I thought A) pot smokers were mellow and non-violent and B) Muslims were peaceful and law-abiding. This has got to be an anomaly. Or is it?

From the Daily News:

Two brothers with lenghty rap sheets were busted Friday in the brutal slaying and robbery of a 90-year-old Auschwitz survivor in his East Side apartment.

Aljulah Cutts, 27, accompanied the accused killer into the home of Guido Felix Brinkmann before the victim was asphyxiated on July 29, law enforcement sources said. He’s facing a homicide rap.

His brother, Hasib Cutts, 30, waited downstairs in the getaway car, the sources said.

The brothers have 50 prior arrests between them, a mix of low-level charges for criminal possession of stolen
property, trespass and marijuana.

Hasib was not involved in the killing, and should face lesser charges, sources said. Both brothers were in custody at the 19th Precinct, where they were appearing in lineups.

Brinkmann’s doorman identified Aljulah Cutts as the man who went upstairs into Brinkmann’s apartment with Angela Murray, the sources said.

Murray’s jailed boyfriend apparently hooked her up with the Cutts brothers after she identified Brinkmann as an wealthy and easy mark, sources said.

But Murray and Aljulah Cutts were stunned by “what a tough old guy he was,” a police source said. It was unclear if Brinkmann was choked to death manually or accidentally asphyxiated during the robbery, the source said.

Murray, 30, was charged with murder and robbery for killing Brinkmann in his fourth-floor apartment. She and a man were later captured on videotape using one of the victim’s credit cards, police said.

Police said Brinkmann was bound, beaten and choked after he refused to surrender the combinations to a pair of safes in his apartment.

h/t Atlas

As soon as I first heard about the horrible car crash in my old stomping ground where a mini-van full of children collided with another vehicle while going the wrong way down a highway I knew pot smoking was involved. Now it’s been verified:

 The Long Island mom behind the wheel in a fiery wrong-way crash that killed her and seven others along a New York state highway was reportedly drunk and had high levels of marijuana in her system, authorities said Tuesday.

The findings were part of a toxicology report that was conducted on 36-year-old Diane Schuler in the wake of the deadly July 26 crash along the Taconic State Parkway in Briarcliff Manor, The Journal News of Westchester reported on its Web site.

The findings were shared with relatives of the crash victims, which included Schuler’s 2-year-old daughter and three nieces.

Schuler was coming home to West Babylon from an upstate camping trip when she drove her Ford Windstar minivan against traffic for 1.7 miles along the northbound lane of the Taconic.

State police investigators said Schuler collided head-on with a Chevrolet Trail Blazer driven by Guy Bastardi.

Bastardi, his father Michael, and family friend Daniel Longo were all killed in the tragic crash.

Also killed were Schuler, her daughter Erin, and her three nieces, Emma Hance, 8; Alyson Hance, 7; and Kate Hance, 5.

Her 5-year-old son Bryan was the only survivor. He is currently recovering at the Westchester Medical Center in stable condition.

Why would someone spend their time drinking and drugging when they knew they would be responsible for the precious lives of children? Because drug users are selfish, stunted cretin who think they have a right to do whatever they want even when it directly impacts others. Eight people died because Schuler couldn’t be bothered to get clean and stay sober long enough to safely drive her own children and her nieces around. She thought pot and booze were more important than the lives of the children in her care and ALL users of any mind altering substance think the same.

The worst part about this story is that she knew she was in no condition to drive:

investigators said Schuler crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge at about 1 p.m. and pulled over on the Tarrytown end of the crossing.

At 1:02 p.m., she called her brother, Warren Hance, and had a brief phone conversation with him, telling him that she was feeling “disoriented and had trouble seeing,” according to investigators.

Hance told Schuler to immediately pull over and that he would drive to get her.

Instead, Schuler did not stay put, driving her car against traffic before the crash happened at 1:35 p.m.

She couldn’t be bothered to wait for a sober ride, she had more drinking and drugging to do.

Many times some pot head will come to a post I write and claim pot is good for you or makes you a better driver or a better parent or more productive. This is of course a load of crap, akin to when some coke head tries to tell you she sucks off guys in the back of a strip club because she “likes to” rather than admit she has a habit she can’t kick. All users endanger themselves and those around them when they are allowed to live in the delusion that they can function normally and safely. They cannot.

Users should never be allowed to drive much less drive around children. Despite the propaganda by groups like NORML studies have shown that habitual users of marijuana are more likely to be involved in car accidents than sober people, and “acute” use prior to driving significantly raises the chances of being involved in an accident. Too bad no one told Diane Schuler, a woman far too old to be involved in such nonsense anyway, that “partying” before driving children around was not just a bad idea, but a a disgusting and dangerous way for an adult to live the juvenile fantasy they call a life.

No one ever made Schuler confront her addiction, and now she and seven innocent people are dead. But drug use is a “victimless crime” right?

Thanks to Trench for the story link

One of the biggest obstacles to sobriety is the belief of many addicts that they will be leaving behind their “friends” and a lifestyle that gives them a sense of meaning by making them part of a community. In this story not only does drug use play a role in a teen’s death, but the online reaction of his fellow Mushroom users shines a stark light on the reality of who is involved in the drug culture.

From KFVS:

KEVIL, KY (KFVS) – A man was shot and killed in McCracken County after police say he tried to break into a family’s home around 2:00 a.m.

The family woke to the sound of the alarm system, indicating the door to the attached garage had been opened.  The homeowner went outside to investigate, when he heard his wife inside screaming.

He ran back into the home where his wife told him the intruder, later identified as 18-year-old Andrew Caleb Barnett, was inside their attached garage attempting to get into the home through a wooden door with a window, according to police. The homeowner reportedly yelled several times that he had a gun, telling Barnett not to come inside. However, Barnett continued to make advances toward the man. Police say the homeowner fired one shot at Barnett, hitting him in the arm, and going into his chest area. Barnett apparently fell to the floor but got back up fighting the homeowner, at one point, biting him in the arm.

The fight continued through the home and eventually back into the garage. When police arrived they arrested Barnett and transported him to Western Baptist Hospital for the gunshot, but he ultimately died.

The McCracken County Police Department reports the 18-year-old was under the influence of Psilocybin Mushrooms, or “Magic Mushrooms” as they’re called on the street, and thought he was inside his own home. At one point, he even called the homeowner “Dad”.

The police have since arrested four other teens who gave Barnett the mushrooms, which prompted a flurry of these sorts of comments on the news story:

Here’s one left by “Spacecapt”

Well there is a lesson to be learned here… When I was a youngster I would head to the mountain woods and camp far, far away from everyone except my fellow mushroom heads.

Indeed. Here’s one from “MindMyHaveStilli”

Those must have been some fantastic mushrooms, especially if the kid kept going after he was shot. I wonder what else he might’ve taken. Magic mushrooms are best enjoyed in nature though, not in suburbia.

Here’s some wisdom from “James”

naturaly occurring plants dont kill people, people kill people. remove the guns from the equation an the boy would have just been arrested and left to “come down” in a hospital. He didnt wanna rob or kill anyone in the home, he just wanted a safe place to be.
Remember, Drugs dont kill (unless its heroine,crack,meth, cocain) guns kill, so take away all guns an well all be safer from right wing gun toting redneck christian psychos.

“James” went on to drop this nugget:

He didnt threaten anyone, he thought it was his home. Dad dad! he yelled, that christian gun toting fruit cake heard him an shot him anyways. Get your facts straight and get rid of your guns, its you people who are a threat to our world, not innocent kids who didnt know what to expect from a very powerful and needed plant. Teach our youths the truth about ALL drugs and what they do, and they wont have to experiment with them and find out the hard way. But of course, you right wing crazies never touch any useful plants like mushrooms, so all you can tell your kids is ” DRUGS KILL! GO BUY A GUN QUICK!”. Do some research, or just experiment yourself and find out the truth. And occurrences like this will never happen again.
The boy just wanted a safe place, not a gun in the face.

That’s the drug culture in nutshell. Those that weren’t amused by the death or defending Mushroom use were, like “James” above, literally arguing for us to adopt the belief that should some person who is stoned out of his mind break into your house at 2:00am you should simply let him do what ever he wants for the 5-15 minutes it will take for police to respond and take control of the situation. Plenty of time for some drug addled youth to stab/choke/beat someone to death or rape one of the children. If the stoned person takes a hostage we just let him “come down’ and expect he’ll do the right thing when he’s sober.

To say that this kind of thought is childish is an insult to children. Drug users want you to prop them up so they can continue to use. That’s what James and his ilk are really asking for, you and me to be responsible for their safety when they can’t be bothered to take care of themselves.

The father in this story is a hero, even though the shooting was a tragedy. Fortunately the police will not file charges against this man, who was only protecting his children. But I guess he’s just another non-victim of Barnett’s drug use.

Apparently they were upset that someone questioned their parenting skills. From Tulsa World:

BARTLESVILLE — Two Bartlesville residents were charged with felony child abuse following a Saturday altercation on west Frank Phillips Boulevard in which a baby was thrown to the ground twice and two children were dumped out of a stroller in front of several witnesses.

Gene William Lee, 29, and Geneva Stephanie Marie Curtis, 33, were arrested by Bartlesville police following an investigation into incidents that occurred Saturday night near the Budget Inn.

[…]

The incident began a little before 10 p.m. at the hotel at 1410 S.W. Frank Phillips Boulevard, where witnesses saw Lee and his family exiting the inn arguing as they walked along.

One of the children ran into the street — one of Bartlesville’s busiest thoroughfares — and reportedly was nearly hit by a van while the parents “showed no concern for the child,” according to witnesses who spoke with police. Concerned bystanders shouted to the couple to “watch their kids better.”

Lee responded by removing a baby he had strapped in a carrier on his chest and throwing the child to the ground, shouting at the witnesses across the street. According to a police affidavit, as the baby lay face down on the ground, Lee advanced on the bystanders with his arms waving wide, asking what they were going to do about it.

Curtis, meanwhile, was pushing two children in a stroller and became angry at the bystanders calling them “hoes” and “sluts,” the affidavit stated. Witnesses told police she pushed the stroller around erratically then dumped the children out onto the ground in a fit of anger.

When the witnesses informed the couple that they had made a 911 call, the parents grabbed the children and began running off.

Needless to say they were caught, the children were found to be injured and the couple, who both have previous felony convictions cooled their heels in jail awaiting bond.The second time the baby in the stroller was thrown came when a witness to the original incident, following Gene to keep tabs on him before the cops showed up, spotted Gene hiding behind a Family Dollar. Gene threw the baby in some bushes and again wanted to fight. Every one’s a tough guy when they know the cops are coming.

This part will shock you, Gene was also charged with possession of marijuana when cops found pot on him and he has a history of drug convictions. Look at the mugshots included in the Tulsa World story and you’ll see Geneva got lucky when she dodged a drug charge.

But legalizing pot would have made this situation better I’m sure.

h/t So Jaded @ Dreamin’ Demon

The instinct of most families who are dealing with a member coping with addiction, whether it be hard drugs or prescriptions or alcohol, is to give them as much love and support as they seem to need, which for addicts is an almost unlimited amount. This protective instinct exacerbates the addiction as the consequencelessness of the addict’s actions combined with an increasingly distorted perception of reality will lead to behavioral escalations dangerous to both the addict and those around them.

Case in point, on Dreamin’ Demon I just read the story of Ashley and Rebecca McMillion. The McMillions are a methed out, pot smoking couple from Arkansas who lived in an 16 x 8 foot storage shed Marilyn McMillion, Ashley’s mother, purchased for them to live in. Marilyn put the shed on her property, the better that her son and his wife could avail themselves of her help and support. Thus cared for, the drug addled couple gave birth to a daughter they named Cozy.

With new daughter secured in a shed that boasted a television and air conditioning, Ashley and Rebecca continued their main pursuits of cooking meth and smoking pot. At some point Ashley began raping the baby. Marilyn claims she was unaware of any of this:

SEBASTIAN COUNTY, Ark. — A man, woman and infant were found living in a small shed in Midland in Sebastian County, and police said Ashley Mcmillion repeatedly raped a 1-year-old n that shed.

Ashley allegedly committed the crime just feet from his mother’s doorstep.

“We bought that to put a roof over their heads so I could feed them. I thought it was helping, not hurting,” said Marilyn Mcmillion, who bought the shed for her son and daughter-in-law to live in.

Mcmillion said she didn’t know what the conditions were inside the shed.

“How could you not know? Well when you go to work 40 hours a week and then yard work, garden work. How would I know?” Mcmillion said.

Police said they found drug paraphernalia and marijuana inside the shed.

Plausible, but it is unlikely she would have allowed the two to live in a shed unless she knew there was some reason they couldn’t live on their own, and at the same time didn’t want them in her house. I would suggest that she wanted provide the minimum care for the addicts, and she didn’t want them to lose their child.

Which was of course a mistake.

Addicts will devolve until they get clean. Anyone who has seen the crack whores, homeless teen beggars and desperate men in pawn shops has seen the work of addiction. No one in the grip of the addiction is truly in their right mind, no one is trustworthy as long as they reject sobriety. And as long as they are getting high they simply don’t see it.

All addicts must hit “rock bottom” for them to realize they have a problem, which is the first step toward recovery. The sooner they hit their bottom the better off they’ll be. Had Marilyn allowed them to live on the streets where all addicts end up the child may have ended up in another home where she wasn’t raped by her father. Had Rebecca ended up living on the streets she may have cleaned up rather than have a baby with a man with no home. As long as they were cared for they they had no impetus to get clean, and their baby paid for it.

Handling addicts with kid gloves never works. Trying to provide for them so they won’t end up hooking or stealing only delays the inevitable. I don’t know if Ashley McMillion, without a meth and pot habit, would have raped his daughter but I do know that Rebecca’s drug use enabled the rape. She claims she saw the rapes but, in her stupor, didn’t believe her own eyes.

I guess we have seen her rock bottom, too bad it was also her daughter’s.