The Plain Truth - News and Message Board

Ben Stein, I am a Jew

midnightshadow — Thur, 26 Nov 2009 02:49:31 GMT

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in? Malibu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Hurricane Katrina).. Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'?

In light of recent events.... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet??

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

BobBarney — Thur, 26 Nov 2009 02:31:50 GMT

From all of us to YOU!

Sushi DNA Tests Reveal Fraud

Tamster — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:07:31 GMT

A biologist walks into a sushi bar and orders some tuna. What does he get? Escolar, a nasty fish with buttery flesh that can cause bizarre episodes of diarrhea, accompanied by a waxy intestinal discharge.

Its not a joke. It happened five times to the same scientists during a brief research project. The results of that study were published Wednesday in PLOS One.

A piece of tuna sushi has the potential to be an endangered species, a fraud or a health hazard, wrote the authors. All three of these cases were uncovered in this study.

The team of researchers from Columbia University and the American Museum of Natural History ordered tuna from 31 sushi restaurants and then used genetic tests to determine the species of fishes in those dishes. More than half of those eateries misrepresented, or couldnt clarify the type of fish they were mongering. Several were selling endangered southern bluefin tuna.

Although their results were shocking, exposing sloppy sushi joints wasnt their main goal. The scientists were trying to improve on a new species-identification technique, called DNA barcoding. A coalition of labs has been collecting fish, reading their genes and uploading the information to a database called FISH-BOL.

Their goal is to build a catalog of every fish species on earth so that anyone with a handheld DNA reader could definitively identify fish within minutes. Wildlife officials could use that technology to spot-check fish markets, and fine people who are selling protected species.

Right now, the FISH-BOL database is roughly 20 percent complete, but zooligsts cant seem to agree upon the best way to condense the genetic information from each fish into a concise signature. Thats where this study comes into play. By checking 14 carefully selected spots on a gene called cox1 and matching them up with the database, the scientists could accurately identify any kind of tuna.

Citation: Lowenstein JH, Amato G, Kolokotronis S-O, The Real maccoyii: Identifying Tuna Sushi with DNA Barcodes Contrasting Characteristic Attributes and Genetic Distances. PLoS ONE 4, 11, 2009, e7866.

Photo: Spicy tuna roll
stuart_spivack/Flickr

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/11/tunadna/

Hillary Clinton Vice President Rumors Flare Up Again

Tamster — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:35:09 GMT

Lest you think that these days before the Thanksgiving holiday are just a series of interminably slow turns at the news teat, here's Paul Bedard with some "Washington Whispers" that are TOTAL GAMECHANGERS:

The hot rumor in Washington: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could replace Vice President Joe Biden on the 2012 Obama re-election ticket. It would be a reward for her work at State and ready her for a 2016 run, as some strategists think Biden would be too old then to run for president.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/24/hillary-clinton-vice-pres_n_369532.html

WT* Medical Marijuana Prescribed to Kids with ADHD

Tamster — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:59:37 GMT

(Nov. 23) -- In California, the state with the nation's most permissive medical marijuana law, some children with attention deficit hyperacitivty disorder, or ADHD, are being treated with marijuana -- a fact that has sparked a heated debate over the move.

Reliable figures on the use of marijuana to treat ADHD are hard to come by. Though California says it has issued over 36,000 medical marijuana cards since 2004, the state does not compile statistics on prescriptions for specific conditions, like ADHD. And many doctors and patients are reluctant to talk about it. Still, experts say such prescriptions are becoming more common as the number of pot dispensaries and doctors prescribing marijuana continues to grow.

And not everyone is happy about it.

"Let me count the ways in which prescribing marijuana for teens with ADHD is a bad idea," said Stephen Hinshaw, professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley. Marijuana, Hinshaw said, is a "cognitive disorganizer" which produces roughly the same affect in users those associated with ADHD.

"The active ingredient in pot, THC, causes short term memory problems and inattention," Hinshaw said, "the very same things you want a medicine for ADHD to help alleviate."

Since marijuana has not been put through the FDA approval process, very few reliable studies have been conducted to show how it may affect ADHD, Hinshaw said.

But if the idea of prescribing pot to minors seems counter-intuitive, it might be worth considering that Ritalin and Aderall, two of the most commonly prescribed medications for ADHD, are essentially amphetamines. And Hinshaw said hundreds of studies show that in low dosages amphetamines are an effective treatment for ADHD.

"I'd have no hesitation of giving a youngster with ADHD a trial of oral marijuana," said Lester Grinspoon, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the author of "Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine."

"For some kids it appears to be more affective than traditional treatments. And marijuana certainly has fewer potential dangers than Ritalin."

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, children with ADHD show a variety of hyperactive symptoms, including difficulty concentrating or following directions, being easily distracted and increased hyperactivity or fidgeting.

Roughly 4.5 million American children have been diagnosed with ADHD, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, but scientists are unsure as to what causes the condition.

"My son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 6," a Grass Valley, Calif. woman who wished to remain anonymous told Sphere. "He was hyperactive, and had trouble in school, but we didn't want to put him on Ritalin. Too many side effects. When he got to high school, I suddenly noticed that he'd calmed and could concentrate. I couldn't figure it out. Then he told me that he'd started smoking pot."

Now 28, the woman says her son still smokes pot, and has very little problem with his ADHD.

While Grinspoon concedes that the evidence of marijuana's effectiveness in treating conditions like ADHD is mostly anecdotal, he believes that practitioners would be wise to start listening to the everyday experiences of their patients. "It has been hard to collect hard data because the federal government has, for so long, said, no, marijuana is not a drug."

Hinshaw is intrigued by success stories of patients treating ADHD with marijuana, but he cautions against euphoria in the absence of data. "People with ADHD are terrible at self-reporting, that's one of the things that characterizes the condition. Still, this is worth looking into. Any hypothesis that adheres to the proper ethical limits is worth investigating."

At Harborside Health Center in Oakland, for instance, a doctor's recommendation for marijuana is verified with the physician, then the medical board is consulted to make sure the doctor is in good standing. In the case of minors, only a parent or guardian is allowed to enter the dispensary.

As for the future of treating ADHD in kids with marijuana, Grinspoon said he's optimistic. "In the long run, I think it will prove to be a wonder drug, and a less toxic one at that."

http://www.sphere.com/2009/11/24/marijuana-prescribed-to-kids-with-adhd/

The Point: Lou Dobbs for President? Maybe Senator First

Tamster — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:57:40 GMT

(Nov. 25) -- Lou Dobbs sounded a little like a political candidate when he announced his departure from CNN a couple of weeks ago. Now he sounds a whole lot like one.

While the early speculation was about whether the former TV talker would seek the presidency, his spokesman indicated on Tuesday that a run for U.S. Senate in 2012 is more likely -- as a possible steppingstone to the White House.

Dobbs, best known as a crusader against illegal immigration, has his eye on the seat held by New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez, the Senate's only Hispanic member.

"He realizes that to run for president he'd have to run for an intermediate position, such as the Menendez spot," spokesman Bob Dilenschneider told The Wall Street Journal, adding that Dobbs isn't ruling out a run for president but isn't "approaching it seriously at this moment."

In anticipation of a possible run for Menendez's seat, Dobbs is trying to change his image among Latinos. The man whose CNN program became what MyDD's Charles Lemos called "little more than a forum to bash immigrants of Hispanic descent," appeared on the Spanish-language network Telemundo on Friday and announced his support for legalizing millions of undocumented workers.

"Whatever you have thought of me in the past, I can tell you right now that I am one of your greatest friends, and I mean for us to work together," Dobbs said in his live interview with Telemundo's Maria Celeste.

If the post-CNN Dobbs is willing to make nice with Hispanic voters, would he also cozy up to the GOP after years of blasting both parties?

Dobbs, who billed himself as "Mr. Independent" after quitting the GOP in 2006, isn't ruling out running as a Republican, according to Dilenschneider. (Some commentators wonder whether Dobbs could pass the Republican National Committee's proposed ideological "purity test.") But independent political strategists are "delighted at the prospect of a third-party campaign" by a famous, media-savvy candidate, Politico reported.

Dennis DeClaudio at Comedy Central's Indecision Forever is hoping Dobbs will skip the Senate and jump straight into the Republican presidential fray. He dreamed of a surreal 2012 GOP primary: "Oh man, can you even imagine? Dobbs vs. Palin vs. Giuliani vs. Ailes vs. Huckabee vs. Romney? ... Is Chewbacca planning a run?"

On the other hand, New York magazine's Adam K. Raymond said, Dobbs should take the third-party route to the White House, "if only because it would make for some mind-bending Palin/Obama/Dobbs debates in 2012."

http://www.sphere.com/2009/11/25/the-point-lou-dobbs-for-president-maybe-senator-first/

Does the Discussion Board Look Right?

BobBarney — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:10:43 GMT

I use FireFox and for some reason, the board looks all out of place on my screen. Is this happening on your screen? Please let me know. Thanks

HOPE Is Fading Fast

lynne — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:14:52 GMT

Quote:

Hope Is Fading Fast: A Devastating Take on The Iconic Obama Poster

by Rachel Sklar | 2:13 am, November 24th, 2009

A new offensive has been launched against President Obama, and if it catches on it may make as much noise as a Birther at a Town Hall. Its the new Hope Is Fading Fast t-shirt from LA streetwear company Freshjive a sad, disappointed take on the iconic HOPE poster by Shepard Fairey. Heres how FreshJive describes it on its website:

Pre-releasing on Black Friday is the t shirt design, Hope is Fading Fast. This is actually the first item releasing without the Freshjive brand name on it. Read the recent post on the Worlds Got Problems blog regarding how the Obama administration is maintaining continuity with its disgraced predecessor.

Ouch. FreshJive founder Rick Katz is well-known locally as both a streetwear pioneer as well as a provocateur (he was protested, for example, by the Jewish Defense League with two controversial Palestinian-themed shirts last June). This shirt will probably cause a more conflicted reaction as Democrats debate whether its fair or unfair, and Republicans will probably love it. What makes this image significant, of course, is that it comes from the left: In October 2007 Katz said, Really in the end what drives me is making that one t-shirt that says F-word off, Bush. Two years later, he seems to be sending Obama pretty much the same message.

Here is FreshJives list of grievances against Obama, here is Politifacts Obameter to track campaign promises, and here is a bigger version of the shirt:

http://www.mediaite.com/online/hope-is-fading-fast-devastating-take-on-iconic-obama-poster/

A McCain Upset? Now in a dead head with Hayworth

lynne — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:11:28 GMT

Quote:

A McCain Upset?
A new Rasmussen poll shows the Arizona Senator in a dead heat with potential GOP primary challenger J.D. Hayworth.
ALLYSIA FINLEY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009, 1:37 P.M. ET

John McCain may have been the GOP's national standard-bearer just a year ago, but now he's in electoral trouble at home. And this time no one can claim it's because of Sarah Palin. A new Rasmussen poll shows the Arizona Senator in a dead heat with potential GOP primary challenger J.D. Hayworth. Mr. Hayworth served as a congressman from 1995 to 2006, when he lost in a squeaker to Democratic Tempe Mayor Harry Mitchell, who prevailed by hounding Mr. Hayworth over his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Mr. Hayworth now runs a popular Phoenix talk radio show. Though he hasn't formally declared his candidacy, he has expressed interest. According to Arizona Republic columnist Dan Nowicki, Mr. Hayworth is partly motivated by a "long-standing grudge" against McCain aide Mark Salter, whom he has accused of trying to "blackmail" him in 2005 into ceasing his criticism of Mr. McCain's comprehensive immigration reform bill by threatening to publicize Mr. Hayworth's Abramoff connections. For his part, Mr. Hayworth now says his problems with Mr. Salter would have no impact on his decision about whether to challenge Mr. McCain. "No, I would never run for office, quote, out of spite, but I do have a profound disagreement with Senator John McCain over the concept of amnesty, whether he wants to call it comprehensive immigration reform or a pathway for guest workers to remain," said Mr. Hayworth.

A recent poll showed a majority of Arizona voters consider immigration reform a more urgent priority than health care reform. Polls also show them broadly supportive of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose rigorous enforcement of immigration laws prompted a Justice Department civil rights investigation. Nonetheless, 74% of likely GOP primary voters continue to view Mr. McCain favorably, even as 67% say the same of Mr. Hayworth. In a direct match-up, Mr. McCain leads by a small 45% to 43% margin in the Rasmussen poll. Mr. McCain has to worry, though, that 16% of Republicans still don't know enough about Mr. Hayworth to venture an opinion about him. And Mr. Hayworth has to worry about Mr. McCain's massive war chest -- some $12 million already raised for the 2010 election.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704779704574553892531703298.html

H1N1 Vaccine Recall... already

HappyMammaof2 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:43:07 GMT

This is just the beginning. Down the road, years from now, this vaccine is going to be linked with more deadly and disabling diseases, just as the Polio vaccine was.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,576526,00.html?test=latestnews

GlaxoSmithKline Recalls H1N1 Vaccine in Canada Over 'Life-Threatening' Allergy Risk
Associated Press

LONDON The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline says it has advised medical staff in Canada to not use one batch of swine flu vaccine for fear it may trigger life-threatening allergies.

GlaxoSmithKline spokeswoman Gwenan White said Tuesday the company issued the advice after reports that one batch of the swine flu vaccine might have caused more allergic reactions than normal.

She says the affected batch contains 172,000 doses of the vaccine. She declined to say how many doses had been administered before the advice to stop using them was given.

White says GlaxoSmithKline wrote to Canadian healthcare professionals advising them to stop using the batch on Nov. 18. She says a total of 7.5 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed in Canada.

Will India Be the New GOOD Superpower

BillB — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:27:54 GMT
To replace the USA and Great Britain?

Stay the course in Afghanistan: PM Manmohan Singh to US

CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA 4 hours ago

PM Manmohan Singh threw down the gauntlet to Washington, Islamabad and perhaps even Beijing that India would not be budged from pursuing its interests in Afghanistan. |

New York Times: U.S. Racing Toward Debt "SHOCK"

BillB — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:03:56 GMT
A page one, top-of-the-fold New York Times report Monday warns that U.S. debt is rising so fast that the federal government is careening toward a "payment shock" in the not-too-distant future.

http://moneynews.newsmax.com/headlines/nyt_us_debt_shock/2009/11/23/289782.html

The indelible whiteness of MSNBC

BobBarney — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:27:26 GMT

The indelible whiteness of MSNBC

By Michelle Malkin November 23, 2009 05:07 AM

MSNBC host Chris Matthews, MSNBC reporter Norah ODonnell, and MSNBC guest Joan Walsh shamelessly played the race card against Sarah Palin and her book-buying audience last week.

In Michigan, ODonnell smugly noted that Palins fans were largely white almost no minorities in this crowd. Matthews parroted the line, assailing the white crowd. Walsh likened the gathering to a paranoid tea party. Matthews hammered away at the monochromatic scene.

Ahem. Check out the masthead of MSNBC TV, The Place for Politics. Wear sunglasses and SPF 30 lotion. Youll need protection from the blinding white glare:

Take a closer look:

White and white.

White.

White.

Pallid white and pasty white.

Does it get any whiter than this?

Oh, and these are the colors of the gang that sneered at Palins white crowd:

Self-righteously white x 3!

MSNBCs p.c. pontificators have some nerve clucking about lack of racial diversity.

After the Don Imus debacle, NBC hired a diversity leader. By the left-wingers own tallying in 2007, guess which network boasted the whitest programming on cable TV during a randomly selected period? Hint: Starts with M and ends with SNBC.

Palin-bashing racial bean-counters in monochromatic houses shouldnt throw stones.

***

Speaking of the MSNBC ghouls, Allahpundits got video of when Sarah met Andrea Mitchell.

Dear Grim Reaper

BryanBowyer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:22:29 GMT
Author Unknown.............................

Dear Grim Reaper,
So far this year you have taken away my favorite dancer, Michael Jackson, my favorite actor, Patrick Swayze, my favorite singer, Stephen Gately, and my favorite actress, Farah Fawcett.

Just so you know, my favorite politicians are Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Charlie Rangel, Charles Schumer, John Kerry, John Edwards, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Dick Durbin, John Murtha and Barney Frank!!!

A perfect example of what liberal's welfare programs lead to Yesterday

BobBarney — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:21:23 GMT

Jeremiah Williams came into this world a child of poverty, surrounded by drugs, violence and despair.

His teenage father was shot to death six months before he was born. His young mother scraped by on public assistance while struggling with an abusive boyfriend.

But Jeremiah caught a break.

When he was still a toddler, Jeremiah's great-uncle, the Rev. Arthur Sample III and his wife, Barbara, took Jeremiah into their home, plucking him from his unstable life in the Phoenix housing project and delivering him to a suburban home where he found stability, privilege and love.

Through the years, the Samples bought him bicycles, electronic games and books. They took him fishing and to football games. They taught him to count and read. They set up a college fund.
For all intents and purposes, the Samples were the only parents Jeremiah ever knew.
The 8-year-old boy with the bright smile repaid that love and kindness -- and made the most of his second chance. He was, by all accounts, a good kid -- polite, caring and thriving in the Samples' care.
Then, on Feb. 9, everything changed with one phone call. It was Jeremiah's mother. She wanted him back.
The events that led to that phone call and what transpired over the next few months will forever haunt the pastor and his wife. What they are now left with, beyond the profound sadness of parents who lost a child, is a collection of "why" and "what if" questions -- serious questions that yet again raise concern about the effectiveness of the public safety net designed to protect Hoosier children.
New life, out of harm's way

Arthur and Barbara Sample met Deneen Williams at the funeral of Jeremiah's father. Raphael Hendricks, who was a nephew of Arthur Sample's, was gunned down in a killing that remains unsolved.
After extending their condolences, the Samples offered their help to Williams, who was pregnant with Jeremiah and also had a daughter with Hendricks.
When Jeremiah was about 3 months old, in January 2001, Williams called the Samples. She was taking them up on their offer.
"Deneen said she heard Barbara loved children, and she asked if we could help her with Jeremiah," Arthur Sample recalled. "It started out with us taking him every weekend."
About a year later, Deneen Williams' mother called the Samples. Deneen Williams was in a volatile relationship with her boyfriend, Joshua Germany, and family members were concerned about Jeremiah's safety.
Jeremiah's grandmother wanted to know if the Samples would be willing to take Jeremiah permanently.
That night, Barbara Sample called Deneen Williams.
"She asked if she let Jeremiah come live with us, could she visit him," Arthur Sample said. "Barbara told her she could see him anytime."
Realizing the Samples could give her son what she couldn't, Williams signed a document designating the Samples as Jeremiah's guardians for medical and education purposes.
A few days later, Jeremiah was settled into his own room at the Samples' Northeastside home on a private lake. It was a world away from his life in the Phoenix apartments, the crime- and drug-plagued housing complex near 38th Street and Keystone Avenue where Williams lived.
After spending several months with the Samples, Williams contacted them and said she wanted Jeremiah back. He stayed with his mother a short while before she returned Jeremiah, then about 3, to the Samples.
This time, Williams told them, Germany had pulled a gun and made threats.
For the next six years, Jeremiah lived with the Samples, whom he called "Uncle Mane" and "Auntie Barbara." Williams visited occasionally -- two or three times a year at the most, usually around holidays or on Jeremiah's birthday in October.
'They just adored him'

With their two children grown, the Samples had the time and means to dote on Jeremiah. Every year, they took him to Disney World in Florida -- splurging on special packages that let Jeremiah dine with Mickey Mouse and other characters.
Jeremiah also was a fixture at Sample's church, Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Indianapolis, where he was baptized and showered with attention. His birthdays, the pastor said, were often an embarrassment of riches. Jeremiah would receive so many presents from family, friends and church members that they would set some aside, unopened, to give to less fortunate children.
"He was the perfect person for a present," Arthur Sample said. "Whatever he got, he was happy and acted like it was the greatest gift in the world."
When it was time for Jeremiah to start school, the Samples enrolled him in Andrew J. Brown Academy, an Indianapolis charter school. They also signed him up for additional help with reading, sending him to summer programs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and arranging for private tutoring.
"When you saw Jeremiah with them, you almost forgot they weren't his biological parents," recalled Vonda Gee, a cousin of Arthur Sample's and close family friend. "You could tell by their faces when he was around that they just adored him."
It was no surprise, Gee said, because Jeremiah was a wonderful little boy.
Gee said Jeremiah had a gift for "making relationships with everyone he came in contact with." She says that might be a reflection of the boy emulating what he saw his "father" doing every week at church.
"It didn't matter if it was someone who was 70 or another child," Gee said, "Jeremiah would reach out and talk to them."
But he also was all-boy, enjoying superhero cartoons, bicycles, video games, fishing and, well, fish stories.
"He made up the most amazing stories about things like catching dinosaurs," Gee said. "He had a very vivid imagination, and I always thought he might make a good writer."
It was obvious, Gee said, that Jeremiah "was really flourishing with the Samples."
On several occasions, Arthur Sample said they approached Williams about adopting Jeremiah. But, he said, "She always said no."
Still, Jeremiah, by now 8, was leading a charmed, happy life. He was safe. Then came the phone call.
The Samples had just finished lunch when Williams called Feb. 9. She got to the point quickly. She wanted Jeremiah back and was going to pick him up that day.
The couple briefly considered defying Williams' request. But their arrangement with her was informal.
"We had no legal grounds to keep him," Arthur Sample explained.
The Samples, concerned for Jeremiah's safety, said their agonizing goodbye. And they were stunned: Why, after six years, did his mother suddenly want him back?
The answer to that question haunts the Samples to this day.
A record of violence

While Jeremiah thrived in a home filled with love, his mother's place -- now an apartment at Hearts Landing, another low-income housing project near East 43rd Street and Post Road -- remained in turmoil.
Germany, who was in and out of the home, was a man known for fits of violent rage, sometimes using his hands, and at least once with a gun.
Police responded at least 11 times to domestic disturbances -- often violent fights -- between Williams and Germany, dating to 2001, records show.
Germany was convicted in February 2003 of domestic battery. He repeatedly struck and kicked Williams then broke the telephone so she could not call for help during a fight over diapers.
Then, in 2007, Williams accused Germany of firing three shots outside her Heart's Landing apartment.
But police were not the only authorities involved with Williams and Germany. In December 2008, school officials alleged that one of the couple's sons had been abused and alerted the Department of Child Services.
The couple agreed to participate in an Informal Adjustment -- a contract between the parents and DCS that acknowledged abuse or neglect and laid out steps they must follow to keep the state from taking their children.
At the end of December, DCS was contacted again, this time by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, after Jeremiah's sister, who was staying with a relative and did not want to return to her mother's care, alleged she had been abused by Williams.
It was around this time that a state caseworker unwittingly may have sealed Jeremiah's fate.
Williams would not comment for this story -- and DCS, citing confidentiality rules, also would not provide specifics -- but the Samples give this account:
During a home visit, a DCS caseworker asked about Jeremiah's whereabouts. More significantly, Arthur Sample says Williams told him the caseworker warned her that if she was going to collect welfare for her children then they needed to be living in the home.
"She told us the caseworker said that if she didn't go get Jeremiah back, they would take her other kids," Sample said, "and go after the (welfare benefits) she had received."
Thrust into another life

It's unclear if the caseworker knew Jeremiah was in a much better place. But what is clear, Sample said, is that was the reason Williams suddenly called to take back a son she had seen only a handful of times over the past six years.
Jeremiah, a little boy who seemed to be saved, would now be taken from a good home, the only home he really knew, and thrust back into his mother's world of poverty and violence.
After she retrieved Jeremiah, the Samples say Williams avoided them. They say she promised to keep him in the same school, but when Barbara Sample called the principal's office the next day, she was told Jeremiah was not there. Later, they learned Williams had enrolled Jeremiah in another school but in the wrong grade.
The Samples' one hope was that since DCS was involved, Williams and her children would be under close scrutiny. Still, the Samples were well aware of the domestic violence issues -- and they didn't want to take chances.
Three days after Williams took Jeremiah, the Samples said they delivered a packet of information documenting their role in Jeremiah's life and concerns about his safety to a welfare worker who was assisting Williams with food stamps and other public benefits.
That agency, the Office of Family and Children, doesn't provide child protection services. The Samples didn't know that. But they said the worker promised to pass the information on to Williams' DCS caseworker.
At the time, Arthur Sample said, they did not realize that FSSA and DCS -- two state agencies that both work with families and children -- were not related.
Just two weeks after Jeremiah moved to his mom's home, DCS received a call from Riley Hospital for Children. One of Williams' sons got into some pills in the home.
A police report on the incident says IMPD and DCS both investigated. DCS officials, citing confidentiality rules, declined to comment, but The Indianapolis Star learned the investigation found no neglect in the case. So there was no additional action taken, although the DCS case begun in December remained open.
In the weeks after Williams took Jeremiah, the Samples tried to arrange visits or talk to him. But they say Williams always had an excuse. She would say Jeremiah was busy or outside playing or asleep and couldn't come to the phone.
Exasperated, Arthur Sample climbed into his SUV on May 1 and drove to Williams' apartment. She agreed to let him see Jeremiah.
"He was so excited to see me," Sample said. "I told him I was going to come back with his bicycles and games and clothes."
The Samples returned later that day, and Williams reluctantly agreed to let Jeremiah spend the night with them. Arthur Sample recalled how excited Jeremiah was to be back "home."
But it was short-lived. The boy had to be returned.
Tension in home grows

Police were called to Williams' apartment at least three times on reports of domestic disturbances in the months that followed.
On that third call, on July 18, police investigated a report that Germany choked Williams in front of two of her children. The report said the responding officer interviewed the children, and they confirmed Williams' story.
IMPD's domestic violence branch filed a report with DCS on the incident two days later, on July 20, according to Sgt. Paul Thompson.
By state law, DCS has a window of one hour to five days, depending on the level of threat detailed in a report, to start an investigation.
It's not clear what DCS did with that report, or the level of threat related by IMPD, but no immediate action was taken to remove the children from the home. DCS has a special domestic violence team in Marion County that has removed children from families where there was far less violence and turmoil. But the Informal Adjustment the couple entered into with DCS did not specifically address their long history of domestic violence, The Star has learned.
On July 22 -- two days after IMPD sent its report to DCS -- tensions between the couple spiked. Germany came to the apartment and confronted Williams as she talked with a male friend. After threatening the pair, Germany left. But he returned about 30 minutes later.
This time, police say, he had a shotgun.
As Germany approached a patio door, Jeremiah was sitting inside on the couch with his sister and two half-brothers -- directly in line with the doorway.
"Oh my God . . .," Williams screamed as she saw the gun in Germany's hands. Her cry was interrupted by a shotgun blast that ripped through the screen door. Jeremiah was struck in the head.
Arthur Sample was conducting a weeknight church service when his cell phone, set to vibrate, went off several times. He wondered who would be calling but finished the service. Then he checked his messages. That's when he found out Jeremiah had been shot. Sample rushed to Riley. When he arrived, Jeremiah already was on life support. Sample tried to talk to him. But Jeremiah couldn't respond.
Jeremiah Williams was pronounced dead a few hours later. He was 8 years old.
The college fund the Samples set up for Jeremiah was used, instead, to pay for his funeral.
How did this happen?

In the months after Jeremiah's death, the Samples have been on a quest for answers to difficult questions. Most center on the actions -- or lack thereof -- of DCS.
Didn't DCS know about the ongoing domestic violence in Williams' home? What about the choking incident just four days before Jeremiah's death? And, if so, did the agency ignore it?
Did the worker from the Office of Family and Children pass along their concerns to DCS? If not, why didn't the worker explain to them that DCS was a separate agency and they needed to report their concerns there?
And did DCS know or even make any effort to find out about Jeremiah's life with the Samples -- before apparently pushing his mother to move him back into poverty and violence?
"We put our trust in them," he said. "We kept him the better part of eight years, and he was happy. He was a wonderful child having a wonderful childhood. Then (DCS) took him . . . and he only lived five months."
Exactly what the agency's interaction with Germany and Williams involved is unclear. Again, DCS is prohibited from talking about specific details of its cases, said agency spokeswoman Ann Houseworth.
But Houseworth insists that the Samples' concerns never reached the agency.

FOR MORE:
http://www.indystar.com/article/20091122/NEWS14/911220386/Star-Watch-Jeremiah-Williams-story