have the right to defend myself, my family, my neighborhood????? THEY are the intruders. THEY are the aggressors. Go figure. THEY are suing a citizen with YOUR tax dollars! My weapon of choice? Words. Merely words. Their weapons of choice include words too - as well as the local government, the local newspaper, and the Minnesota Justice System. I'm outnumbered and outgunned.)

"I didn't slander anyone," I said.
"Yes you did!" he said, vehemently. And, he said, I was mean to "those boys".

There you have it. The unelected mayor of Onamia has proclaimed that I'm guilty. I've been charged with Defamation because I called Jim D'Angelo a snake. I know it sounds silly, and indeed it is. But apparently Jim D'Angelo isn't man enough to stand up to a little second grader name calling. No sticks and stones for him.... SUE THE GADFLY!!!!! SHE MUST BE STOPPED!!!! Coincidentally, in the Mille Lacs Messenger (the REAL newspaper), one of the commenteers this week called Mille Lacs County Commissioner Frank Courteau "an elected snake". Lawsuit potential here? Will Frank sue the commenteer? hmmm. According to Jim D'Angelo, former CEO of Nexus, "snake" is definitely a word worth suing someone over. We can't allow people to get away with saying such things now can we...

I also got blasted by a local big mouth in the Mille Lacs Messenger this week when I commented on the situation surrounding the Mille Lacs Academy Executive Director Paul L. Smith's October 15th conviction for fraud and embezzlement in an Oklahoma Federal Court. Rather than criticize the corporation or expressing dismay about the convicted felon they hired to oversee the treatment center for the "poor troubled boys", this blowhard seized the opportunity to attack Hannabelle - digging up all of the horrible things I've done in the past three years, virtually ignoring Smith's felonies while concentrating on me and my wicked ways.

I guess we don't see eye to eye here. I am a hateful creature because I: a) called sex offenders "pudpullers", b) I chastised an old "friend" for betraying me, and c) I have remained adamently vocal about the loss of our Constitutional Rights "ad nauseum" (according to Mr. Blowhard). Wicked, wicked Hannabelle... I see myself as sticking up for myself, my family, my neighborhood... I see myself as trying to defend our rights - including those of Mr. Blowhard.

According to Bob Mickus, the unelected mayor, convicted embezzler Paul Smith "made a mistake" and "Anyone can make a mistake." So much for Smith's embezzlement and fraud conviction. I, on the other hand (no pun intended) called a group of convicted sex offenders "Pudpullers". Perhaps I should have stuck to more clinical terms like: rapists, sodomizers, sexual psychopaths, etc. but like Paul Smith, I made a minor "mistake" and called them "Pudpullers". There are many differences between Smith and Hannabelle. As Nexus defended their fraudulent director, Mr. Smith was innocent until proven, and he was proven GUILTY. Although I have not committed any crimes and have not yet faced a jury of my peers, I've been judged GUILTY by the unelected mayor of Onamia and damned by those in my community who believe Nexus' fairy tales - for eternity.. My "guilt" is a "Done Deal." There's nothing I can do about it....

Think about it for a moment. When we first learned, back in 2007, that the Onamia city council had decided to annex, rezone, purchase, and sell land to Nexus to relocate 94 convicted sex offenders into our peaceful, private residential neighborhood, years of Nexus propaganda had miseducated and misled people, firmly intent on keeping the public in the dark. Believe me. Its in their best interest to do so. Lots and lots of money at stake. People had been lied to. The Truth had been cleverly disguised, covered up, or withheld altogether. People did not have accurate information from which to base their opinions. Thusly, most people became sympathetic to the "boys", the "children", the "students" from the "Academy". "Kids" who were "victims of abuse". Some would even welcome these poor troubled boys into their own backyards - if only it were possible..... And let us not forget "They're very well-behaved in church." Who could blame citizens for believing the bullcrap when it came from their own trusted government and trusted pre-bamboozled friends? Was there nobody who would break through the myths, the propaganda, and the bullcrap to bring the Truth to the people? Well.... it's a hard job but somebody's got to do it.

I'm looking forward to putting the first Court of Appeals Motion to Dismiss hearing behind me. "Losing" the two District Court judgments does not mean I'm guilty. They have not ruled on whether calling D'Angelo "Poopsie" is defamation or not. (I sometimes call Poncho "Honey". Heck. I sometimes call Poncho "Poncho". HE hasn't complained. Nor has he sued me.) Is using the phrase "getting away with murder" defamatory when in fact, an 11 year old boy died at the hands of an employee in a Nexus facility and nobody went to prison after the child was killed? (Of course, I was using the idiom in the context of Nexus getting away with murder by getting everything they demanded from the Onamia city council, including 15 years tax abatement. But Nexus got all undie-bundles about it.) Can't one call a spade a spade or must one fear facing jury trial for telling the truth or using a metaphor or idiom? And how will a jury resolve the allegation of "defamation" when Hannabelle expressed suspicion of "possible illegal activity" when the MLA Director - the Head Honcho himself - gets convicted for felony embezzlement and fraud?

If ACTIONS speak louder than WORDS,

shouldn't we be concentrating on the actions of Nexus

rather than abusing the court system

to eliminate a private citizen's words?

For some odd reason yet to be explained, the judges are heavily concerned that Jim D'Angelo, Peter Freeman, and the Nexus corporation have their "DUE PROCESS", although I'd like to mention that throughout the past nearly three years of my harrowing saga, I have never enjoyed such rights myself. No DUE PROCESS for Hannabelle. No representative government. No Freedom of Speech. No right to just say NO to a foreign imperialistic government who forces convicted sex offenders (much worse than your average teenage pudpullers, I might add) into a private residential neighborhood - putting them next to day cares, elderly widows, other vulnerable adults, etc etc etc ad nauseum...

TRIAL BY JURY

Nexus wants to put me on trial. YESSSSS! So far, under my esteemed lawyer's advice, I've been trying to avoid a jury trial due to the expense involved. But honestly, I'm looking forward to my trials. Both of them. It is only at trial that I will have an opportunity to vindicate myself and get my story out to the judges and to twelve jurors who have NOT been brainwashed by Nexus' propaganda. And whereas there is never publicity about a simple Motion to Dismiss, there should be (there WILL be) plenty of publicity about the CEO of a sex offender institution suing a disabled woman because she called him "Poopsie". Nobody wants to live near sex offenders. I will have public sympathy when this story goes national. And that the sex offender corporation board of directors - including Darnell Allen, Vice President of Super Valu; Francis Smith (the Jack Abramoff connection); Janet Benway, from Ameriprise (what ARE they doing with all that taxpayer money?), etc. etc. AND my personal favorite - FATHER Jerry Schik, CROSIER PRIEST - YES a member of the famous clan of priests, so many who have already been proven guilty of sexual crimes against boys. Poor troubled boys? Well, I would imagine they were pretty messed up after the Crosier priests got through with them...

[[[NOTE: I am in no way, at this time, accusing Father Jerry Schik of being guilty of pedophilia. But it is factual that he is a Crosier priest, he is on the board of Nexus, he has certainly been associated with the Onamia Crosiers, as well as St. Odilia, and others. I'm just getting started on delving into the Crosier child molesters. As Karen Carpenter once sang: We've only just begun... But I repeat - at this time, I am only accusing Father Jerry Schik of being part of the sex offender company that has lodged a bogus SLAPP lawsuit in order to silence me. I do accuse him of being part of that conspiracy. ]]]

In conclusion, Nexus will not let me get on with my life without first being put through two expensive jury trials. Fine by me. As I've said before, I have done nothing wrong. Their talley is adding up. I have always strived to tell you the Truth, nothing but the Truth. They have a few skeletons in their closet and are proven (or will be proven) liars. I will fight forever for our Constitutional Rights of Freedom of Speech. In fact, I'm now considering writing a book about the horrible ordeal that Nexus has put me through. After all, why let all that good research go to waste? But now, dear friends, I have to concentrate on my appeal for tomorrow. Wish me luck. :)

Paul Smith Convicted - At least they reported it.

2009-10-24T02:42:00.008-05:00

Dear Readers,

It never ceases to amaze me how no matter what kind of garbage (or how much) turns up in connection with Nexus, the local papers jump in with what seems to be damage control on behalf of Nexus. What's with all the talk of "exonoration"? What's with including Smith's plea of innocence? Why put THAT in the article? Almost all hardcore criminals claim they are innocent, don't they? Smith was proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Oh well. Maybe its just filler to make a short story long.... NEXUS' MILLE LACS ACADEMY DIRECTOR PAUL LYNN SMITH- GUILTY. GUILTY AND CONVICTED. Yep. That about sums it up. 'Nuff said.

And then there's Hutchinson's lame defense. They SCREENED HIM? They WATCHED him? Oh really? Like they 'watch' their sex offenders? Ye gads! These attempts at bamboozling the public are getting more and more ridiculous. Just how stupid do they think we are?

They always make sure to include that Nexus is a "non-profit" company. I think I'm the only one to notice that this "non-profit" has an annual budget of $40 MILLION? Hey, most of it came from your tax dollars. Maybe Nexus should ask Paul Smith to send you a thank you note for your "contribution" to their "non-profit". Ooops! He doesn't work there anymore. I wonder if his current facility is unlocked.... Personally, I hope he rooms with a 6'7", 12", 300 pound Poor Troubled Boy named Bubba. You going to sue me again for stating my feelings just then Vic? Geez.

HANNABELLE! YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH! SHAME ON YOU! SO WHAT IF HE STOLE A LITTLE MONEY FROM THE EMPLOYEES BENEFITS PROGRAM. SO WHAT IF HE SKIMMED THE TILL! AT LEAST HE DIDN'T USE UGLY WORDS LIKE YOU DO! PAUL SMITH WAS A NICE GUY! HOW DARE YOU BAD-MOUTH HIM! IT WASN'T HIS FAULT THEY CONVICTED HIM!

Yeah. He was probably very well behaved in church too.

Please contrast the following Mille Lacs County Times article with the comment below by a former Marie Detty employee who actually worked with Smith and bravely came forward to share her experience. Which perception do you think is more accurate? Who is more credible?Who do you believe? Nexus? The ProNexus propaganda? Or the person who knew the real Paul Smith? Because of my own personal experience with that disgusting criminal, I choose Door Number 3, Monty.

Enjoy.

From the Mille Lacs County Times,

Mille Lacs Academy Exec. Director convicted

Mille Lacs Academy Executive Director, Paul Smith, was convicted Thursday, Oct. 15 by an Oklahoma Federal District Court on charges stemming from his employment with Marie Detty Youth and Family Services Center, Inc., of Lawton, Okla., from 2001 to 2004.
Smith was convicted of four counts of embezzlement of funds from an employee pension plan and making false claims to investigators. Mail fraud charges were dismissed.
Sentencing is scheduled for late January, 2010.

The Mille Lacs Academy is a residential juvenile sex offender treatment program in Onamia.
Earlier in the year, in a released statement, Smith said, “These charges were thoroughly investigated in 2004 by the Marie Detty board of directors. I was exonerated of all allegations, and all charges were dropped. I’m sure the federal charges will be dropped as well.”

David Hutchinson, the CEO of Nexus, a Minnesota nonprofit corporation which operates Mille Lacs Academy, responded to Smith’s conviction with this statement:
“Paul Smith joined Nexus in 2007 as executive director of Mille Lacs Academy after a thorough
background investigation. At that time, we found that both the Marie Detty organization and the Oklahoma Health & Human Services Department had investigated the same transactions on which the conviction is based, and that both investigations had exonerated Mr. Smith in 2004.
“Paul Smith has always exhibited excellence in his duties as director of Mille Lacs Academy. When we learned of the Oklahoma indictment, our position was to let the justice system take its course. However, we want to assure our referral sources and the public that we maintained vigilant oversight and supervision of all financial and operational matters at Mille Lacs Academy since learning of the indictment and that the independent financial audits performed during Paul’s leadership at Mille Lacs Academy have shown no irregularities.

“As a result of this conviction, Paul has submitted his resignation, and Nexus has accepted it, effective immediately. Patrick Rookey, Vice President Clinical Operations, will serve as interim director. A search for a permanent replacement is already underway.”
The embezzlement and false statement convictions each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Comments (1)
...written by Melanie Smith, October 23, 2009
I am a former employee of Marie Detty Youth and Family Services in Lawton, Oklahoma. Paul was a brilliant man but unfortnately he lacked ethics and character. I was the former Director of one of his Group Homes. It was obvious to me from early on that he was only interested in the financial aspect of the program and had very little concern for the welfare of the children in his facility. Now it is obvious why he was so concerned about making a profit because he was lining his own pockets. I have known Paul for over 20 years and for the most part I liked him until I went to work for him. He is not a nice man. He has hurt many people by his actions and took money from his own employees. The sad thing is, I know he still slept fine at night. If he has any remorse at all, it is due to the fact that he has been caught.

Waiting to Peel

2009-10-17T23:56:00.006-05:00

I think the most frustrating aspect of my war against the Onamia government acting as an agent for a corporation rather than respecting the Rights of the citizens they've been sworn to serve is that I can't find anyone that understands that this is what the war is about. It's about Liberty.
The Right to Liberty. The Right to the Pursuit of Happiness. It's about the Constitution. It's about what it means to be an American Citizen.

Sure, the war between Bradbury and Onamia began as a NIMBY - Not in My Backyard. But think for a moment, about what exactly a NIMBY means. Perhaps the acronym should be niMby... not in MY back yard. There isn't an acronym that I know of for those who would put something in YOUR backyard but if there was it might be BYBYTM.... (Better Your Back Yard Than Mine.) Now in the case of 94 convicted sex offenders (and one convicted ex-executive director), the people who wanted to put this facility in MY back yard are not the people affected by the facility. They're not affected because, obviously, it isn't in THEIR back yard.

Now comes the conflict. Shouldn't the people who are affected by living next to the sex offender facility have some say in the matter? Some control over their own back yards? Or is it perfectly acceptable to impose sex offender facilities on any American citizens anywhere? In our case, as you probably know, we don't have the right to vote for the politicians who made this decision. Yet, we are the ones affected by their decision. There were indeed laws in place to protect property owners but Larry Milton (dead), Bob Mickus, Jerome Kryzer, Bill Hill, Mark Loch (gone) changed these ordinances to accommodate the company in Golden Valley.

I went to Mexico with my dad when I was sixteen. I have a lot of great memories from that trip, don't get me wrong. But I also have a very bad one. Leaving MinneSNOWda for Mexico was like stepping into another world. I couldn't wait to hit the beach. A hot white sand beautiful tropical beach. As I laid out on the beach, in my two-piece swimsuit, my winter-white Minnesoda body soaking up the rays, I was totally unaware that I was getting burned. I didn't feel it. To me, it felt pleasantly warm in the sweet tropical breeze, watching the ocean waves... By the end of the afternoon, I was crimson. I was Lobster Girl. And then, the pain set in. If you haven't experienced this, there is no way I can adequately describe it. Pain like never before. You can't sit still. You can't lay down. You can't wear clothes. You can't sleep. You just have to stand there and endure the hurt! I took cold showers and my daddy gently smeared cream on my back. But that relief only lasted a few moments before the pain came back. But then, just when you thought it couldn't get worse, it did. Then the itching began. We are not talking a mild tickle that needs to be scratched. We are talking agony. And of course the deep burn made scratching impossible. There was no relief. If you've ever experienced it, you know exactly what I mean. After that, the vacation was pretty much... not so good...

What happened to me in Onamia was pretty similar. I was merrily living my little life while the city council made their plans. I was unaware that I was burning until the damage, tremendous and irrevokable, had been done. And when the war began, so did the pain. I couldn't sit still. I couldn't sleep. (I did however wear clothes...) The pain was having people I'd never wronged make personal attacks against me just because I didn't want Nexus to change my neighborhood. The pain of people, whose politics I was not allowed to participate in, make decisions about my life without my having any recourse. The terrible pain of having friends turn on me because now they worked for Nexus or because they were intimidated by the mayor or because in actuality, they weren't very good friends after all. The pain of being ostracized. The pain of being ignored. The pain of being ridiculed. The pain of not being heard. My life turned into one huge flaming ball of pain. And my daddy wasn't there to watch my back.

Then the itching began. Jim D'Angelo lying about the safety risk - handing out a brochure stating that in the past 10 years there had only been "one incident" when sheriff and police records indicated that there had been literally hundreds of escapes, assaults, sexual crimes, theft, etc. at the Mille Lacs Academy. Itching, when we found that Jim D'Angelo threatened to leave Onamia if the city council didn't cave in to his demands by giving Nexus tax exemption. Convicted felon former Mille Lacs Academy Executive Administrator Paul Smith told the county commissioners that if they didn't grant Nexus tax exemption or abatement that Nexus would leave the state and they caved as well. Doesn't anyone play poker anymore? Don't they know a bluff when they see one? Anyway, I'm in enough legal trouble right now without bringing up terms like extortion and blackmail, but somehow it just doesn't seem right to threaten the government to manipulate them into handing over tax payer money. Doesn't seem right at all.

The itching grew worse when we found discrepencies in financial figures Nexus used when applying for government funding. (Don't worry about it Vic. This will all come out at my trials.)
When we brought this to the attention of the county board and they ignored us, the itching became unbearable.

Then we uncovered information that an eleven year old boy had been accidentally killed while in a prone-restraint hold by an employee in one of Nexus' facilities. Nexus had not disclosed this to the Onamia city council. And when I did, Nexus sued me for it. I can't tell you how badly I wanted to scratch, the itching got so bad. And even then, the community still supported the Almighty Nexus. Don't they realize that if my old friend who works at the Academy - the one on the sheriff's report charging "child abuse" goes over the top, there could be another scandal like in Mason City? Don't they realize that Nexus sold that institution? What could happen here? Are they going to sell this one if there's an accident?

But wait. There's more. There's the failed Fairmont, MN facility that Nexus tried to sell recently. There's the 30 day testing program we weren't told about. And dare I talk about grant money for research on the poor troubled boys? Using them as guinea pigs? I haven't even begun. The itch kept spreading as we kept finding out more and more reasons for not wanting to keep company with this company. Was I surprised that Paul Smith was convicted in Oklahoma? Yes and no. I wasn't surprised at what he'd done or that he got caught. I just kind of expected the judge to let him off with 15 years of tax abatement. But for once, it seems that Justice prevailed.

A small dab of cream, a bit of relief.

Throughout this war, I've had no community support. I'm told its because Hannabelle called the sex offenders an offensive name, that I rant, and because I was mean to an old friend who betrayed me when she claimed the right to make determinations about my life. Doesn't anybody mind their own business these days? Pain and itching.

Yeah. Hannabelle used the "F" word. She calls sex offenders sex offenders. She said a kid died when a kid died. But nobody seems to mind that the CEO of the corporation lied to the public about safety. That the Executive Director had embezzled. They don't seem to mind that a child died and Nexus failed to mention it. Nobody has shown a lick of sympathy to any of the people who have suffered at the brutality of Nexus (MY OPINION and I'll explain why I say "brutality" at my trials), and the stupidity of the Onamia city council. Nobody has said, "We're sorry for your pain." Nope. They say I did it to myself. Shouldn't have laid out on the beach... The difference is, I didn't. I wasn't laying in the sun. I was sitting at home, minding my own business. This was all done to me against my will. Against my Liberty.

Now, if I sound to you like I'm ranting, that's your problem. Me? Yeah sure. I got badly burned. But I'm sitting here now with ice water in my veins, cool as a cucumber..... waiting to peel.

NIMBY means you didn't have the Right to put it in MY back yard. But you did it anyway.

Itch... itch... itch...

*I'd like to welcome my new readers. I appreciate your support! :)

MLA DIRECTOR PAUL SMITH CONVICTED!

2009-10-16T10:59:00.002-05:00

Mille Lacs Academy Executive Director Paul Lynn Smith was convicted yesterday in Federal Court in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

More to follow.

MLA Director Paul Smith Trial Continues

2009-10-15T08:01:00.003-05:00

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
Calendar of Proceedings For
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2009

HONORABLE ROBIN J. CAUTHRON
9:00
CR-08-272-C USA v. Paul L. Smith Jury Trial Crtrm #501

Paul L. Smith is the Executive Director of the Mille Lacs Academy in Onamia, MN. He is on trial for crimes he allegedly committed while acting as Director of the Marie Detty juvenile detention center in Oklahoma, prior to his appointment with the Nexus corporation. Original charges included theft, fraud, mail fraud, embezzlement, and lying to federal authorities and carried a penalty of up to 30 years in Federal prison.

In spite of the seriousness of the allegations, Nexus released a statement of support of their indicted director who has apparently continued to perform his duties at the juvenile sex offender correctional facility. Recently, the Mille Lacs Academy distributed propaganda through an insert in the Bargain Hunter Shopper, with a picture of the new sex offender facility with the word "Honesty" printed in bold letters. There was a photograph of Smith in the literature, as well as quotations, but nothing written about his indictment and upcoming trial.

Former Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo is suing me for saying many things against him as well as the unwanted sex offender facility forced down our throats by the Onamia city council who knowingly put sex offenders next to day cares, children, elderly widows, and vulnerable adults.

The city council officials who went to great lengths to keep the sex offender institution in our community, who changed ordinances to accommodate a private corporation while ignoring the safety of their citizens, and who caved in to Nexus demands including 15 years of tax abatement were Mayor Larry Milton (dead), Councilmen Robert Mickus (unelected acting mayor), Bill Hill, (former president of the Mille Lacs Community Development Corporation), Mark Loch (who quit and moved away), and Jerome Kryzer (who did not reside in Onamia during winter months). They were assisted by the Onamia Zoning Guy Mickey Carter who proceeded to misclassify the correctional facility as R2 and allow spot-zoning without a Comprehensive Municipal Plan, bonnified City Planning Commission or Board of Adjustments. Is it any wonder that such a council would make such mistakes?

One of the things I'm being sued for is my statement (in my blog) that we think he's [D'Angelo] running a crooked company. D'Angelo claims that my statement was defamation. (According to the law, it is not.) I claim that it was a warning; apprehension based on disturbing data we found and presented to the Onamia city council and Mille Lacs county board who ignored both our concerns as well as the discovery of discrepencies in questionable financial figures supplied to them by Nexus in order to obtain tax exemption and tax abatement. Perhaps your elected officials should have paid attention to Hannabelle and as we requested, checked out the Nexus corporation before eagerly handing over your tax dollars to them. Who would have known that Nexus would use your tax dollars to pay for a lawsuit against a private citizen who opposed them, i.e. your friend and neighbor - me.

My Friends, as time goes on, Hannabelle is not only becoming vindicated, she is being proved correct in her assessment of this ruthless corporation that bullied its way into a private neighborhood against the wishes of American citizens whose Constitutional Rights have been abolished by the Onamia city council. The statement we think he [D'Angelo] is running a crooked company was not stated as fact, but as speculation within a humorous story. Should I have said such a thing? I don't know. When one is fighting to protect her home, one may have a tendency to react emotionally, especially when trying to keep sex offenders away from her mom. Was D'Angelo's lawsuit an overreaction? Or did Hannabelle touch a nerve? It may be too soon to tell what lies beneath the tip of this iceberg. But if the felony charges against Mille Lacs Academy Director Paul Smith pan out and he is convicted, perhaps a serious investigation into this corporation is in order.

I welcome your thoughts and comments on the Paul Smith matter. If you use this forum to make personal attacks and threats against me, (as so many have in the past), I will not post your comments. Let's keep it smart and civil.

Mille Lacs Academy Director's Trial

2009-10-14T01:57:00.002-05:00

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
Calendar of Proceedings For
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2009

HONORABLE ROBIN J. CAUTHRON

9:15 CR-08-272-C USA v. Paul L. Smith Jury Trial Crtrm #501

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR HANNABELLE,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

The Philosophy of Liberty - Revisited

2009-10-03T03:09:00.003-05:00

I just have to post this video again. There are too many people out there who just don't "get it". Maybe they never will. But this is important stuffm, so please try. (Especially you, Victor. Pay attention).

Constant Comments

2009-09-28T11:27:00.003-05:00

After two and a half years of debunking Nexus and the local governments, exposing their lies and propaganda, of telling you the Truth about what they are doing to abolish your Constitutional Rights, how they change or ignore laws which were in place to protect you, and about the negative consequences of having a sex offender facility in your community, you'd think people would "get it". Some people don't need corporate PR campaigns or a government which rules by intimidation and misinformation to be bamboozled. Too many people are too busy pulling the wool over their own eyes to see what's real.

Recently I received some comments on Hannabelle's YouTube videos. I'll share them with you in a moment. I always look up the commenteers and usually find the negative ones to be nothing more than malicious troublemakers. Ironically, these Pronexus hecklers say much worse things than I ever said which Nexus and D'Angelo and Freeman are SUING me for. But then of course, their lawsuits are frivilous attempts to crush the life out of me and bury me under their "cornerstone values".

Anyway, I looked up 111prettygurl (sic) on YouTube after she made a few stupid comments about my videos. I'll ask your opinion on this: She signs up for YouTube on September 26. She's the new kid on the block... Welcome to YouTube 111prettygurl... She has no videos of her own to upload. So what's the first (and only) thing she does? She beelines to Hannabelle's videos, watches three of them, and makes negative and as you will see, really stupid comments. Although I dutifully replied, I wiped the slate clean and blocked her after I saw that this wasn't a real viewer, but some Nexus ringer hell-bent on purely harrassing me. One of the Pronexusians. I think: AHA! This will be good for my countersuits, if we end up going there. Anyway, here are the comments.

I'm very proud of my videos, by the way. :)

Comment on Message to Nexusville

"they could be in my back yard because i have opened my eyes and know these kidsdeserve a chance, if your town was going to make it it wouldnt have ever died down,they have prisons in towns with worse offenders who still dont struggle like you do

and where in life did you all chose to give up on our future. these KIDS are in a rehabilitation setting so when they leave they dont reoffend. most inmates in prison or jail(there is a difference) reoffend and get worse if they recieve no treatment. these are children who made bad choices they arent bad. circumstances or life caused them to be this way, they werent born this way. open your heart and mind its not black and white anymore.its not about money or land its about CHILDREN all of them"

I have to say that sodomizing toddlers is a little more than "bad choices". Its a crime. Some of these "children" could be serving in Iraq if they weren't serving time in the Mille Lacs Academy... Strong young men that they are...

Comment on Spot Zoning for Sex Offenders

"so at what point when Jesus sacrificed himself did he say that the children who stray from the "way" dont deserve to recieve help if the location isnt right? were you told i will give you life but you cant be here and make a mistake. these children deserve to live and rehab,and the new facility is out of the way, they arent right in town where you can be "ashamed" because you are all cowards to let these children suffer with no saving. you go to the store and walk next to offenders.all kinds"

Jesus did not sacrifice himself. He was thrown under the bus by his good friends and neighbors. (I know the feeling.) No. If Hannabelle had been there, SHE would have stood up for Jesus and put her life on the line for her friend. But I bet that like me, in the end Jesus wished he'd had better friends... Right Skippy?

One more thing... if indeed I was a "coward", I certainly wouldn't have stood up to Nexus. I would have crawled under the table and hid, like other people. No. I might be STUPID, but I'm not a coward. Looks like I might be the only one in the county who isn't, (except for Ox and Poncho, of course. They're tough as nails. Better not to mess with them.)

And on her own channel page (like a home page) as a comment on me...

"you are a closed minded jerk to say they need to be in jail. these are messed up kids who deserve a chance. if ted bundy would have been given a rehab do you think he woulda killed more? maybe we should put a jail in onamia so you can cry more, but we could put murders and gang bangers there they will be safer then kids!!! ha ha you really should put yourself into these kids therapist shoes. to change you must want it, they seem to want it"

Why, if you're such a "Christian", would you want to make me "cry more"? Why would you want to cause me more pain? I've not done anything to you. Trying to protect my family doesn't hurt you. And who is this "we" you are going to build a jail with to make me cry more? I say - you might as well go ahead and build one. Heck, a lot of your friends just might end up in it. Maybe you should consider building your jail in Oklahoma instead?

So there you go, 111prettygurl. I'm posting your comments here as Nexus attorney Victor E. Lund keeps saying "for the whole world to see". Happy now? Have you done your job? Now, when "the whole world" sees my video and reads your comments, they will see how bogus your attacks are.

As everyone knows, this has never been about getting help for juvenile sex offenders. This fight has been against bad government, the corporatization of America, and your First Amendment Rights.

You talk about Ted Bundy - if he had an opportunity for rehab, do I think he would have "killed more"? Well, the answer is yes. I knew Ted Bundy. I had a "close encounter" with him personally. I'm one of the few people who got out of his car alive. And let me tell you this: No amount of rehabilitation or treatment or counseling - NOTHING would have stopped him from killing. I only survived because - I'm Hannabelle.

[By the way - in two and a half years, not one person has asked me WHY I'm so opposed to putting sex offenders next to day cares and helpless little old ladies. They just yell at me, call me names, attack my character, and shove Jesus in my face. Go figure.]

You want me to walk in the therapists' shoes? Sure! I will - when you try walking in mine.

The Wheels of Justice Grind Slowly...

2009-09-13T06:13:00.000-05:00

but exceedingly fine...

Just an update to let you all know that there is no update on the Nexus vs Hannabelle lawsuit. Yes, I know its been over thirty days since our last court appearance and yes, I think that is just plain appalling, but no, there is nothing I can do about it. Nexus has indeed finally "taught me a lesson"!!! Isn't that what all this sue-age is about? Teaching Hannabelle a lesson???

The lesson is: Frivilous lawsuits such as theirs clog our justice system.

And as time goes by and we discover more about the Nexusians, my SLAPP case gets even stronger and stronger. Nexus certainly has plenty of reasons to try to shut me up. Nexus has plenty of reasons to keep the public in it's blissful ignorance. Personally, I don't care how slowly justice grinds (knowing it will indeed be exceedingly fine in the end...) The longer Nexus drags out my "lesson", the more I'll learn - about THEM. They picked the wrong person to "punish".

Nothing I have said or done up to this point is defamation. Nothing I have said or done up to this point has hurt the Nexus corporation one iota. They can't claim damages because they don't have any. The spoiled brats got everything they wanted. (I am referring to Nexus, not the Poor Troubled Boys...) Because they keep suing me, they won't let me move on. Because they keep suing me, they are forcing my to stay involved. And since I am a firm believer in the old adage: Know Thy Enemy, I will indeed keep going. Nexus has proven itself an enemy.

en·e·my

n. pl. en·e·mies
1. One who feels hatred toward, intends injury to, or opposes the interests of another; a foe.
2.
a. A hostile power or force, such as a nation.
b. A member or unit of such a force.
3. A group of foes or hostile forces.
4. Something destructive or injurious in its effects:

adj.
Of, relating to, or being a hostile power or force.

In essence: Nexus

All That and a Bag of Chips

2009-08-15T23:37:00.004-05:00

What can I say? We were invited. Everyone was. Nowhere did it say "everybody EXCEPT Hannabelle". So Poncho and I attended the Mille Lacs Academy Open House celebration. Of course, since Nexus has proven itself to be a total detriment to my life, I wasn't in any mood to celebrate the completion of the sex offender facility. I was, however, curious to see how Nexus spent our money (I mean, if they can spend something like $40,000.00[*1] on lawsuits against me, what can they do with $18 MILLION taxpayer dollars to play with?[*2]).

Another reason I decided to attend the big gala was that I was curious to see if I could catch a glimpse of my Accusers. After all, I'm just a disabled old musician and now that I'm not going to all of those horrible city council meetings to stop Nexus, I don't get out much. Well, except for court. I've only actually met suers Jim D'Angelo and Dave Hutchinson. (Always exceedingly unpleasant...) I've never even seen the other people who are suing me - Peter Freeman (suing me twice, once for embarrassment and again as Team Nexus board chairman), Janet Benway (AMERIPRISE) Father Jerry Schik (YES a CROSIER PRIEST!!!!!), Laureen Carlson, Darnell Allen (SUPERVALU), Jeff Talley, Kevin Gray (MNDOT CFO), Larry Riesselman, Francis Smith (father of Michael D. Smith - you remember the Jack Abramoff scandal? Smith was Jack's partner.), and Laurie Zenner... Do these suers actually exist? So I hear. In this country, we have THE RIGHT to face our accusers. I, however, have to research mine on the Internet because I have no idea of who they are. (They aren't from MY neighborhood... They just dumped their 94 sex offenders here.) I've been to court THREE times and have yet to see anybody from Nexus except Vic, their lawyer. And as diligently as I TRIED to communicate with all of these ... people, they gave me the Nexus Silent Treatment until the sheriff's deputy showed up in my yard with the lawsuits. HEY! WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, NEIGHBOR!!! WANT TO BORROW A CUP OF .... MY SOUL?

Anyway, it wasn't my intention to cause any trouble. I didn't expect to talk to any Nexusians. To tell you the truth (and I always do), I haven't set foot on that 38.81 acres since Nexus purchased it from the Onamia Corporate Real Estate Office (i.e. City Hall...). Jim D'Angelo might have given me permission when he talked about giving me an "easement" to use the land, but this is a fellow who lied on a sworn affidavit while suing me for calling him "Poopsie". I'm certainly not going to trust him not to shoot me for trespassing. So no, I haven't been there since they ruined it. And I don't plan to go back. Today was MY day to visit the Mille Lacs Academy. So I did. I was invited.

My first impression of the "Academy" was utter shock. YIKES! The buildings, which I knew from the plans would be ugly, also looked so CHEAP! Really tacky. (How sad for poor Councilman Jerome Kryzer - whose proudest life acheivement was to put sex offenders next to day care... "aye-ing" at every opportunity - those few months he actually resides in town, that is ... ) But then, that is just my opinion. For all I know, J.F.K. is thrilled with the ticky-tack. (Please note: I don't know Jerome's middle name, but here the F. does not stand for Fitzgerald...)

For $18 Million taxpayer dollars, I expected much more. But then, perhaps the inside of the buildings are nice??? I don't know. I didn't go in. I never will (unless it is to drag "home" one of the escaped sex offenders I round up on my property, in which case it will definitely be my intention to cause trouble. A lot of it).

You know, it just occurred to me that perhaps, for a non-creative kind of person, these buildings might be ... like... the ultimate. I don't mean to brag, but I've composed symphonic music, have a couple of paintings in a museum, and designed and built my own dream house. I've been creative all of my life. Thusly, maybe I'm being harsh in my judgment. Maybe building sex offender facilities that resemble Nazi concentration camps made out of paper mache' is the best they can do, and they should be commended for their attempt at creativity. Still.... $18 million taxpayer dollars... Maybe it wouldn't be so ugly if it was in an appropriately zoned area such as commercial or institutional. Maybe it just doesn't belong where they built it. I tried to tell them...

The next thing I noticed was that I was looking directly at the director Paul Smith - you know, the one who has been indicted for embezzlement, fraud, mail fraud etc. down at Marie-Detty in Oklahoma where he used to be the director there too. He was standing in the parking lot laughing along with Pat Rookie. They seemed happy. Well, until they saw yours truly. Now there isn't any love lost between Smith and me. (I mean Paul, not Francis or Michael D.) Just seeing him made my skin crawl. It always does.

"Now why isn't that man in jail?" I said. But then, it hit me... Paul and I have something in common. We're BOTH defendants! NEITHER of us has yet to face our Accusers! (Of course, he keeps getting his trial POSTPONED while I'm seeking to get these frivilous lawsuits against me dismissed.) And NEITHER of us wants to live next to .... a school. I almost felt sorry for him. At least I'm not facing 30 years in prison .... or even Brazil.

A nice looking young man with a Mille Lacs Academy tee-shirt ran up to our vehicle. Poncho rolled down the window. The nice looking young man looked happy as he invited us to join in the festivities. We declined. I have to say, he was very nice. (Contrary to your Pronexus beliefs, my fight has never been with the employees - just the location and the incompetent Onamia government's malfeasance -and finally, of course with the suers.) Obviously, this young man didn't realize he was talking to Hannabelle or maybe he wouldn't have been so pleasant. (Orders from the old boss and all...) Maybe later he'd send me some nice death threats or nice creepy comments on my blog... But he was really nice. He told us we could at least come over for a bag of chips.

I looked at the ugly mess of ugly "cardboard" buildings and sweeping my arm across the view, I said:
"Gee. All that AND a bag of chips."

We drove away.

[*1] That figure is just a rough estimate I based on what I've spent defending myself so far while being persecuted in two lawsuits - for 1. calling former CEO Jim D'Angelo "Poopsie" and embarrassing Pete, and 2. after I brought really, really unwanted attention to a child killed by a Nexus employee at another Nexus facility. Judging by their case against me, coupled with the old adage "you get what you pay for", I figure their lawyers are cheaper than mine.

[*2] Nexus charges county governments (last I heard it was about $245.00 per sex offender per day- with 94 of them, you do the math...) for "treatment", thus receives its primary income from taxpayer money. Nexus, a company that made $40 Million last year, is a "non-profit" company and does not pay taxes. It also got 15 years tax ABATEMENT from the Onamia Government (along with other "deals") and 7 years tax abatement from the county. We pay taxes so Nexus doesn't have to. But Nexus couldn't exist without our tax dollars.... Something to think about.

CORRECTION: I had written that Nexus made $40 Million "in profits", but that was an error in speakage on my part. According to Jim D'Angelo's resume:

NEXUS; Minneapolis, MN.
A $40M+, 720 employee, not for profit behavioral health agency with operating locations in Minnesota, and Illinois.

Anyway you look at it, that's a lot of tax dollars...

Keeping Secrets

2009-07-28T20:19:00.006-05:00

Well, dear Readers... as everyone knows, Nexus (you know, the multi-million dollar private company who likes to flaunt its "cornerstone values" while profitting from your tax dollars) is suing the life out of me - because I said: "Nexus - getting away with murder" at the end of a video I made about the March 3, 2008 city council meeting. At the time, I was using the phrase "getting away with murder" as an idiom because at the March 3, 2008 meeting once again Nexus got unanimous approval from the local government for permitted use in R2 zoning. Minnesota Statute 462.357 states that juvenile sex offender treatment centers are not permitted in either R1 or R2 zoned districts. Nobody has yet to explain to me how the Onamia city council circumvented that law in order to put Nexus' sex offenders next to day care. But the point was that Nexus got everything it wanted, regardless of how extraordinarily wrong it was.

Still, Nexus wasn't content with merely ruining the neighborhood and ruining my life. They needed to exercise a little POWER to show me whose boss.

"Grandmother," said Little Red Riding Hood. "What deep pockets you have."
"The better to sue you with, my dear", said the Big Bad Wolf.

Anyhooo... kind of like the recent attacks on President Obama for using the word "stupidity" in describing the stupid actions of that cop in the Gates case, Nexus has its undies in a bundle about my use of the word "murder" in describing the homicidal restraint hold of one of their employees after she killed an eleven year old boy at their (former- they sold it...) Gerard of Iowa facility in Mason City. Intitially, I brought the incident up at the city council meeting to point out that as they were giving Nexus the moon, the city had not properly researched and had no clue about Nexus' history; Nexus had failed to disclose the death of this child. What else did Nexus fail to disclose?

Well now we know more....

As I became more educated about some of the dreadful abuse taking place in today's "mental health" institutions, I wrote an article indicating that in my opinion, victims who are killed by deadly force while in restraint holds are indeed victims of murder. I stand by that opinion. I'm not the only person who feels this way.

Terms of Endearment

2009-07-14T00:59:00.002-05:00

Some things strike me funny.

I was talking on the phone to a dear old friend the other day. He asked me how the law suits are going. (None of my friends can comprehend my law suits. Too bizarre.)

After I filled him in on the latest details, he didn't respond for a moment. I waited patiently.

"I, uh, have a question," he said with seriousity.
"Kay," I said.
"What is 'poopsie'?"
"Huh?"
"What does 'poopsie' mean?" he asked quietly.

I had to laugh. He thought there must be some hidden meaning, some definition he was unfamiliar with, perhaps some CODE word, (something shameful and dirty...) and he was a bit embarrassed to have to ask.

"Poopsie doesn't MEAN anything," I told him. "Its a term of endearment... you know... like 'honey' or 'sweetheart' or 'darling'."

"And he's suing you for this?"
"Well, I also said that he was 'arrogant'," I confessed.
"If he's suing you for calling him 'Poopsie', its obvious that he's 'arrogant'."
"Shhhh!" I warned. "If he finds out you said that, you're headed for your own law suit!"

We laughed. It felt good to laugh. We talked for awhile longer, about things other than sex offenders and law suits. Then it was time to say goodbye.
He was very jovial.

"I'll talk to you soon! I love you, Poopsie!" he laughed.
"I love you too, Honeycakes! But now I have to SUE YOU!"

NOTE: In one of the documents in the Freeman/D'Angelo law suit #1, Victor Lund (their lawyer) refers to the term "Poopsie" as being "obscene". I have a question, Dear Readers. What is "poopsie"? What does "poopsie" mean? I thought it was just a term of endearment....

MLA Director's Trial Moved

2009-07-10T15:37:00.002-05:00

Mille Lacs Academy Executive Director Paul L. Smith was "on the docket" for Monday, July 13, 2009 in Federal Court in Oklahoma City. However, his trial has been continued (rescheduled) until October 13, 2009. Smith has been indicted on several counts of embezzlement and mail fraud, crimes he allegedly committed prior to joining the "Nexus family" while he was the director of a youth detention center in Lawton, Oklahoma. Despite the serious charges, Nexus reportedly stands behind their indicted director and Smith has not stepped down from his position as the Mille Lacs Academy man in charge.

Read the Paul Smith case actual court documents

Shouting Fire

2009-07-03T09:34:00.003-05:00

I recommend this HBO documentary.

SHOUTING FIRE: STORIES FROM THE EDGE OF FREE SPEECH

Since the Nexus corporation, former CEO Jim D'Angelo, and Nexus chairman of the board Peter Freeman are all suing me for simply exercising my Freedom of Speech while trying to procure favorable governmental action to keep their 94 convicted sex offenders out of my residential neighborhood, I've developed a keen interest in this subject. In fact, I watched this movie twice. Intensely...
$
It is a very thought-provoking presentation. What I got most from it is the important message of how sacred our 1st Amendment Constitutional rights really are, and how, even if we do not agree with what someone is saying, we MUST as a society defend the right to free speech. The Nexusians say they aren't against my rights of free speech, (yeah. right...) but their actions speak louder than words... These lawsuits against me are clearly a strategic attempt to not only silence me, but also to intimidate and silence our supporters - through fear of also being sued by these SLAPPers.

[SLAPP - Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation]

The Nexusians may deem it was necessary to SLAPP around Hannabelle. But it didn't work. Their behavior is my best evidence. My "smoking gun." And where there's smoke, there's fire? These litigants stupidly continue to pour fuel on the fire I shout.

I'm looking forward to going to court in August for the Nexus (corporation) lawsuit. I'm proud to be an activist for free speech, knowing I have the courage to stand up for what's right and the fortitude to fight against what's wrong. And when indeed there IS a fire - you should have the guts to shout about it too. Protecting your rights is like brushing your teeth. You have to do it daily or eventually you'll lose them.

My Upcoming Nexus Lawsuit

2009-06-29T19:04:00.005-05:00

Nexus' lawyer said that I sit at my computer and make things up because I think its funny. Of course, since his statement is not true, Nexus' lawyer actually defamed me. But since that is his opinion and I believe in free speech, I'll let it slide for now... Meantime, I'd like everyone who reads the Bradbury Buzzz to take a few minutes to search on Google for information on Tanner Wilson's death. I guarantee that you will find plenty on the boy who was killed by a Nexus employee at Gerard in Mason City, Iowa.

***

You will find this deceased Nexus client on several websites such as Children in Treatment, Mental Health Abuse: DESTROYING LIVES, The Assault on Children, and the Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse. In articles such as: The Silent Death of America's Children. Listed in Victims from Fornitswikicopy. Other bloggers besides me have written about Tanner. Or if you don't trust the words of bloggers such as myself, you can read what the Iowa Attorney General has to say about the death of this child at the Nexus facility. Tanner Wilson is all over the Internet. His story has been used as an example at the Mental Health Council of AUSTRALIA! Its even being sold in a publication on EBAY . Everyone's allowed to talk about the death of this boy except Hannabelle. Nexus doesn't grant me Freedom of Speech.

(But then, believe it or not, Nexus is not the boss of me....)

***

Wanda K. Mohr Ph.D, RN, Faan included the death of 11 year old Tanner Wilson in a presentation she made on behalf of The Advocates Coalition For The Appropriate Use Of Restraints to The Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services. She said:

***

"According to the well-known forensic pathologist, Ronald O'Halloren, Tanner died unnecessarily as a result of asphyxia secondary to intense pressure on his chest during a restraint. According to witnesses, Tanner cried repeatedly "Help me, I can't breathe" as he struggled. No one paid attention."

***

There are two differing conclusions about Tanner's death. The first one was that he died as a result of asphyxia (that means smothered to death, Bill.) That conclusion was conveniently changed to that he died from a heart attack, (as if that were somehow a natural cause?) Someone just happened to be sitting on him at the time...

***

"What's the relevance?" asked Bob Mickus, the new, unelected mayor of Onamia when I informed the uninformed city council of this particular skeleton in Nexus' closet. At the time, I felt it was extremely relevant in the fight to keep a Nexus institution out of our neighborhood. After all, Nexus sold the Gerard of Iowa facility after their employee killed a child and we had already discovered the charge of "child abuse" by a Mille Lacs Academy employee on the sheriff's reports. The point being: If an MLA employee kills a client here, will Nexus also sell this institution? And if so, to whom?

***

The second point I tried to make to the city council is that they had not researched the company that they were about to extend 15 years tax abatement (the maximum allowed). You know.... YOU pay taxes so Nexus doesn't have to. One wonders just how many lawsuits Nexus uses your tax dollars to 1. defend cases such as Tanner Wilson or 2. to SLAPP folks like me around.

***

Nexus is suing me because I reported what so many others reported. An 11 year old boy was killed by a Nexus employee at their Gerard of Iowa facility. To my knowledge, I am the ONLY person to be sued over Tanner Wilson.

***

I'm sure that Nexus sued me to shut me up. But you know me...

I always have plenty more to say. Below is one of my sources, printed out so that you don't have to do the Googling yourself.

***

Parents Sue Facility And Staff For Boy's Restraint Death By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily ExpressAugust 16, 2001

MASON CITY, IOWA--On Tanner Wilson's first day at Gerard of Iowa care center two years ago, staff member Lori Ingham tried to "take him to the ground". During the attempt to restrain him, Ingham succeeded in breaking the boy's leg.
On February 9 of this year, a year and a half after being admitted to the mental health facility, Wilson died while being restrained in a "routine physical holding".
He was 11 years old.
Officials have ruled the cause of death as asphyxiation -- he suffocated to death -- and are considering it a homicide.
One of the employees allegedly involved in restraining Wilson when he died was none other than Lori Ingham. She now faces a charge of child endangerment in connection with the death.
This Tuesday, Tanner's parents, Robert and Karen Wilson, filed a lawsuit against Ingham and fellow employee Jeremy Witt, along with Gerard Treatment Programs and an affiliate known as Nexus Inc..
According to the Des Moines Register, the suit claims Ingham and Witt "used unreasonable and unnecessary force in restraining and eventually killing" the boy. It also charges Gerard, which was being paid $9,000 a month to care for Wilson, with failing to properly train and supervise its employees.
The Wilsons are asking for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. They say they do not want other parents to go through what they have gone through.

Alien Nation

2009-06-27T08:08:00.007-05:00

"Often times I have hated in self-defense;

if I were stronger
I would not have used such a weapon."
Kahlil Gibran

***

Dear Readers,

I was recently delighted to receive an intelligent anonymous comment (See my last blog entry "Now We Know - More") which, although filled with some rather harsh but good criticism about me and my blog, actually expressed thoughts and ideas! Thoughts and ideas in an anonymous comment? Wow! So different from the nasty personal attacks and death threats I've grown accustomed to receiving. And this commenteer gave me issues to which I can respond with more than a "oh yeah? Well I'M rubber, YOU'RE glue!" In fact, he made so many valid points for me to address that I won't be able to respond in a single post. (You know how wordy I am...)

Writing and Style

First of all, as I've stated on numerous occassions, although I've spent much of my time typing at the computer these past two years, I am NOT a "writer". While many bloggers use the Internet to show-off their literary skills and clever ways with words, I have used this medium in self-defense to alert people to what has happened to my neighborhood with the goal of keeping sex offenders out of my backyard. I see myself not as a writer, but as an activist. A failed one, at that...

Alienating Supporters

The commenteer indicated that my use of profanity and referring to the PTBs as having intercourse with toddlers is distasteful and alienates people who might otherwise support me in my cause. Supporters? What supporters? When I first learned that Nexus intended to bully their way into my residential neighborhood, I expected cries of public outrage. Putting sex offenders next to day care centers and helpless little old ladies? NEVER! But the public outrage didn't appear. It didn't seem to exist. The commenteers who said that I am the only one who cares, the only one who doesn't want the sex offenders in my back yard is pretty close to being correct. Most people's sympathies lied with Nexus. Why, I wondered...

I've always realized the power of words, (but especially now that I'm being sued for mine). The power of the press to influence the opinions of a community is enormous, even monumental. Public words slant public opinion. Most people DO believe what they read in the paper. Most people DO trust their local government. The gentle words bestowed upon our community about Nexus were always benign terms like: boys, kids, Academy, teenagers, students, residents, campus, and non-profit. (At least until Hannabelle came along to set the record straight...) Awww. Shucks. Who wouldn't want these poor troubled ABUSED boys to have a good "home"? Hannabelle must not like children!!!! But those nice, soft words which might pertain to your own children do not express the unfortunate reality of the situation of the Nexus clientele. Yes, I might have offended many people by telling it like it is, but how else would people know? Nobody else was speaking the truth. At least, not the WHOLE truth.

In a letter denying Nexus request for tax exemption for their Gerard facility in Austin, the Mower County Assessor states that Mille Lacs Academy is NOT and does not qualify as an "academy" (and is not elligible for tax exemption). Yeah, you can call it whatever you want. You can call it an "academy", a "school", a "home" etc. but the truth is that every inmate at the Mille Lacs "Academy" has been convicted through the court system as a juvenile sex offender who has caused harm to others. [Nexus' own admission]. Do you actually believe that they would be "very well-behaved in church" or raking leaves for the senior citizens if they weren't forced to be "in treatment"? These aren't little angels. These PTBs (poor troubled boys) earned their stay at the Mille Lacs Academy through their own bad deeds. The "campus" is an unlocked facility for juvenile sex offenders, licensed by the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Why do the "students" need 24/7 constant supervision and have their shoes taken from them? (And still there have been hundreds of escapes through the years.) If you read the actual court cases of some of the past inmates, [see Mille Lacs News] you get an idea of the type of crimes these "kids" are capable of committing. It is because they are dangerous in their own communities that they have been placed in ours.

Yes, some people have been disgusted by my use of profanity. Usually its the people who have been duped into sympathy for the sex offenders that get most angry at Hannabelle's potty mouth. But I only use words. I am not violent. I don't rape people. No judge has put ME away (yet). WORDS are my sword. :) If you can't handle a few four letter words, how can you support the MLA "resident" convicted of the kidnap of two girls who were held in a garage and gang-banged repeatedly all day long.

From the court document:

***

"J.K. was 14 years old when he committed the offenses. In the order revoking probation, the district court found:
"The offenses were committed against two young girls, ages 12 and 13, who were sexually assaulted by multiple individuals as part of a gang initiation. [J.K.] was in the car that drove Victim One to the garage where Victim Two was being assaulted. He admitted to having intercourse with Victim One and stated that he was the third one to “f…” her and that he ejaculated in her because another gang member told him to kill his sperm. [J.K.] was an active participant and forced the girls to have sexual intercourse with him at different times in a garage. Both victims were allegedly prevented from leaving. After one of the victims had been assaulted by another accomplice, [J.K.] pushed the victim back to the floor and forcibly penetrated her vagina with his penis. The victim tried to get away and told [J.K.] she was in pain during sexual intercourse. Afterwards, [J.K.] and the other gang members celebrated by going to McDonalds.
*
J.K. was committed to Mille Lacs Academy, a residential treatment program for sex offenders."

***

Gawd! I'm disgusted by the crimes these "poor troubled boys" have committed. Think of all the victims they have left numerous victims in their wakes, (at least one each.) I feel so much pity for the victims! I don't understand why others don't. If people are afraid of a little naughty language, why aren't they outraged that our local government is putting this kind of criminal next to day care? Its pretty ironic... Don't they think that these "boys" use that kind of language? Worse. Yes, it is a distasteful subject. But these are my new neighbors... I might not write about sex offenders in an eloquent manner, but I think I have a right to complain. These aren't "normal" kids. These are sex offenders who don't just "talk the talk", they "walk the walk".

So if I shocked a few readers by using the F-word, I did my job. Shock therapy... Welcome to the ugly, dirty little world of sex offenders. Welcome to MY backyard. "Bringing you back to Reality" is more than just a slogan to me. Before Nexus intruded on our lives, my own mother, an intelligent woman thought that the Mille Lacs Academy was some kind of private school for privileged children, perhaps a military or prep school. What led her to think this? How many others were bamboozled? Why the misconceptions? - the propaganda fed to the public all these years. Until Nexus decided to move down the street, I too was guilty of not enlightening Mom- because knowing there were roughly a hundred sex offenders in our small town would scare her. Having them in her own backyard will, unfortunately change her life.

So Hannabelle is the source of counter-propaganda, disspelling the Nexus propaganda spun by the local newspaper and city government. I realize that it is hard to hear. (This is NOT how I wanted to spend my time either... Yuck!) And I realize that I've been brash. Someone has to. The people have a right to know the truth. (Otherwise they might be lulled into a false sense of security and leave their keys in their car, only to have it stolen out of a grocery store parking lot by an escaped 13 year old sex offender...) The truth not only will set you free, it will keep you safe.

And although many people don't want to hear the truth, Hannabelle has tried very hard to tell it, even if it means losing friends and

becoming an alien in her own community.

***

"How many legs does a dog have

if you call the tail a leg?

Four;

calling a tail a leg

doesn't make it a leg.

***

Abraham Lincoln

So Now We Know (More)

2009-06-11T07:53:00.003-05:00

In April of this year I wrote a Buzzz article entitled "Doth Thous Protesteth Too Much?" which questioned the gung-ho-edness of Sex Offenders R Us, C3EO, and R2D2 in persecuting an obscure, private citizen who opposed forcing convicted sex offenders into a quiet, private neighborhood - next to day care centers, children, elderly widows, children, and vulnerable adults (Uh, that would be me...) - through abusing the justice system by filing multiple bogus law suits - frivolous SLAPP suits. My question was: WHY are they going to such lengths to shut me up and make me go away??? What do they have hidden that they don't want Hannabelle to unearth?

Well, now we know .... more....

Remember Paul Smith? He is (or perhaps the past tense would be more appropriate here) WAS the Executive Director of the Mille Lacs Academy - the local head honcho, so to speak. He is the guy who, when I asked him why JIM D'ANGELO, the former CEO of Nexus is suing me answered, "You didn't show Mr. D'Angelo proper respect." Really??? Can you really get sued for not respecting someone? In America? Well, I guess you can, if some bastard is wealthy enough and vindictive enough - and this one certainly seems to be.

Anyway, I feel pretty confident to express my candid opinion about MR. Smith without fear of yet another law suit from him because.... it looks like he has his hands so full with his own legal fees for his own trial that he probably won't want to waste more money on l'il ol' Hannabelle here. Yes, MR. Smith has bigger fish to fry. Or perhaps he IS the "bigger fish" about to be fried.

When, so many meetings ago, I asked him why he didn't live in our community, he said "I choose to live in the country. I don't want to live next to a .... school." This was just plain sadistic. To me it seemed like he was enjoying my pain of having my own choice of country living ruined by his "school". I certainly didn't choose to live by 94 convicted sex offenders. He seemed to enjoy rubbing it in... my lack of power to stop Nexus from taking over Dahmerville.... A na-na-na-boo-boo sort of thing.

But, MR. Smith (notice how respectful Hannabelle can be!!!) have no fear!!! My research indicates that - unlike your "Academy", most correctional facilities are situated away from residential areas, often in rural settings. So, if you are indeed convicted, whatever prison you end up in - you probably won't have to worry about living next to a school. Yay for you!!! Of course, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty - because this is the United States of America and we have a Constitution to protect citizens. Right?

But since I no longer trust my own Rights, especially when it comes to FREEDOM of SPEECH, I'll defer to other people's words.

from: Former head of Marie Detty indicted

"Smith served as the director of Marie Detty Youth and Family Services Center that administered a Head Start Program with a federal grant from September of 1989 to August of 2004.
The counts include theft and embezzlement from the non-profit agency's employee benefit profit-sharing plan, converting funds for his own personal use.

Smith is also indicted for a scheme to defraud and mail fraud in a contract where Marie Detty sent thousands of dollars in payments to a ghost company called Paradigm Associates. Court documents say Paradigm is a company Smith set up to advise, consult and direct management for Marie Detty, but in this scheme, it had no employees, no business location and provided no such services.

Other counts involve providing false information to federal investigators.
If found guilty of the crimes, Smith would face up to 30 years in prison, and $750,000 in fines."

http://www.kswo.com/Global/story.asp?S=9222926

Fry Fishy, Fry.

If You Tell, We'll Sue You!

2009-05-16T10:19:00.002-05:00

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..."

millelacsnews.com

2009-05-15T09:10:00.002-05:00

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.

Hannabelle: "I told you so".

2009-05-10T10:17:00.002-05:00

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?

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

2009-05-06T18:08:00.003-05:00

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."

City says NO to NEXUS! ...... again......

2009-04-28T22:15:00.004-05:00

"Residential, day care and early childhood facilities have no place within an industrially zoned district of the city,"

Daniel Kaplan wrote.

**********************

"Sex offenders in an unlocked correctional facility have no place within a residential, day care, FAMILY zoned district

of what was once our private neighborhood,"

Hannabelle wrote.

*********************

FAIRMONT, MN. The Fairmont Sentinel Online

Game over. Nexus lost.

City Council Says NO to NEXUS!

2009-04-24T18:20:00.005-05:00

City Council Says No to Nexus!

Nuh, nuh, nuh. Not the ONAMIA city council. Don't make me laugh! When it comes to their beloved sex offenders, for some reason the Dahmerville "officials" just can't say no. It was SMART people on the FAIRMONT city council who said "no" to Nexus - They said "no" when Nexus pressured them to change THEIR city plan (at least THEY have one) and change THEIR zoning laws to (once again) accommodate this tyrannical, parasitic organization. (yeah Vic. Go for it.)

I can't report too much about the Nexus failed juvenile detention center down in southern Minnesota because Nexus neglected to provide details (shhhh. Its a secret...) to the Dahmerville city council - even while demanding tax abatement, of course. It seems to be a "don't ask, don't tell, show me the money!" situation.

According to a tip I received, Nexus bought the Five Lakes juvenile detention center several years ago and couldn't make it succeed. Nexus FAILED??? hmmm. This is what my "Tipster" told me. Anyway, according to the Fairmont Sentinel (a REAL newspaper with REAL reporters), the Nexus facility has been empty since 2002. Now they're trying to sell it -

but because the correctly placed Fairmont juvenile detention facility is in an area away from families - zoned INDUSTRIAL (notice it is NOT in a residential area), Nexus is determined to get the zoning changed so that they can dump the defunct facility. They do not care about how this affects the city or the citizens. Its only about Nexus. Its ALL about Nexus. It always is.

I'd say, there goes their lawyer's argument in MY case that Nexus allegedly didn't have anything to do with changing OUR zoning laws. Of course they did. You cannot deny the true nature of Nexus. (You remember the story of the Scorpion and the Frog???)

Well, we see another pattern with Nexus. Nexus attorney Mark Manderfeld is working Fairmont like he worked over Onamia. And get this - the opposition has been accused of hating kids, just like I was. When I first heard Nexus was coming to destroy our neighborhood, I thought they were just looking for a place to build a new facility. I honestly didn't begrudge them that. At first. Little did I know the lengths they would pursue in order to harm anyone who got in their way, (or even criticized them.)

Familiarity breeds contempt.

And I am now very familiar with Nexus.

Wouldn't it have been nice if the Dahmerville city council would have cared about Onamia's future like Fairmont's council cares about it's city?

"In short, setting precedent was his concern. He feared the code change would give leverage to other business owners seeking to move into parts of town where their operations aren't compatible with existing business."

"... If we change the rule for one private business,

we would have to do it for everybody."

Commissioner Tom Hawkins

Once again, Nexus isn't compatible... Why can't they follow the rules? Why do they act like the rules don't apply to them? What makes THEM so special???? Like spoiled rotten children, Nexus cannot tolerate anyone telling them "no". But they don't just kick and scream, they threaten and attack. (If you don't believe me, watch them quote parts of this blog in their bogus lawsuit against me.)

So, Nexus is making an appeal to the Fairmont city council.

Who do you think will win?

The Goose and the Gander

2009-04-15T04:31:00.002-05:00

I've never been quite so confident about winning the law suits as I am right now. It seems even Free-angelo's own lawyer has doubts about their case against Hannabelle. I'm not a lawyer, (although I've certainly learned a lot in this past year of sewage), but even I can tell that their case stinks.

One by one, their lawyer's arguments crumble away. So he just invents new ones. He's backed off the fixation on the FBI, after he finally seems to understand that the FBI has indeed been investigating. What's funny is: I told D'Angelo back in December 2007 (just prior to the first lawsuit) that the FBI was involved. Is it my fault that he didn't believe me???? So sue me.

Now he's saying that my calling D'Angelo a "liar" and a "snake" probably isn't defamation after all. Then why did they sue me for saying these things in the first place if even THEY know it is not defamation??? I knew it wasn't defamation when I wrote it. Or I wouldn't have written it. Hannabelle does NOT defame anyone. It is not my fault if Free-angelo defamed themselves by their own bad actions. I just called them on it. In order for me to have defamed them, I would have had to tell untruths about them. I have told the Truth. And as old Bill Hill said: everyone's entitled to their opinion. I admit to being highly opinionated... And when it comes to Nexusians, I am LOWly opinionated. BUT - I have not done anything wrong. A "snake" is a metaphor. And the other thing? Well, I have proof. :) So anyway, he's backing off the liar and snake stuff.

Still holding fast to the "predator" thing... although that, too is just a metaphor, an opinion. I was surprised to hear that they took that to mean something sexual. Like a sexual predator. I NEVER SAID THAT nor did I imply that. I believe it is clear in my article that I was talking about such correctional institutions who bully themselves into places they are not wanted - choosing neighborhoods like ours to infiltrate because we don't have the strength or the money to fight them. Why they would equate the term "predator" to something sexual and get all bent out of shape about it is something THEY will have to figure out. Its not my problem.

Actually, they base their case on one article I wrote a long time ago and pulled off the Internet to keep them from suing me (sacrificing my right to free speech to save myself the hassle of the lawsuits) and they sued me anyway. What they do is pull OUT OF CONTEXT - part of a story I wrote about the day I was erroneously told that Jim D'Angelo committed suicide. Of course, unfortunately, it turned out to be someone else who worked at Nexus and not the King of the World himself. If you take what I said out of context, it doesn't sound pretty. But in the context of the story, there is no way anyone with half a brain could ever think that I was serious when I said we think Jim D'Angelo is kinky. The whole business is quite silly. What do I care if he's kinky or not? I just want the bastard out of my life. All of this has been about keeping THEM away. Obviously, it hasn't worked. Anyway, the story was a true account of the day, but oddly enough, it was Poncho who said most of the stuff I'm getting sued for. I wonder why they sued me and not Poncho? hmmm. Or my 85 year old mother who thinks that D'Angelo is the Devil himself. She calls him "evil." So sue her. Sue us all. Sue the whole fucking town, because, quite frankly, although they are greedy for your money, I haven't heard a single good comment about you, Poopsie. Not here in Nexusville.

ANYWAY, their slant on the case seems to have shifted. Now they seem to be complaining that although I may be innocent of any defamation, its still MY FAULT for filing the anti-SLAPP motion which automatically denied them Discovery. Huh? Well! The fools! All they have to do is read my blog and my newspaper to discover whatever they need to discover. And if they didn't realize that they didn't have a case BEFORE they sued me, well.... what can I say? (perhaps a new lawyer???)

My case is a textbook anti-SLAPP action. They have used the justice system to hurt me, to silence me, and to stop me from seeking favorable governmental action. It seems extremely personal. And if you think that by calling somebody "Poopsie" on the Internet caused (oh boo-whoo) damages, wait 'til you hear the total damages these lawsuits have caused ME. And apparently we are just in the beginning stages. There's the appeal, the jury trial (MY trial!), and their appeals after the game's over. They lose. I'm sure this will go on for years and years. Good thing for me that I'm chronically ill and can't do much of anything anyway. So what if I never write music again. I might be on Court TV!!!! I guess they call it True TV now. Perfect!

"But Hannabelle!" you say. "What about the Goose and the Gander? What is this title about?"

It's like the old saying: What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Well, I have sat through two court hearings where the plaintiffs' lawyer is bashing me to the judge! I've been called names. I've been severely criticized. For example, I've been called "caustic". Yet, I am being sued for calling someone "heartless".

Caustic/heartless..... heartless/caustic..... hmmm.

Their attorney said in court: I think she just sits at her computer and makes it all up because she thinks its funny!

hmmm.

So it is alright for that lawyer to express his opinion of me, call me names, and tell lies which malign MY character. That's o.k.?

But I get in trouble for telling the truth.

So I look at it like this. I should be able to sue that lawyer for saying bad stuff about me. Right? And since he represents Nexus and Free-angelo, I should be able to sue them too. Right?

What's good for the gander is also good for the goose.

Like A Good Neighbor....

2009-04-13T16:39:00.002-05:00

WE THE OPPRESSORS DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR TO SUE HANNABELLE OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL SHE IS DEAD. HOW DARE SHE WRITE ABOUT OUR VICIOUS NATURE AND TELL THE WORLD OUR SECRETS. DEFAMAAAAAATION!!!!! DEFAMAAAATION!!!!! HOW DARE HANNABELLE EXPOSE OUR LIES.

HOW DARE SHE NOT LOVE AND RESPECT US. WE'LL MAKE HER PAY FOR HER DISDAIN!!! WHAT DOES SHE THINK THIS IS, ANYWAY??? THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA??? HA! NOT ANYMORE. NOW IT IS CORPORATE AMERICA!!!!!

WHAT HAVE WE EVER DONE TO HER? - EXCEPT FORCE OURSELVES INTO HER LIFE, DESTROY HER NEIGHBORHOOD, GET HER PROPERTY TAXES RAISED (BY 28 %), LOWER HER PROPERTY VALUES, SIC OUR EMPLOYEES ON HER, OSTRACIZE HER FROM SOCIETY, IGNORE HER, PERSECUTE HER AND ABUSE THE LEGAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AS WE SUE SUE SUE HER!!!!! WHY CAN'T SHE SEE THAT WE ARE GOOD PEOPLE???!!!!! WE ARE COMPASSIONATE!!!! WE HAVE CORNERSTONE VALUES!!!!! IT SAYS SO IN THE BROCHURE!

BUT WE'LL SHOW HANNABELLE. WE'LL TEACH HER NOT TO FUCK WITH THE CORPORATION. NO FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN OUR CORPORATE AMERICA. WE'LL BEAT HER UP UNTIL SHE GROVELS ON THE FLOOR, BEGGING US TO LET US SHOW HER WHAT A GOOD NEIGHBOR WE ARE. WE WILL MAKE HER STOP TALKING. WE WILL USE FORCE IF NECESSARY, ALTHOUGH INTIMIDATION IS OUR STRATEGY OF CHOICE. OF COURSE, WE WILL BLEEEEEEEEEED HER DRY. WE WILL CONTINUE TO RAPE HER UNTIL SHE BEGS US FOR MORE!!!!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Yep. The Nexus Corporation is proceeding with yet another lawsuit against me. Apparently they do read my blog. They just don't seem to be able to understand what I say. Maybe my sword is getting as dull as their wits. (Hone, girl. Hone.)

Doth Thous Protesteth Too Much?

2009-04-11T01:47:00.003-05:00

One of the most puzzling aspects of my current situation - i.e. sex offender treatment center "professionals" brutally trying to destroy my life - one suing me for calling him "Poopsie" and the other one suing me because I caused him "embarrassment", and the big Motherload waiting in the wings with yet another law suit pending, is why on earth would they go to such lengths and expense to persecute me? Little ol' Hannabelle isn't any threat to them.

Or am I?

Hmmm. One wonders why they refused to communicate with me. I've talked about their Silent Treatment before. But if you think long and hard about it, their behavior does not even make sense. It's a bit over the top... Why wouldn't they just listen to me? Aren't these people supposed to have training in psychology, public relations, you know - mental health stuff... Didn't they know the importance of "being heard"? Instead, they bullied me. And of course, that didn't work. But wouldn't you think that they would change their strategy then? Aren't they used to working with "troubled children"? It makes me wonder how they treat their clients. LESTER! KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF BOBBY'S PEEPEE OR WE WILL SUE THE LIFE OUT OF YOU!!!!

Other than sitting on them (which sometimes kills a child) how do these professionals deal with their clients. I've received emails from parents which say that the MLA isn't a very nice place... But, the quality control of sex offender institutions is not my business. That is someone else's fight. Quality control of my family's life IS my business. Freedom of Speech IS my business.

Remember when the Poopster told me that he was going to sic all the MLA employees on me? What was THAT all about? I got a lot of anonymous comments on this blog, some of them very threatening. I never said that Poops is the one who sent me the death threats, although that is an issue he cites in the lawsuit. Kind of paranoid, if you ask me... (or grasping at straws in a bogus law suit). But he DID say he was basically gathering his army to make war with Hannabelle .... Why? Why not just act professional in dealing with a disgruntled neighbor who doesn't want sexually disturbed men right down her street? Why summons the troops? Why all the fuss? Yup. After only two years, I DO wonder what all the fuss is about. Not my fuss. Theirs. Specifically, his...

There's got to be more to it than meets the eye. Even Poopsie can't have an ego THAT big. This law suit is costing tens of thousands of dollars. And although it's probably greens fees to him, and R2D2 will most likely split the bill, why would they keep harassing and attacking me over something that definitely is a Done Deal? Why is it so essential to "get" Hannabelle? Or at least, to get Hannabelle to "go away" or shut up? What do you think they are afraid of? What do you think THEY think I'll find if I keep digging?

They sued me AFTER I removed the one specific blog entry they threatened to sue me about. Kind of like invading Iraq over weapons of mass destruction that weren't there. Why did they persist? They sued me just a few months before the bulldozers destroyed the property and the buildings went up. Didn't they figure it out that after the government bent over backwards to give them everything they wanted and after they destroyed my neighborhood, there was nothing more to fight about? I fought hard. Gave two years of my life to try to keep them from stealing my privacy, my rights, my higher tax dollars, my lower property values, my ..... bank account.... I know I lost. So why do they keep going after me?

It's a stupid law suit. Frivolous. A textbook SLAPP suit. An abuse of our justice system. A waste of the Court's time. And it was totally unnecessary. And yet, they went ahead with it. Why?

Maybe its time to lift the anonymous commenter ban and let anybody send me interesting information about Nexus. The question is: What are they hiding, and why are they so intent on destroying me?

The plot, as they say, thickens.

Me and Bobby McGee...

2009-03-30T14:58:00.003-05:00

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."

I know that some of my enemies, perhaps even possibly the judge, have been waiting for Hannabelle to comment on the court's denial of her Motion to Dismiss what we now refer to as the "Free-angelo Vendetta".

What exactly is the Free-angelo Vendetta? (There's nothing free about it...) It is a bogus law suit brought against Hannabelle with the purpose of 1.) removing her First Amendment rights to freedom of speech in order to silence her; 2) using her as a scapegoat to intimidate others from speaking out; 3) punishing her through the financial hardships incurred through being caught in our unfair justice system.

As if suing me will gain him the respect he apparently so desperately craves from me, Poopsie and his sidekick have painted us into an awkward and expensive corner from which there seems no simple escape. You see, not only is it costly to be sued, nor is it cheap to sue, even if the two Sewers split the massive legal bills. Of course, for such wealthy scumbags, its just lunch money at the country club. Its a little harder for a disabled woman on a low fixed income. (No Golden Parachute from which to pay MY lawyers...) Hardly a level "playing field" for Free-angelo's beloved "game".

This is exactly what I meant when I said that Poopsie is a guy who "preys on the elderly and infirm" - one of my phrases objected to in the law suit. Do you think Poopsie would have sued me if I was a rich, powerful MAN who had millions to pay my lawyers in between my vacations to Palm Springs and Italy? I doubt it. Just like he chose a neighborhood of elderly widows and disabled folks to force his sex offenders into, i.e. a group of innocent, regular people without the means to fight back, he has used his wealth to crush the poor disabled gal with the mouth.

Does it surprise me that the judge ruled against my Motion to Dismiss? Not at all. First of all, she's a Republican. They never seem to grasp reality. She doesn't appear to even understand the SLAPP laws. Also, since Poopsie LIED on his sworn affidavit, and the judge hasn't heard all of the evidence we have against the Plaintiffs yet, I don't really blame her. She said that the SLAPP law is "meant to be a shield, not a sword".

A sword. I was pretty proud of that. :) My words are a powerful sword - so damn scary that two powerful, controlling men didn't even have the nerve to face me in court. Yes. That's right. I did not have the opportunity to face my accusers. Let's face it. Their behavior sure doesn't make them look good. Its like "PLEASE JUDGE! MAKE HER STOP!!!! SHE KEEPS CALLING ME 'POOPSIE' AND IT IS SOOOOO EMBARRASSING!!!!"

NAUGHTY HANNABELLE! HOW DARE YOU USE A SWORD OF WORDS TO TRY TO DEFEND YOURSELF??? WHY DIDN'T YOU USE A SHOT-GUN LIKE EVERYONE ELSE???

Just like when Poopsie wrote the the mayor begging him to control Hannabelle. If it weren't so tragic, it would be downright laughable. HER WORDS ARE A SWORD!!!! MAKE HER STOP!!!! PLEASE!!!!! OUCH OUCH OUCH!!!

Wimps.

I hate wimpy guys. Neither of these yahoos had the balls to face Hannabelle. They were too afraid to talk on the phone. (CLICK!) Didn't answer emails ("I don't want to give you the satisfaction," he said smugly.) And never once COMMUNICATED to me NICELY. It was all DO WHAT I SAY, WENCH - OR MY GREAT AND POWERFUL LAWYERS WILL BRUTALLY DESTROY YOU!!!!! BWAHAHAHA!!!!

So what. Do what ya gotta do, big boy.

"I'd trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday..."

Once they decided to build that horrible facility to house their sex offenders in my front yard, everything was ruined. You know, these assholes never even said they were sorry. They are not polite people. They never apologized to my MOM for stealing HER happiness and ruining HER life. LISTEN UP, OLD WOMAN. WE'RE PUTTING 94 CONVICTED SEX OFFENDERS IN YOUR FRONT YARD. ITS AN UNLOCKED FACILITY AND THEY FREQUENTLY ESCAPE!!!! JUST TRY TO SLEEP NOW OLD HAG!!!! BWAHAHAHA!!!! In fact, Poopsie blamed ME for her perforated ulcer. That would also be laughable if not so tragic.

I thought it was important to inform the government about the character of the Nexusians who were demanding tax abatement. You know, lying and misleading in order to gain public funding. (Wow. Nexus sounds a lot like Wall Street!) Everything I wrote was with the intent to influence the government. BUT NOW, HANNABELLE!!! ITS TOO LATE!!!! YOU CAN'T USE YOUR SWORD ANY LONGER AND CLAIM PROTECTION FROM THE SLAPP LAW!!!

Hell. I guess you'll just have to sue me some more, you habitual Sewers. Apparently, this judge didn't even know that we webmasters have statistics with the IP addresses of everyone who visits our web sites. (How 'bout those death threats ;) She didn't seem to realize that I could see when the government was examining my Sword. Yes. My target (no pun intended) audience...

And now? Well... I just don't think its right that any old corporation can dictate what happens to individual citizens, removing our rights, having laws changed to accommodate the needs of the company, and then also take away our right to complain. Using the legal system this way - as with the Free-angelo Vendetta - is wrong. Its kind of like being legally raped.

Listen up boys. There are at least two things you might as well give up on. You will NEVER succeed in forcing me to shup up. And you will NEVER succeed in forcing me to respect you.

Oh, by the way... the Onamia police came down my road the other day and turned around in my mom's yard. From the slow crawl of the patrol car, it was obvious the cop was searching in the area for someone.... An MLA runaway perhaps? It sure wouldn't be the first time. And this BEFORE the sex offenders move in down the street! What will it be like after they're living here???

Anyway, I called my mom immediately. When I asked if she was alright, if the police car scared her, she said, "Well, yes. I thought 'I wonder what she's done now!'"

I thought you'd like that. :)

"Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose,

And nothin' left was all he left to me..."

Company Loves Misery

2009-03-27T06:27:00.002-05:00

I don't like to make mistakes, but when I do, at least I can admit them. I've made several over the past two years of the Nexus Invasion. Probably my biggest mistake was to count on public support for our "cause". This one bothers me - because I already knew better than to think that other people are like me. Still, I actually believed that people in the community would feel the outrage - about how the Onamia city council was changing laws and removing the rights of citizens; how the public was being misled and outright lied to; and especially how Mayor Larry Milton and the Onamia city council, and Commissioner Frank Courteau and the county board pushed through tax abatement so that Nexus doesn't have to pay property taxes while WE pick up the slack... If nothing else riled up the meek, I was sure THAT would. But, apparently, if there's one thing Mille Lacs County citizens love better than convicted sex offenders, its higher taxes. At least, that's the only explanation that makes sense. They must love sex offenders and higher taxes, or there would have been some outrage... So you see, I was mistaken. I admit it.

But I should have remembered that people are different. I've never hesitated to risk my neck when it came to matters of principle. I'd be ashamed of myself if I didn't stand and shout, "THIS IS WRONG!" I guess it comes down to a person's moral courage. I must say I haven't witnessed much courage - moral or otherwise in my fellow citizens. I have seen lots of apathy - there's nothing we can do anyway ; fear - Oh Hannabelle, what if we offend someone? ; ignorance - "THEY'RE NOT SEX OFFENDERS!" ("Well, Jerome, actually they are..."). I've seen people roll over and play dead. I've felt the nervous anxiety in people who are afraid of losing their jobs if they speak up against Nexus. People who crumble under the threat of being "no longer welcome in town." This sort of intimidation, hard-ass tactics, along with the propaganda and lies not only show me how right I've been and how horribly wrong the city council and county commissioners have been about a very bad company, it all makes ME want to fight against the wrongfulness all the more. And yes I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Oh, not the fighting. I'm very proud of that. I'm a "give me Liberty or give me death" kind of gal. The mistake was in overestimating We The People. Its like the old joke: "What do you mean "we" Kimosabe?"

The other huge mistake I made was really not my fault. Like most everybody else, I assumed that the "Sexus" corporation was run by qualified professionals who would behave in a dignified and professional manner. I didn't expect junior high. But really - who knew??? How could you know when so much information has been withheld and so much of the propaganda you've been spoon-fed is false? Isn't this a company which is supposed to be helping people? Don't the non-minimum wage employees have advanced degrees in things like psychology and sociology? Aren't they good people just working to make the world a better place?

On the surface, they might seem like "good neighbors", especially if you listen to what they tell you. But its what they DON'T tell you that you most need to pay attention to. They didn't tell you, for instance, about the eleven year old boy who was killed by a Nexus employee. They didn't tell you about their facility in Fairmont, MN. (Hmmm.) They didn't tell you that they transferred money from one bank account to another and then claimed the transfers as "DONATIONS" in order to gain public funding, (i.e. property tax exemption). They didn't tell you that they provided the county with false figures on their tax abatement application. (I have the documents, Vic. Don't worry. It will ALL come out at trial.) Can you say: Tip of the iceberg?

Now, I'd like to remind you that I didn't pick this fight with Nexus OR the government. THEY imposed themselves on ME. And if it isn't bad enough that they blackmailed the city government into finding them land, changing laws, annexing despite protest, rezoning to suit Nexus; are forcing 94 convicted sex offenders next to day care, children, elderly widows and vulnerable adults; stealing our privacy, ruining our neighborhood, lowering our property values, raising our taxes; breaking their promises, lying about safety, etc. etc. If all of that isn't bad enough, they have demonstrated the nature of their TRUE "cornerstone values", shown their own version of "compassion" and "concern" with a VENDETTA to destroy me, personally. Because I stood up and said, "THIS IS WRONG!" Nice people, huh? Real professionals, huh? Psychology wizards, huh? Good with kids?

Nexus - the Sex Offenders R Us company makes its $40 million per year from misery. The misery of poor, troubled sex offenders. The misery of their victims. The misery of citizens struggling with high taxes who are unaware that their tax dollars are supporting this corporation. This company not only loves misery.... it SPREADS it.

And if you think about how they have treated people who stand up against them, like me... you will see that they have proven me right by their own actions. Its not all about money and power. Mostly, but not all. Its about IMAGE. Without their IMAGE, they can't carry out the scheme to get the money and power. Its not about "helping" anybody but themselves. If you have any doubt at all, just look at how they are using the legal system to deny me my First Amendment rights. They're brutal. And they want YOU to know it. Don't mess with Nexus. Look what they did to Hannabelle.

If you don't feel the outrage, you probably never will. That's okay. I have enough for everyone.

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."

George Washington

Misery Loves Company

2009-03-19T08:53:00.002-05:00

At least one of Hannabelle's predictions about some negative effects of plopping an unlocked sex offender facility into a residential neighborhood apparently has already come true. Didn't I warn you that property values would drop while taxes would go up?

Its even worse than I imagined.

Not only did the estimated market value of our property drop substantially, and our property taxes take a 28% hike upwards, we apparently will now be taxed on a property value which exceeds what our property is worth. Huh? you say? Huh? I say. How can that be possible? How can you be ordered to pay taxes on more than your property is worth - and from whose ass did that number come from?

If the property is worth $300, shouldn't you pay taxes on that $300?

Not in Mille Lacs County.

For example, let's say your place was worth $300 before the city brought sex offenders into your neighborhood. Now - with the sex offenders - your property value has dropped to $200. Let's say your taxes used to be $10 per year. Now they've been raised to $75. And somehow, even though your place is now only worth $200 and your taxes have leapt up, you are suddenly being taxed on a property value of not $200, not $300 BUT $500. Does this make sense?

Only in Mille Lacs County.

Of course, to simplify, for my little example I made up these numbers, without doing accurate math, primarily because to me it seemed like one of those arithmetic problems - a train leaves San Francisco heading east at 28 miles per hour while a train leaves New York heading west at 35.... I used to hate those. I much preferred the 2 + 2 = 4 straight forward problems. In the case of our taxes, I have no idea where the numbers came from. They seem arbitrary. Its like 2 - 1 + 3 x a + b (carry the 1) stop for pie and the answer is: a 28% raise in our taxes (while meanwhile Nexus gets a tax-free ride). YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT????

Well, actually I do.

Property values have gone up every year for.... every year. Now suddenly our place is worth less - for no reason at all? Well, I think we know what the reason is... And our taxes have sky-rocketed? That figure of 28% is real. I didn't make that up. And while ordinary citizens are struggling in a bad economy, both the county and the city of Onamia gave Nexus, (a privately owned commercial enterprise which subsists primarily through our tax dollars and which made over $40 million last year) - had the audacity to grant them tax abatement - meaning that THEY don't have to pay property taxes... ever ... We pay taxes so Nexus doesn't have to... Does that seem fair? No? Then why didn't you SAY something? Why did you let the government screw you over???

Anyway, perhaps there is a "mistake" on our taxes. But apparently, it isn't just our household that got hit with such a "mistake". The county accessor is prepared to address everyone's concerns on April 3 and April 10. They must expect quite a few "concerns"....

So... taxes raised. Property values down. And taxable market values pulled out of somebody's ass. The county eliminated 5 county jobs recently due to lack of funds. Yeah, sure the economy is crumbling. But while we struggle, Nexus doesn't have to pay taxes, the former CEO got his Golden Parachute, and the community which virtually ignored the tax abatement issue has now focused their attention on getting a new library in Onamia ... as if people in this county read while sitting in their deer stands... And of course yet another tax levy is proposed in order to support the library. Just what we need - more taxes.

Maybe there is a simple explanation to our personal tax problem and things will get sorted out after we talk to the county accessor. Hey! Maybe I'll see you down at the courthouse, standing in line. I'll be the one wearing a tee-shirt that says: "I told you so!"

Vee Haff Vays uff Making Her Tock...

2009-03-17T05:59:00.004-05:00

"The more he hurt her, the harder she fought back".

Michael Palmer, from The First Patient

It looks like we'll eventualy end up going to trial after all. I'm looking forward to it, actually. It is in front of a jury that the Truth will come out... Of course, we have other avenues to pursue in the meantime. But I have a good feeling about the final outcome. A very good feeling. Justice WILL prevail. The bully oppressors will be exposed for the vindictive monsters they really are.

Don't forget - Discovery is a two-way street!

Can of Worms

n. Informal., pl. cans of worms.
A source of unforeseen and troublesome complexity.

Jailing Kids for CA$H

2009-02-11T23:50:00.002-06:00

From the Associated Press:

Pa. judges accused of jailing kids for cash
Judges allegedly took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juveniles in lockups

"WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - For years, the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses.
The explanation, prosecutors say, was corruption on the bench.
In one of the most shocking cases of courtroom graft on record, two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers."

Click here to read the whole story at MSNBC

Crosier Scandal: To Be Fair...

2009-02-07T16:36:00.003-06:00

To be fair, and even in an unfair world I always try to be fair .... one of the local newspapers has now reported the story about the Crosier pedophile priest law suit settlement on their website. However, there is nothing yet up on the Mille Lacs County Times website.

I guess Hannabelle just "scooped" them!

The Simple Solution

2009-01-31T02:15:00.002-06:00

I don't know why we are dickering about all of these bail-outs. The solution to our country's economic problems seems quite simple to me.

1. Collect all of the unpaid taxes from the senators and congressmen.
2. Quit giving tax abatements to corporations like Nexus and make them pay taxes.
3. Make churches pay taxes. Now THERE'S an idea...

Are you as sick of all these crooks and freeloaders as I am? How the world dearly loves a scam...

Peckers

2009-01-06T16:03:00.002-06:00

I've used this chicken analogy before - the one where if one chicken notices a spot on another chicken, it will begin pecking the spot. As the spot becomes bigger and bloody, other chickens will join in a frenzy of pecking until the first chicken is literally pecked to death. Farmers often use red light bulbs in their chicken houses so that the chickens can't see any spots. The red light hides the truth. No spots, no pecking.

Onamia is like a chicken house. You could call it a "red light district", in a way. People are covered with spots and flaws, but nobody sees them. Nobody wants to see them. They cling to the red light. Because, obviously, if they saw spots on other people, other people could see spots on them. What a pecker-fest that would be.

I now know what it feels like to be kicked out of the flock, only to be attacked by a mass of vicious peckers intent on pecking me to death. But the jokes on them. I'm not a chicken.

Ordinary People

2008-12-18T03:38:00.003-06:00

I think that the hardest part of the ordeal is the perpetual feeling of not being heard or understood. Although people's lack of kindness and compassion no longer surprises me, and by now I'm well-used to being harassed and hated by people who don't even know me, I am constantly amazed at the limitations of otherwise seemingly bright people to grasp the wrongfulness of what has been done. Individuals who should "get it" but fail to do so. Maybe they're just not as bright as I thought.

I once had a piano student who was deaf. He was much easier to teach.

Chicken Little, Deaths and Taxes

2008-12-02T01:06:00.004-06:00

"I'm upset," she said quietly, near tears.
"About what?" I said, the panic button in my heart starting to flash.
"About Nexus," she said quietly, near tears.

Whew! Only Nexus again... I relax, greatly relieved. I nearly jump for joy! Only Nexus again... When you're talking to an 85 year old lady, a cancer survivor whose bones are so brittle that they literally break sometimes when she moves wrong in a chair; who nearly died a year ago from a triple by-pass surgery gone awry... make that THREE surgeries in a row, lickety-split, including the emergency exploratory for the perforated ulcer (that former Nexus CEO and current Plaintiff Jim D'Angelo - our new "good neighbor" viciously suggested I caused, nice guy that he is); a bright, spirited woman who has had a long life of Been There, Done That - to the point where not much rattles her anymore; one who has experienced so much upset - not only the loss of her parents and brothers, husband and daughter, and oh so many, too many old friends ... you know she doesn't "sweat the small stuff." So yes. I was happy that she was upset about Nexus and wasn't about to hit me with bad news, some new life-threatening medical crisis. After all, since Nexus invaded our lives a year and a half ago, everyone in my family has been in a constant state of upset.

"What now?" I asked her. "Why are you upset?"
"I just got my tax statement. Property taxes went up," she said.
"How bad?"
"Over a thousand dollars," said the old woman on a fixed income. "They were just over three thousand. Now they're up to almost five thousand dollars! And its because of NEXUS"

I know that this is an unappropriate reaction, but I started to laugh. It was a bitter laugh. Think about all of those venomous pronexus jerks who have been so nasty to Hannabelle... I've told them the truth, and not only did they not listen, they got MAD at me. Like Chicken Little, I warned them that the sky is falling, the sky is falling. They looked at the ground and said, "No its not." More accurately, they said, "No its not, you bitch!"

They said: Nexus is an "academy" for "poor troubled boys" who have been abused. I said: Nexus is a correctional institution for convicted juvenile sex offenders who have caused harm to others. They said: Nexus provides jobs that our local people rely on. I said: Over 60% of Nexus employees live outside of Mille Lacs County. They said: If Nexus leaves Onamia, the town will crumble and wither away. I pointed out that Nexus has been here for almost twenty years - while, under Larry Milton's tenure as mayor, the town has crumbled and withered away. Go figure. Perhaps without Nexus and without Larry, the town might prosper and grow???

They said: If we don't give them tax exemption, Nexus will move to Brainerd or even out of state! I said: Brainerd refused to give them tax exemption. Its all a bluff. Nexus isn't going anywhere. Call their bluff. You'll see. (I was right. Nexus didn't get tax exemption and didn't go away.) They said: If we don't give them tax ABATEMENT, Nexus will leave! I said: They said they'd leave if they didn't get tax exemption and THEY'RE STILL HERE! Don't you get it? Its a BLUFF! They said: We can't risk losing them! We neeed Nexus! Nexus has been a "good neighbor". I said: "With all their millions, what have they done for the community? Where's the Nexus Library? Where's the frickin' Nexus PARK BENCH - fer cryin' out loud?" Nexus isn't a giver. Its a taker. They said: But the "boys" rake leaves for the seniors [i.e. senior citizens like my mom] and they're "very well-behaved in church". I admit that argument leaves me speechless. Just how gullable are these people?

They said: Nexus doesn't have to pay taxes because they are a "charity". I said: The Minnesota Department of Revenue says that Nexus doesn't qualify as a charity and does NOT qualify for property tax exemption. They said: But they can't afford to pay their taxes. I said: And YOU can? With an annual budget of 38 million dollars, the LEAST they can do is pay their taxes. They can pay their taxes so that WE don't have to. After all, Nexus is a parasite (so sue me some more, asshole). Nexus is a PARASITE. It exists and is sustained through our taxpayer money in the first place. That's how they make money... a whole sh*tload of money - by leeching off OUR taxes to support sex offenders, to build their sex offenders a new ball field, a new gym, a state-of-the-art facility. And, of course, to pay huge corporate salaries to their administrators so they can afford vacations in Palm Springs or a month in Italy with money that came from YOU. What do they give back to the taxpayers? When was the last time YOU went to Italy for a vacation?

"I don't think its right that Nexus doesn't have to pay taxes," she said.
"Yeah, Mom. I don't think its right either."
"Why do WE have to pay for them?" she said. It was rhetorical.
"It sucks."
"And its not right that they're suing us," she said.
"They're not suing 'us', Mom. They're suing ME. Don't you worry about it."
"But you didn't do anything wrong!" she said. "How can he sue you for calling him Poopsie? There must be something wrong with him." *1.
"I know, Mom. I know..... Hey, how's your broken rib?"
"It hurts," she said.
"Same rib that broke before?"
She nodded solemnly.

She lives a quiet, unobtrusive life. She watches her "soap", and Jeopardy. On weekends she comes up to our house to watch PBR bullriding. She has her books (lots of Koontz and King) and her Nintendo. She particularly likes to play Tetris and all the Zelda games, but also enjoys Paper Mario. Right now she is playing "Symphonia" for the second time. More power to her. She loves to watch the wildlife out of her windows. This summer, we got a daily report on the activities of the woodchuck family. She also enjoys sharing the amusing antics of her two cats, Sam and Pippin.

At 85, she exceptionally frail and in constant pain, but her mind is still sharp as a tack. She pays attention to politics and can give you a dozen reasons why Sarah Palin should go back to Alaska and disappear. After all, my mom remembers the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the "Fireside chats" on the radio, WWII when sugar was rationed and men went off to die across the sea. Fortunately (especially for me) her three brothers and my father came back from the war alive and whole. She grew up on a farm, went to school and after earning a teaching degree, taught the three Rs in a one-room schoolhouse. She still remembers most of her students names, and talks about them every once in awhile - always as if they never grew up, married or didn't, worked and lived and maybe died before her. To her, they will always be the children she remembers, suspended in Time.

She raised two daughters. She watched her oldest die of a sudden heart aneurism as they were discussing what to do for dinner that night. Just like that. Can you imagine? Watching your child drop dead and there's nothing you can do? But somehow my mom got through it. She's strong. A few weeks after having a mastectomy, her chest still bandaged, my mother found the strength to push me around Mayo in a wheelchair when Death came to my own door. (We didn't let him in...) She was there for me, as she always has been. She didn't want to lose me too. Her older sister, her college roommate, and me were all she had left... Now she has Poncho too, her son-in-law, whom she loves dearly. Oh, and 94 unwanted convicted sex offenders moving in down the street, whom she does not. Let's not forget them! Lots of new people in her life. oh joy. Lucky her.

I've been so upset about the way the local government has "raped" us this past year and a half, that, lost in my own anger I sometimes forget the impact Nexus has had on my mother. She has her own anger - which is contrary to her gentle nature, and has legitimate fear of the young men soon to occupy our corner's unlocked sex offender facilities. It makes me even more bitter that HER rights have been violated than it does my own. At least I could DO something to try to stop this outrageously wrongful thing. She could not. I was able to go to the pitiful public "We're Not Listening" hearings and I could stand up and fight for our rights and I could exercise my First Amendment rights at public meetings and on the Internet and I could sacrifice my life savings in a bogus lawsuit SLAPPed on me by a creepy, vindictive asshole and his sidekick.***2. I'm pretty tough. I'm a Ted Bundy survivor, after all. But my mom... She was nothing but collateral damage to them... Her life, insignificant. What disgusting, ruthless people!
(But well-behaved in church...) And to top it all off, her taxes go up.

"Mom, let me get that!" I say as she gets up to answer the call of the teakettle whistling on the stove.
"No, I've got it," she says.
"But your rib..."
"I'm okay," she says as she makes the instant coffee, moving slowly, carefully. I watch her with an odd mix of sympathy and guilt. I'm helpless to protect her from broken bones and sex offenders. The least I could do, if she would let me, is to pour the instant coffee.

I sigh. Yes. She is okay. For now. That thousand dollar increase in taxes hurts more than her broken rib and Nexus has left more scars than her mastectomy and triple bypass combined. Assaults on one's spirit are sometimes worse than physical pain. If you haven't been through what we've been through, I'm pretty sure you can't understand.

But now. NOW. Now, everyone in the county is getting their own taste of Nexus as their own property taxes leap. They said: Get over it! Nobody cares except YOU, Hannabelle. I said: Nexus affects us all. Watch your taxes go up. They only sneered. I only smiled.

Now the fit has hit the shan. Who's crying now: THE SKY IS FALLING THE SKY IS FALLING! I smile wanly and say: Uh-huh. You finally looked up. You see it now? Right there on your own property tax statement. Nexus' calling card.

Maybe Hannabelle isn't the only one who cares anymore. Nexus is in everybody's back yard. Just like I told you so.

For Vic - D'Angelo and Freeman's lawyer.
***1. Please, mr lawyer don't sue me no more for saying there is something wrong with your client. Although I share my mom's opinion that your client is a SICK man, anybody who would misuse a city council to change city ordinances in order to force sex offenders onto citizens who do not have the power of the vote (your client said we do in his affidavit - which was untrue, but then, your client is a proven liar) - and then turn around and sue a disabled woman for calling him Poopsie, well, don't sue me again - I'm just reporting a real conversation we had. Contrary to your silly claim, I do not just sit at my computer making things up about your clients because I think its "funny". There is nothing funny about the damages your clients have caused to me and my family. Real damages. Hard core damages.

***2. It is MY OPINION that your clients are creepy, vindictive assholes. I formed my opinion from my personal experience with them, from their actions and the way they've treated us. I have lots of opinions. Even opinions about you.

Vindictive: showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt; motivated by spite. Disposed to seek revenge.

You should know this, Vic. This is what you accused me of. And you're wrong. I may be angry, with good reason, but I am not a malicious person. I was just sitting here for thirty years, minding my own business when your clients imposed themselves on me. I wasn't looking for a fight. My fight is with the government. My initial intent was only for your clients to go away (to a proper location with proper zoning) and leave me alone. Oh, you should know that too. That's what your client said when I asked him why he was suing me. He said, "We thought you'd go away." (I'm so glad I have witnesses to that one!) We had bets that he'd lie on his sworn affidavit and sure enough, he did. Unfortunately, we couldn't collect because nobody bet against us. Think about that. About not being able to collect.

It is MY OPINION that their lawsuit illustrates what kind of slimy creatures they really are. (You can add "slimy creatures" to the list. My lawyer is fine with that.) Please keep in mind when you tell Judge Number Six that I called your clients slimy, creepy, vindictive assholes, heartless, a "snake", etc. etc. that I, in turn, will tell the judge WHY I said what I've said. As you probably know by now, the FBI has been involved. Yes. For real. I told D'Angelo that BEFORE he sued me. Not my fault that he didn't believe me. As for calling your client a liar, well.... besides having lots of witnesses, I have written documentation. Tell D'Angelo that if he wants me to shut up, he's made an error in his psychological strategy. It ain't working. Being experts in psychology and social work, you'd think they'd know better. And being brutal - trying to break a person's spirit or their bank account doesn't demonstrate superiority and doesn't garner respect. It just shows brutality. My mom thinks you should be ashamed of yourselves. I suppose you'll sue her next, huh.

For MY lawyers: Sorry. But look at it this way, more work for you. :) Well, at least until the money runs out, which will be soon. No, I don't care if they know. Hell, I want everybody to know. It may even be a new cause. People like them shouldn't be able to sue people like me over things like this.

For my READERS: Please click the DONATE button at the upper right of the screen and kick in a few (thousand) bucks. I'm fighting for YOUR rights too. Thanks.

Clean up your MESS!

2008-11-24T07:57:00.006-06:00

"It's amazing the number of people who will tell me, my editor or someone on the Messenger staff that they don't read the Messenger. And yet, they are often the first to let us know when we don't get something right or they don't agree with what we've written."

Kevin Anderson, Publisher of the Mille Lacs Messenger - from When the paper doesn't come - 11/19/08

WOW! Mr. Anderson goes on in his editorial to say: "This column is more directed to the nearly 10,000 readers of the Mille Lacs Messenger than to the naysayers of its newsworthiness."

hmmm. I, for one, am a naysayer. I've been critical of the local newspaper ever since I began reading it when the local government, acting as an agent for Nexus, a private multi-million dollar corporation, invaded Bradbury Township and went all Fascist on us. Did the nearly 10,000 Mess readers have an opportunity to read about how the local government changed the ordinances which previously protected property owner rights? Nope. Not in the Mess. Did they read about how the public was lied to about things such as safety records, escapes, how much money is made and how little spent by Nexus in our county, or how Nexus thrives off of taxpayer dollars? Nope. Not in the Mess. (There was some information on tax abatement and such, however there was a lot of misinformation which was never corrected... A lot.)

What exactly did the Mess tell their nearly 10,000 readers about the Onamia government writing, changing, amending, and/or ignoring laws - in order to allow 94 convicted sex offenders next to day care, children, elderly widows, and vulnerable adults? To be fair, (and I always try), there was one article written by editor Brett Larson which mentioned that we are the "sacrificial lambs." He acknowledged that we don't have the power of the vote. I wish he would have been stronger. It wasn't enough to counter the paper's huge slant in favor of the poor troubled boys, the abused children, the nerdy kids. (i.e. convicted sex offenders who have "caused harm"...) We naysayers - those of us who lost our rights to protect our properties - were raked over the coals by the Mess, with their reporting of our "fear and ignorance - fear and ignorance - fear and ignorance" about the "children... children... children... child... children... child... children." And about us, they said: they fear public speaking more than death...........

They withheld tons of Nexus facts from their 10,000 readers. It was obvious whose side the Mess was on. One can only speculate why. Could it be that they "feared" losing advertisers who - not knowing the facts -supported Nexus? I don't know. Did the publisher of this newspaper respond to a conflict of interest regarding his brother-in-law profitting off a land deal? The brother-in-law happens to be a good friend of Mayor Larry Milton... who is portrayed in the Mess NOT as the bully he is, but as a wise and oftentimes cute and rambunctious maverick... (How endearing...) His friend, the Mess publisher's brother-in-law sold land to another pal who plans to build a supper club which, of course needs a liquor license. Is that why the paper pushed having the sex offenders in our backyard and not the brother-in-laws? You can't, after all, have a liquor license within a certain footage of a correctional facility. Nexus is a correctional facility. Its better to put the sex offenders next to children and little old ladies who are at risk? You better believe that when it comes to these kind of shennanigans, I am the first to say "NAY!"

So yeah. I'm one of the naysayers. I'm the naysayer who is being sued for calling former Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo "Poopsie" and for questioning scape-goat expert Peter D. Freeman's ethics while I tried to defend the civil rights of my neighbors and protect my 85 year old mom from 94 sex offenders. Oh Hannabelle is such a bad, bad person... Didn't you ever wonder why I felt the need to start my own on-line newspaper and blog? I wanted the People to hear the Truth. Didn't happen. The Mess didn't print the Truth and now it's nearly 10,000 uninformed readers have gone merrily about their lives - reading about "dowsing", grade school band concerts, and pigs stuck in sewers. There wasn't anything about the improper zoning classification of Nexus by Zoning Guy Mickey Carter - or about him disregarding old zoning laws, wrongfully approving placing a commercial institution in a residential area, however this week in the Mess, there is quite a bit about him talking about automobile tires and their rims... What would have happened if these nearly 10,000 readers had known how local government was screwing local citizens with their sex offenders? What if they had been educated about the situation - the conflicts of interests - that Nexus has been here throughout the town's deterioration - that most of the employees don't even live in Mille Lacs county? There's so much that wasn't reported. So much that was misreported. What if they had read that Nexus lies about the number of escapes and violent episodes of the "poor troubled boys" in this unlocked correctional facility? Maybe there wouldn't be another new supper club built to follow in Sodbuster's footsteps.

We'll never know.

But that's "old news" now, isn't it? Hannabelle - get over it! Except that I am left to live with the traffic, the noise, and the "boys" are coming. I feel the scars of being civically violated by my own government and wronged by my fellow citizens who were misinformed, even the betrayal of people I considered longtime friends. I've become used to being treated badly by members of my own community. Scape-goated. Ostracized. Attacked. Now, I even EXPECT to be treated horribly! I live with the daily reminder of the Power of the Press.

Hey - did you read about Councilman Jerome Kryzer and how he spends his winters in Arizona instead of attending Onamia city council meetings? Nope. Not in the Mess. Is that why he was re-elected? Because nearly 10,000 people didn't ever hear about Kryzer's snow-birding? Or how about the mayor's health? Ever hear about how Mayor Larry Milton has been battling cancer? Nope. Not in the Mess. Is he fit for office? (Was he ever?)He ran unopposed and was re-elected by less than 300 voters. Were they informed about how good old Larry forfeited citizens' rights in order to cut the multi-million dollar sex offender business a great deal? To give the company with the over 38 million dollar annual budget free taxes for 15 years? Did the voters know that he threatened citizens who opposed Nexus? Not in the Mess. Now he wants to build an industrial park. Maybe in YOUR neighborhood. (Ours is full-up with sex offenders). THAT was in the Mess... Industrial park. We need an industrial park like a fish needs a bicycle.

Prior to the election, the Mille Lacs Messenger didn't spend much time informing their nearly 10,000 readers about candidates, especially local ones who can change our lives forever.

Mr. Anderson says in his latest op-ed article: "The attitude of, "I don't read that rag," is a cover for not admitting that we are the news source for the Mille Lacs community. We have been the source for nearly 100 years and I suspect no matter how we deliver the news - through newsprint, our web site or whatever technology is available in the future - we will be a news agency for years to come."

A cover for not admitting???? What IS that? My naysaying response: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Can you spell D-E-L-U-S-I-O-N-A-L?

People want a decent local newspaper... a professional one they can trust. Sure. There's room for cute, personal stories. There is no excuse for withholding the real news though - events and decisions which can alter your lives forever.

*Note: When I confronted Mayor Larry Milton about us being sold down the river for a liquor license, he confirmed it but added "There's more to it than just that." So don't sue ME. Sue HIM. Thank you.

Election Results

2008-11-18T07:06:00.004-06:00

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way -" Charles Dickens

Election Results

Best of Times: Barack Obama - President of the United States
Worst of Times: Larry Milton - unopposed mayor of Nexusville AGAIN

Age of Wisdom: Joe Biden - Vice President of the United States
Age of Foolishness: Jerome Kryzer - Nexusville city council AGAIN

Epoch of Belief: Gail Kulick Jackson - Minnesota State Representative
Epoch of Incredulity: Frank Courteau - Mille Lacs County Commissioner AGAIN

Season of Light: Lisa Fobbe - Minnesota State Senator
Season of Darkness: Phil Peterson - Mille Lacs County Commissioner AGAIN (by only 9 votes though)

Spring of Hope: Al Franken - US Senator race too close to call
Winter of Despair: Norm Coleman - US Senator race too close to call

Everything Before Us: Shawn Willis - NEW Onamia Councilman taking Mark Loch's place
Nothing Before Us: Jack Edmonds - Mille Lacs County Commissioner AGAIN

Direct to Heaven: The New United States of America
Direct the Other Way: The Same Old Onamia - aka Nexusville

__________________

There seems to be an unprecedented enthusiasm throughout the nation with the election of Barack Obama. I've never seen anything like it before. (None of us have). For me, that Obama won is a miracle. Not because he is black, but because he accomplished the impossible - he has given me "hope", which is something I'd lost and thought was gone for good, after what I went through here in Nexusville. He has given me Hope for The Best of Times.

We The People just said "thanks, but no thanks" to Sarah Palin, which restored my faith in America. It showed that over half the people in the country are not as stupid as they seemed in 2000 and 2004. For once, people saw through the gimmicks, such as Joe the Plumber and "Maverick" and the Reverend Wright/Bill Ayers crap. And they voted! Cool. The American People spoke. They said that we're fed up with Rove politics. We're sick of Fox News. We're tired of being embarrassed by incompetent leaders like Bush. We want our country back.

Alas, here in Mille Lacs County, stupidity still reigns. But, I'll have more to say about that later. You can bet on it. :) For now, we should all celebrate that Change is indeed coming to America. (YESSSSS!)

Why You Shouldn't Vote - Part 2

2008-11-03T00:09:00.002-06:00

Maybe you're already a political junkie who has enjoyed the campaign season even more than the Friday night beer gardens at Onamia Days. Or maybe you already took my advice and educated yourself about the candidates this election, (including those judges and candidates for school board), have made your choices and are chomping at the bit to get to the polls. Then YES. Go vote.

BUT, are you really sure of the candidate you're voting for? Do you know where this person stands, what their goals are, what their PLANS are? If you don't know who Tim Tinglestad is, why would you vote for him? Why cast your vote for someone running unopposed? To be polite? Don't want to hurt his or her feelings? When you cast your vote recklessly, you may be empowering a stranger who dreams of building that industrial park in YOUR neighborhood. Plus, they can use the record from this election - the record you are providing them with - to campaign for the next election. "Vote for me. I am the incumbant More ignorant people randomly filled in my blank than the other what's-his-face's." And what if they're really awful? What if they are a Kryzer?

Jerome Kryzer is running for re-election on the Onamia City Council. Planning to vote for him? Did you know that he spends the winter down in Arizona? He isn't even here for several months at a time. What kind of councilman is he? Certainly not an involved one. Certainly not a dedicated one.

Who gets the power makes a huge difference. Even though Jerome Kryzer missed so many council meetings that he almost disqualified himself according to state attendance mandates, he still managed to do plenty of damage when he was around - like placing sex offenders next to day care and elderly widows. And he managed to change ordinances to do it, while stripping citizens of their rights. He's proud of it.

So, if you know your candidates and believe in them, vote for them. Just make sure that they've earned earned your vote. Your vote is precious. Make sure they are worthy of your vote. Don't give it to them for nothing. Connect the dots, but don't fill in all the blanks unless you know what you're in for.

Onamia Elections... oh gawd

2008-11-02T20:43:00.002-06:00

Palin - In Her Own Words

2008-11-01T11:21:00.000-05:00

Why You Shouldn't Vote - Part I

2008-10-29T06:10:00.003-05:00

Contrary to what you might think, I am not a Democrat. Don't call me a Republican, unless you really want to evoke the wrath of Hannabelle. Independent? Not when it comes to politics. Green Party? Libertarian? I like anything with "liberty" in it's roots, but I'm wise enough to know that if you bet on a one-legged dog at the racetrack, odds of you winning are mighty slim. Before Nexus (B.N.), I liked to label myself a "Free-Thinker". But I've changed. Thinking is no longer free in our country, unless you keep your thoughts to yourself. Voice them and you may expect a lawsuit. And trust me, lawyers aren't free. Now, A.N. (After Nexus), I consider myself a "Rationalist", or a "Realist". I've always voted for Democrats because they represent my personal ideology better than the Republicans. And somebody once told me that we live in a democracy where we vote for leaders to represent We The People. HAHAHAHAHA! Yeah. Right. They weren't from Nexusville.

The one label which does apply to me is "Voter". George Carlin used to say that he didn't vote, therefore he couldn't take the blame for the outcome. I always took the stance that if you don't vote, you can't complain about the outcome. (And as you know, Hannabelle has a talent for complaining.) I can take credit for the Clinton years. The last eight years are other people's fault. I voted, but lost. Actually, with Bush we all lost.

So yes, I am a Voter. But, I have to admit that I haven't done my job well in the past. I've never had a problem making up my mind about candidates running for top offices. I've paid attention. I know who I want for my president. But, after you get done with the meat and potatoEs, there is a long list of names at the end of the ballot. Names you never heard of. People running for justices and judges. Unknowns running for jobs at the bottom of the food chain. And those Unopposed guys. This is where I've failed. I always checked the box for the single, unopposed candidates. But that was B.N.

This election, I voted early. With the Internet, I researched the candidates and chose my judges wisely. (I might end up in front of them!) Those unopposed? I left the ballot blank. Those nebulous candidates I couldn't find information about? I left the ballot blank. If they wanted my vote, they should have provided me with a reason. For school board I did NOT vote for the son of the councilman who thought that his OPINION that 94 sex offenders in MY neighborhood shouldn't bother me because it didn't bother him OVERRULED my opinion that yes, they bother me. I guess that's why he changed the ordinances to remove any obstacles - i.e. me. The pine nut doesn't fall far from the tree...

Because of what happened to me - being denied a vote in a situation which would personally most affect my life, having my own Constitutional rights blown right out of the book of city ordinances, and being unable to have a say in my own fate - I've changed. I am now a Realist. I am acutely aware of the importance of elections. I'm sick of greedy corporatists who put their own interests before those of the American people. I want sane, rational, smart, qualified people to run the country. Don't you? And if you are lucky enough to have voting privilege, you would be dumb not to vote. Right?

Not so fast. Perhaps you shouldn't vote. For starters, since this election is the first one in the New Age of After Nexus - (N.A. of A.N.), I really paid attention. I mean REALLY paid attention. I got informed. I sifted through the propaganda and hoopla. After diligently educating myself, the choice was ever so clear - Barack Obama and Joe Biden. No question. Al Franken for U.S. Senate. Jim Oberstar for U.S. Representative. Gail Kulick-Jackson for State Representative. Easy decisions. I didn't choose to vote for them because they all happen to be Democrats. They are just the best choice. Period.

Some of my neighbors (yes, the same ones on whose behalf I tried so hard to fight Nexus and the Onamia council) are loyal, die-hard Republicans. Remember, I told you about the Sondra Erickson and McCain/Palin signs in their yards. One of these neighbors told me that he didn't read the newspaper, not even the local Mille Lacs Messenger. He didn't even read the Mille Lacs News or the Bradbury Buzzz during the Nexus Invasion! Wow! Talk about head in the sand. He also disclosed that he doesn't follow the television news - like CNN or MSNBC, or even (gag) Fox. His family likes to watch "American Idol", he said. Naturally, being uninformed, he would choose to vote for Palin/McCain.
(Many similarly ignorant supporters - like my neighbor - voted for George Bush TWICE!!!) But Sondra Erickson? She is partly responsible for sticking the sex offenders next to day care, elderly widows, children and vulnerable adults! I can see not biting the hand that feeds you. But she didn't lift a finger to "feed" us. Just excuses and denials of culpability. Why vote for a politician who supported the removal of your own Constitutional rights? There's that Nexusville "Epidemic of Stupid" again.

Now, I'm not saying that if you don't agree with my politics that you shouldn't vote. But if you are uninformed, stop everything you're doing and get informed now! Before its too late. Pay attention. It IS important. Don't just go with the flow and vote for McCain/Palin because you are a joiner, a social-climber, a fitter-inner, a Joe-Six-Pack or Joe-The-Plumber wannabe, like Sarah Palin's new outfit, or are a loyal member of the Bamboozlement Party. Don't believe the negative emails and robo-calls. Check it out. Educate yourself. Chances are that if you can dig through all of the crap being flung at you, you'll discover that what's "trickling down" on you isn't wealth.... To be blunt, we've all been pissed on for the past 8 years.

And do you really want somebody like YOURSELF determining the fate of the country? I don't. Uh... Foot in mouth.... I mean, I don't want the average person in high office. I want the best and the brightest, the one who I might not want to have a beer or shoot moose with. I want someone so competent that I might not HAVE to pay so much attention and can relax and enjoy my life, knowing that the country is in good hands. I want the best choice. And the best choice this election is clear.

Vote smart, or don't vote at all. Pay attention. It's too important not to.

Going Negative

2008-10-25T07:19:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, the Palin/McCain campaign actually announced that it was "going negative". They should have talked to Hannabelle first...

There was a distinct point when I, too, made a decision to "go negative". I created this blog solely for this purpose. It was part of an overall strategy that should have worked - but didn't.

Why did I choose to go negative? Well... my "campaign" wasn't about winning votes and making friends. My job was to try to make the prospect of moving 94 sex offenders into my neighborhood as unpleasant as possible - to suggest that just about any place else would be preferable to building next to that nasty Hannabelle. That's right. Hannabelle was nothing more than a big BEWARE OF DOG sign. At least, that's what she was at first.

Before Hannabelle arrived on the scene, I'd spent months working within the system, i.e. the Bradbury township board, the Onamia city council, the Mille Lacs county board of commissioners, the county assessor, the state senator and representative from my district, the attorney general, the state auditor - all the way up to the governor's office. (I even hired a lawyer. KACHING!) I took a very positive approach, especially - contrary to accusations - with the sellers of the 38.81 acres. I even offered to buy the land myself to keep Nexus away. What I discovered is - the system is faulty. It doesn't honor individual rights. And it also doesn't want to be bothered with our small problems... And nobody cares.

Cities are given power without consequences. They basically have immunity. The theory is that the council has it's own checks and balances built into the system. That might work, assuming the council is honest and doing the work of the people for the people. If you have a bad city council, watch out! Those five men can do anything they want without any restraints, restrictions, without any confines. Open meeting violations? No problem! Conflict of interest? No sweat! Majority rules? Hah! Which majority? They can ignore petitions and protests and invade a neighboring township at their whim. How about the LAW? Shucks. Not a problem. They can change laws any old time - even laws which prohibit sex offenders in a residential area. They can grant conditional use permits for corporations while removing the rights of citizens. With tax payer money, they can hire a slick, unethical city attorney to manipulate the law to suit their personal agenda. City governments are omnipotent. So screw you, USA.

So what's a girl to do? How do you fight against all that power? We're talking about the power that the guy who runs the grocery store has been given to determine YOUR fate, YOUR life, YOUR property values.... (sigh). It's like having FIVE Sarah Palins making bad decisions about your life which will affect you FOREVER and you have absolutely no control over. Its a Done Deal, there's nothing you can do about it. Your rights? HAH! You don't have any rights. At least I can vote against Palin. I have no right to vote in Onamia. And what made things even worse was that the people of Mille Lacs county were buying the propaganda spewed by the self-serving government. The citizenry, even the local newspaper, was totally bamboozled.

So I went negative. It was easy. There was a lot to be negative about.

A whole lot of debunking. The Mille Lacs Academy is not an academy. They are not "poor troubled boys". They are convicted sex offenders. Nexus is not a local, small business in our community. It is a multi-million dollar private corporation with its fancy corporate headquarters in Golden Valley. It doesn't serve our community, but brings unwanted sex offenders in from other counties to live among us, go to school with Onamia kids. Nexus lied about safety risk statistics. We were told that they don't escape and that they are not dangerous. (That isn't true.) Nexus is a private corporation, but is funded through our tax dollars. Jobs? Over 60% of employees live outside of Mille Lacs County. Where do they shop? Outside of Mille Lacs County.... Although the former CEO said he spent some of his $267,015 (2005) annual salary at the Cedarwood restaurant in town, (in between trips to Palm Springs and Italy?), in 18 months of hardcore research, we couldn't uncover any benefits to the community that outweighed the detriments.

Tax abatement for them. Higher property taxes for us. You don't need to worry about Fanny and Freddy.... We have Larry and Frank! And the people bought it all - hook, line, and sinker. And I should emphasize - the people PAID for it all.

And so did I. I paid dearly for trying to keep the sex offenders from moving in - next to my 85 year old mother. Former Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo and Nexus Chairman of the Board Peter Freeman made a decision to "go negative". Apparently it wasn't enough to force themselves upon Hannabelle and her family. It wasn't enough to ruin the neighborhood. They had to punish me AFTER THE FACT. Put a muzzle on that barking, snarling dog... So they sued me for defamation. Yes. I called D'Angelo "Poopsie". Yes. I questioned their ethics and honesty. I still do. I have documents to back my case.

You know, I realize one of my problems with going negative was that people thought I was the liar when I told the Truth. I've seen this in reverse with the Palin/McCain campaign. Some people believe they're truth-tellers when they tell lies. All that nonsense about Barack Obama - ooooh he's a Muslim! - ooooh he's palling around with terrorists! - oooh he's teaching sex education to kindergartners! - oooh he'll raise your taxes! - oooh he's a socialist! - oooh oooh oooh..... All debunked, yet the people cling to believing the lies Palin and McCain have been spreading. Just like they cling to the lies of Nexus. Maybe what they really believe is - oooh he's black. And that IS, of course, well... a half-truth. And maybe they really want to believe that Nexus is good for the community. Maybe they just want to believe in SOMETHING. Sometimes the Truth hurts. Like the Truth about Palin and McCain would hurt.

Here's the funny part about my going negative. Although that was indeed my job - while trying to procure favorable government action through public participation - it was up to the other neighbors to lead a POSITIVE campaign, to gain public support, to spread the word, to.... oh well. What's the point. They didn't do their job. Period.

Two of the abutters to the new Nexus sex offender treatment facility have McCain/Palin signs in their yards - along with their Sondra Erickson signs. Sondra was instrumental in keeping Nexus in Onamia. Can you believe it? They would vote for the Republicans - those who, by direct or indirect means put 94 sex offenders literally next door to them and made them cry! They should have included signs which said: YES! WE ARE BRADBURY IDIOTS AFTER ALL!

But there I go. I sound negative. Personal attacks... (sigh). It's so easy.

In the end, going negative didn't work for me. You'd think it wouldn't work for Palin and McCain either. But then, Bradbury Idiots are everywhere.

The Real McCain

2008-10-22T04:10:00.002-05:00

Don't miss the Sarah Palin video below.

Sarah "Moose-alini"

2008-10-22T03:44:00.001-05:00

McCain/Palin... That's the Ticket?

2008-10-19T02:58:00.003-05:00