Is Your Neighborhood a Haven for Sexual Predators?

I thought it was my responsibility to write about something that’s important for all of us and has to do with our safety. Do you really know who your neighbor is, or when you walk around your neighborhood and see different people, how well do you know them? What about the one that's always being nice to children; do you ever wonder about that?

When I started hearing about children being sexually abused, I noticed the perverts that committed the crime acted as if  they hadn’t done anything wrong. Their faces and demeanor really bothered me; you kill a child and you're carefree? You abuse a child and it's okay? They probably think in a few years they'll get out on good behavior, so it's really not a big deal to them.

I'm sure all of us have seen that, the person was released because you know he was a good person, but that is far from the truth, because before you know it, they commit another crime and they're back again.

I started doing research and know that all sexual predators are required to register, so I became curious about my own neighborhood; I wanted to see if there were any sexual predators living in my area, and knowing this was probably true, I wanted to know how many, and where, thus. I made a search, put my state, zip code and bang; I was shocked to see how many came up.

I couldn’t believe where they lived nor could I believe that many failed to register, but let’s get real, if they’re going to hurt a child and move away, why should they take time and register? Hey, it's me, I molest children. That would be silly. They don’t want to get caught and have people see their face and name come up as a convicted sex offender, because that's what they are and once a sexual offender, always a sexual offender. That doesn't go away, and if anyone thinks they're cured they're deceiving themselves.

However, those faces staring back at me and their look said it all. They hated to pose for something they had been convicted of especially to a child. I also realized that it doesn’t matter what sex you are because I saw faces of women; they had a smile from one side of the face to the other; people's mug shot should be something to be embarrassed of, and to know you've hurt children should be worse, but they had no shame.

I looked up the crimes: aggravated sexual offender, molestation, indecent exposure to a minor, rape and the list goes on. With the national registry, people now know where they live, the victim or victims they've hurt, if they’re repeated offenders, their height, weight, and ethnicity, the type of crime they committed and when it took place.

The best part is, people also know that a sexual predator lives next door to them, children would know who to stay away from, parents would now be on alert, people wouldn’t be so quick to befriend that so-called nice person who’s really using a facade to hide his identity of having committed a crime against a child or anyone else for that matter, and if they move away without registering, at least you saw their face.

The registry gives everyone an advantage they didn’t have before. Now you can look up your state to see where they are. You can check out your neighborhood. It also shows just how close they may live to a school. In many states sexual offenders aren’t allowed to live close to schools, however there are some states that are lenient and allow 500, 1000 or 2000 feet proximity to the school.

I couldn’t be happier to have their disgusting, grubby face exposed to everyone, and it doesn't discriminate either, because professional individuals as well as blue collar workers are shown to the world; it doesn't matter what status, ethnicity, or gender you may have, a pervert comes in many ways, shapes, sizes and background.

I have gone through the registry many times checking out different states; I’ve found that offenders have doubled in a year’s time. I always check out my neighborhood. I’ve always been aware of my surroundings and people I encounter; now I can’t help and stare at the faces that look at me in the store; I wonder if that’s a face I saw in the registry, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be paranoid, but the world has become a jungle and people don’t care who they hurt. When a person is capable of hurting a child, that person will hurt anyone.

I hope everyone takes advantage of the National Sex Offender Registry; stay informed of your state and neighborhood, you will be doing yourself a favor and those you love.

http://www.nsopw.gov/

My Way

When I got online and saw the name Caitlyn Jenner, I thought it was Bruce Jenner's daughter. I then realized it was Bruce Jenner. I saw the pictures and couldn't believe that good-looking athlete had been transformed into that woman. However, since makeup and fashionistas are so prevalent today, I understood why Caitlyn turned out to be like that.

Caitlyn Jenner has a very different take than the crying Bruce Jenner Diane Sawyer interviewed; he was an extremely depressed man, and I really felt sorry for him. Today Caitlyn Jenner is an elegant woman who strikes the pose and seems to be sure of herself, but after the applause and glamour die down, will it always be like that? We can't forget that after the surgery, she had a panic attack and couldn't believe what she had just done.

When I was a kid, I saw Bruce Jenner in the Olympics. I remember him as an Olympian who won Gold. He trained hard to get to where he was and with every effort accomplished what many have set their mind to and sometimes failed. When he won he seemed to be so sure of himself. We found out later he was a very sad and miserable man. I guess his competitive spirit was pushing him to run away from his problems, but deep down inside he couldn't.

As years pass, he went from one marriage to another, and it was evident that his facial features seemed completely different, more feminine. I often wondered about that and couldn't figure it out. He later said he was taking hormones and at the same time cross-dressing; that's where all the pieces fell into place.

His last marriage was to Kris Kardashian. I never saw the reality show he was in but I did see clips they showed on the news and honestly speaking, Kris was condescending towards him. She criticized what he was wearing and basically told him that he needed to change in order to keep up with their name. Excuse me? Keep up with the Kardashian's? In the first place, I always knew who Bruce Jenner was but I never knew who the Kardashian's were or where they came from, therefore I've never understood this superiority they've always displayed, thus I don't blame him for not spelling Caitlyn with a K. He clearly said, he wanted a clean break from them and I'm glad he basically kicked them to the curb; Kardashian's step aside.

I've read tweets after tweets celebrating Bruce Jenner for what he did, and of course there are those who are critical of him. He's the only one that knows the torment he was going through, but to go to the extreme of having a sex change operation? I really don't know if he'll regret that later; maybe he will, maybe he won't, especially when his children and grandchildren come around and women start competing with him not for him; I mean let's face it, look what happened when a professional had to talk to him endlessly after he had the surgery telling him it was a natural process because of the medication he was on.

A sex change operation isn't exactly a new wardrobe, everyday won't be about makeup artists, there aren't always going to be photo shoots, and as for people cheering you on consecutively? I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Today's story will soon be yesterday's news because that's how life is.

Is it a natural process to see yourself one way today and tomorrow someone else is staring back at you? No. Do people even mention Chaz Bono? No. And have you ever noticed someone who had plastic surgery? They don't look anything like they did originally.

I did notice she's prettier than the Kardashian women. Oh no, maybe they'll get jealous, after all, they're Kardashian's. I also noticed she probably has a better personality than they do, oh please don't say that, maybe they won't like it, remember, they're Kardashian's, and last but definitely not least, his 88 year old mother accepts him, but firmly said, she will continue to call her Bruce because that's the name he was given at birth; now that all the cards are on the table Caitlyn, that's something to think about.

Violence against Women

He had all the future traits of someone who would someday hurt women. He never respected a woman especially if she was in authority, he slouched, he talked about her, he laughed about her with his friends, he took it out many times by punching the wall or slamming the chair; unfortunately other females were scared of him.

When he went home his father demonstrated the same qualities. He always said they were the worse drivers and their place was in the kitchen. Do you see the similarity? Everything the boy saw he learned from his father; it didn’t surprise anyone that he had this attitude because he was following in his father’s shoes.

Now the question is turned to us. How many are displaying the same behavior in front of their child without realizing the damage they’re doing? How many yell and punch their wives without noticing their child is watching? If you think they’re not then you’re fooling yourself. How many women permit this type of behavior and think it’s okay, after all they’re the man of the house and the breadwinner.

If you give the impression to your sons that it’s okay to mistreat a woman, that’s exactly what they’re going to do when they grow up. If you let your son disrespect you, what do you think he will do to his wife? And if you have any daughters, the same applies to them.

Women tend to look for a man that reminds them of their father. Do you want your daughter married to a man that’s going to disrespect and mistreat her, that’s going to beat her?  What example are you setting for her as a woman; let anyone step all over her? What will that do to her self-esteem, confidence and trust in men?

I don’t understand when parents say they don’t know how he turned out that way. What kind of relationship did you have at home with him and what was the environment like? It’s too easy to point the finger at someone else without taking a good look at ourselves. It’s also embarrassing to admit that your son beats his wife and he learned that from his father, the one you look at every day and think his behavior is okay.

Tears

I went to visit a friend of mine and her neighbor stopped by. After we were introduced, I saw her open up and start talking to me about her children. It was actually very sad because this woman cried in front of a stranger she had never met. I listened intently and saw how her tears streamed from her eyes. My friend looked at me as if to say, "She's broken."

Her daughter passed away leaving two small children; she was only twenty- two. Her son was shot in the head; he was thirty. She told me she was alone and couldn't even have contact with her grandchildren. Unfortunately this situation isn't something new. All of us know someone that may be crying out to us or we may be feeling like that. The funny thing is, the day was sunny and beautiful and this woman was a wreck, so you see it doesn't matter the weather, it's your life. We can say that pain pardons no one.

We've all had those days and desperately or secretly search for answers to our hidden problems; this woman thought she would never see her children again. I spoke to her about the resurrection; a hope so dear and real to us we can almost reach out and embrace our loved ones. She wanted to know if it was true. I said yes. I showed her what it says in  the Bible, "Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in  the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgement." John 5:28-29.

I saw a glimmer of relief; she was a different person than the one I recently met. When I left I told her to take care of herself and went back to talk to my friend.

In a world where people seem so aloof in recognizing and acknowledging another's problems, it's important to take time and ask ourselves, would we want someone to be there for me? How important is it that people actually sit down and listen to what I have to say?

Technology is crippling us to the extent that we no longer need to personally communicate with one another. We send a text with a smiley and our work has been done, but is a text the same as hearing the person's voice, and is a smiley the same as seeing another person's smile? Or the emoticon with the tears; is that the same as seeing real tears? We can't let ourselves become so self absorbed that we forget that communication with another individual is important. We need not forget we're social animals and need human contact.

I would've never met that woman and brought some type of relief to her if I hadn't gone and visited  my friend, and in bringing her comfort, it reassured the hope I have. Who will you aid today?

"There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving." Acts 20:35

90 Miles

A country that almost seemed like it stopped in time, where people are still driving cars from the 50s, homes are dilapidated and children run barefoot. One sees how older men and women are worn out from years of servitude and those who are younger rebel against a government that displeases them. Many left seeking a better future for their family and saw their children grow up in the United States or became parents in the land of opportunity?

When Americans were part of that scenario and Hemingway had his house there, Cuba was prosperous. They loved vacationing in Cuba. The truth is you can't beat 90 miles from Florida. However, those of a generation passed away or grew older and to date have grandchildren and even great grandchildren.

The generation of their parents and grandparents never walked Cuba's beaches and felt that clear water of Varadero caress their feet, nor did they feel the scorching heat of the sun. That generation never gazed into a sky full of stars in Cuba and were enveloped by the warmth of that mystical night. They never looked out into the sea and were mesmermized by waves as serene as a sleeping baby or as furious as an erupting volcano letting them know, they too feel their pain.

The Tropicana is foreign to them, what they know they've heard from their parents or read in books. They're not familiar with Beny More, Cachao, Cienfuegos or Jose Marti. Their music is hip hop, pop, rock or a different genre. Their literature is American history, Washington, Franklin and Jefferson. Their knowledge of slavery is what was done to those from Africa, disregarding they're own background as being enslaved.

When they left, did they betray their country or was it the other way around? No one wants to be denied the right to go as you please, to travel, to be able to go into a store and buy whatever you want, not have things rationed out to you as if you were a child. No one wants to know that as citizens they were born in Cuba but beaches such as Varadero is only for tourists from Europe and Canada. No one wants to be denied the right to have access to the Internet or be monitored on a constant basis because big  brother is alive and well. It's better to indoctrinate a person into thinking how bad something is  before they get a taste of it and realize the years of propaganda that was fed to them; that was the real culprit for their misery.

The sad part of the equation is that people have been conditioned that way because in their mind they're being taken care of; free healthcare and education is quite appealing to them, but when a doctor makes 200+ a month that's an embarrassment after putting in all those years of studying only to graduate and have them tell you what you should earn, conversely when you exploit a person's illness by making money from them, that too is an embarrassment. What happened to the Hippocratic Oath? You become a doctor to heal because you love your profession, you want to help others not see it as a way to make money like it's become today.

The question is, with the United  States having relations, will things really change? Is it easy to forget the betrayal of the Bay of Pigs, and is it easy to forget how nuclear weapons were pointed in our direction? Is it easy to ignore the blockade that was put on that country for many years? They say it's time to move on, but don't forget those who perished at the hands of Castro's regime. Why else do you honor the lives every year of fallen soldiers in the United States? If we continue to ignore man's government, then you're ignoring the atrocities that has been committed to innocent people.

"I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking to even to direct his step." Jeremiah 10:23

Blago’s Truth

When I sat watching the verdict handed down to Rod Blagojevich I wasn’t shocked that he was found guilty, but the years that were handed to him did shock me. I know he did wrong and everyone else does too but there are many people that have committed crimes worse than what he did and they haven’t received such a lengthy penalty. I wondered what he could’ve done better.

Instead of being so careless he should’ve thought about his family and daughters that will now grow up without their father. He should’ve set aside greed and ambition and thought about what could happen if he got caught; maybe he should’ve thought about the seriousness of what he was walking into and not think of himself being superior to the rest; with all that being said it’s a little too late for what could’ve been.

Rod Blagojevich is now the fourth governor who’s been caught in the seriously corrupt state of Illinois. It’s disconcerting to have to relive that again and it seems the punishment is becoming more severe. Even though no one may want to say anything, there are many involved in wrongdoing and probably were part of his dealings in wanting to buy Obama’s seat, which by the way people have phrased it like that but it really doesn’t belong to Obama. Those people that were involved are just quietly hoping no one looks their way; many are shocked Blagojevich didn’t start throwing out names; I guess he didn’t want to be a snitch if he did that and maybe he was afraid for his family.

When you think of all the seedy and crooked politicians that you know are out there ripping people off you can’t help but wonder about them. However, I do know that just like it took Rod Blagojevich years to be put away and his predecessors, they too will eventually get caught; it’s just a matter of time.

The phrase of the poem ‘If’ that was written by Rudyard Kipling and quoted by Blagojevich should’ve gone something like this. If I hadn’t been so greedy and thought about myself instead of my loved ones, if I hadn’t fooled myself thinking no one was listening and I was cutting a deal that would eventually put me behind bars, if I could only turn back the hands of time and start all over again walking the fine and narrow, if I would’ve stopped my ego from getting the best of me instead of letting it take over I wouldn’t find myself in the situation I am in now, I would be with my family, I would enjoy watching my girls grow up and I would be the man everyone is proud of.

The truth of the matter is Rod Blagojevich had a lot of enemies that wanted him out and despite the fact that he seems to be such a charismatic individual and people flock to him, that isn’t the reality. The circle he hangs around can be as corrupt as he became, just listening to those tapes said a lot, but then again people that get into politics and government start out one way and end up another. It’s sad to see a person that was half-way decent in the beginning change into a vicious, egomaniacal individual that only thinks about himself and cares little about others, but that’s the society we live in and those are the individuals that make laws.

What I find wrong is if one person had to do with someone dying like Conrad Murray and was handed four years and another got caught up in the game like Rod Blagojevich and winds up with fourteen years where ‘s the justice in that? I’ve heard many say we didn’t hear all of the evidence that was presented and his punishment did fit the crime, and maybe by the years handed down to him it will be a way to deter others from breaking the law. I guess they’re trying to make Rod Blagojevich the poster boy for crime determent; fat chance that will happen. People will continue to break the law and the state of Illinois will continue to be as corrupt as it’s always been.

When he was sentenced, he wasn’t the only one who received that sentencing; it was also handed down to his entire family. He will soon be heading to prison, what he did will be yesterday’s news and reporters will seek another scandal to write about.

It’s a shame that some people were happy about it and some were asking him to apologize to the people of Illinois; I don’t think it really matters if he did or didn’t. If Rod Blagojevich were to apologize then you can ask the same of all the crooked politicians that state is known for; Al Capone made it famous for being corrupt and everyone else has continued the legacy of corruption.

The Right to Be Born

I was watching a Spanish soap opera called “El Derecho de Nacer” which was about an aristocratic family and their values whose daughter got pregnant. The child’s biological father wanted her to get an abortion, and the idea of her bringing such a stigma and shame on their name was too much for her own father to handle, therefore being a tyrant he plans on having is grandson killed to erase all traits that his daughter was ever pregnant and a baby was brought into this world.

The daughter has a nanny who’s a black woman and she had her promise if she sees her child in danger to flee with him. One night the child is stolen by the right hand man of her father and the nanny wakes up just in time and runs to the fields when the man raises his machete to bring it down on the new-born.

It’s amazing to see the courage of this black woman run and get in front of the baby and tell him if he’s going to kill the child to kill her also. She pleads and talks him out of the crime he’s about to commit and flees with the child. He cuts his hand and wraps something around it and takes the blood stained machete to the father and has him believe he not only killed the child but the nanny as well because she got in the way.

Life takes on many turns for this black woman and a white baby but she manages to take on different jobs to support the child. They have to go from one place to another because they lack the money to pay rent; they suffer discrimination, hunger and the injustices that come to a woman and a small boy. Despite all of that she manages to save money and is determined to raise him and make a good man out of the child.

He later becomes a doctor and the irony of it all is that they return to the place they fled when he was a baby and their paths cross his biological mother and her family. This movie is spell binding  and you’re glued to your seat at what ambition, aristocratic ideals, courage, determination, discrimination, hypocrisy, selflessness, and unbiased love can do to a human being.

When a woman becomes pregnant and decides to have an abortion because the child may come at a time when she’s not prepared to take on that responsibility, or the father decides he doesn’t want to be a part of it the one that suffers is the child. Today the supreme court says it’s a woman’s right to choose and many sustain the legalities of that decision, however when you see this movie and you hear about one man’s way of thinking and man’s laws that have to do with the birth of a child, those same people that sit on the court may have been deprived of life if someone would’ve decided they didn’t have the right to live.

Many would say abortion is just a fetus and isn’t really a child; however Jehovah God doesn’t see it that way. “Your eyes saw even the embryo of me. And in your book all its parts were down in writing, as regards the days when they were formed and there was not yet one among them.” Psalms 139: 16

Thinking of his social status and what people would think caused the grandfather to make a criminal decision in depriving his grandson the right to live.  He lived his entire life regretting what had happened because he thought his grandson had been killed, but when he realized his grandson was alive and had grown up to be a doctor he asked God for forgiveness and thanked him for his grandson’s life.

In conclusion, the ultimate question is, “Who’s right, Jehovah God, who’s all-knowing and created all things or humans that are still trying to see what they can create and will never be satisfied?