Is Topeka Really So Bad?

(Kudos to CJonline's Ric Anderson, who is challenging readers to submit stories about what is GOOD about Topeka. His article is here: (http://blogs.cjonline.com/index.php?entry=7134)

Some people complain about Topeka a LOT, saying there's nothing to do around here, or that Topeka is SO boring, or is just such a terrible place to live. But what gets me about those people who just complain about Topeka is that they have a glossy blank stare when you ask them HOW to make it better.

There are actually quite a few of good things about Topeka. And Shawnee County too! All you have do do is just look around...

Lake Shawnee has so much going on that it's one of the best features of the area. A big lake for boating, camp grounds, a great walking trail, golf, paddle boats, ball diamonds, playgrounds, and plenty more.

Speaking of walking trails, not only is the one at Lake Shawnee a great one, but so is the new Shunga Trail, which goes through most of Topeka. Another cool (unofficial) trail is the levee system along the river. Walk from Oakland to Tecumseh!

Truckhenge, just east of Billard Airport, is a cool grassroots art park that also has the best-stocked Catfish pond in the state. See the website at www.thomaslessman.com/LessmanFarm/

Those are only a FEW of the good things about Topeka. Seriously, just look around and you'll see so many things you hadn't thought of...

Respectfully,

Thomas Lessman
Website: http://www.thomaslessman.com/
Blog: http://www.talessman.blogspot.com/
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Drunk Driving Prevention: Use Common Sense

Drunk driving is a terrible problem that is (and should be) a crime. But it can also be an honest mistake that all too easy to make, and current policies don't help the situation. Here are two common problems with common sense solutions that will go a LONG way to prevent drunk driving:

Problem 1: Lowering the legal limit only puts more drunk drivers on the road. Many drunk drivers honestly have no idea they were over the legal limit. I don't know of any bars equipped with a breathalyzer. I don't know anyone who owns a breathalyzer (or who knows where to get one). How can anyone know they are over the legal limit if they have no way of seeing what their blood/alcohol level is?

Solution: Breathalyzers need to be available so people can see for sure whether they are legally drunk or not. Either allow bars to install them, or help people get a breathalyzer installed in their car. Or instead of setting up checkpoints, have some officers go to bars and OFFER to let people take a breathalyzer (by choice), so people actually have a way to know for sure whether they are legally drunk or not BEFORE they get in their car.

Problem 2: Forcing bars to kick everyone out at 2am with no exceptions puts people in a sudden bind. Especially if they just finished their (last call) drink and they haven't felt the effects yet. That can easily lead to people honestly not realizing they're drunk until they are already on the road!

Solution: Allow bars to stay open longer but stop serving alcohol at 2am. That way if someone needs to sit for a while and sober up, they can do it in the bar instead of in their car. If the bar wants, it can also serve breakfast to customers so they can sober up and while waiting for their food and eating. That would let people have time to sober up AND it would let the bar make more money by giving its customers what they need. A win-win situation!

Conclusion: There are more changes that would help prevent drunk driving, but the two above would be a good start. Laws are necessary to define crimes and punishment, but should we really punish someone harshly if they honestly didn't know they were breaking the law? We have to make sure that people actually have a way to know if they are breaking the law, so they have the opportunity to do the right thing before it's too late.

Thomas Lessman
Website: http://www.thomaslessman.com/
. Blog: http://www.talessman.blogspot.com/
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Is Rape OK if the Rapist is a Woman?

The big list of female teacher sex offenders is at http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=39783 . (Keep in mind these are only the well-known cases. Many of these predators are never reported or punished.)

Some people may think there was no harm done, and some people even say the boys were lucky to be raped. In reality, statutory rape is every bit as harmful to boys as it is to girls. Notice that many of these teachers became pregnant by the boys they raped, thus leading to further victimization of the boys because,

1. How many 14 or 17 year-old boys are ready to be fathers? (Answer: young boys and girls aren't ready to be parents, period.)

2. Underage boys still have to pay $upport even though they were raped. For example, a 12 year-old boy in Kansas was forced to pay $upport to the babysitter who raped him. See:

. . . 2a. Hermesmann v. Seyer on Wikipedia (a good summary of the case)
. . . 2b. State of KS ex rel. Hermesmann v. Seyer, http://www.kscourts.org/Cases-and-Opinions/opinions/ctapp/1997/19970905/76971.htm.

3. How will the boy handle the stress of raising a child, going to school, missing events, and working after school to pay $upport to his rapist?

4. How will this rape effect the boys' views on women and sex, and how will it affect his future relationships with girls his own age?

5. Will the boy be able to have a normal family of his own? Will having a child keep him from forming healthy relationships? If he ever is able to start a family, how will he be able to support his own family AND the person who raped him?

I can go on but any normal person understands how statutory rape can hurt male victims as badly as it can hurt female victims. It's not the fantasy some people may dream of, but it can become a life-altering nightmare.

Female sex predators are as dangerous to boys as male sex predators are to girls. Will this female teacher/rapist get the same punishment as a male teacher/rapist, or will she enjoy the usual female sentencing discount?

Thomas Lessman
Website: www.ThomasLessman.com
. Blog: www.talessman.blogspot.com
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Attorney "Ethics" Leave Innocent Man in Prison for 26 Years

What words could possibly do justice to this terrible situation? Not many things would be worse than spending most of your life in prison - especially for a crime you didn't commit!

I understand the attorneys probably acted "legally and ethically" within the bounds of their duty as attorneys. It obviously wasn't an easy decision for them; they feel bad and possibly had some trouble sleeping. I wouldn't ever want to have to make a decision like that. But I don't feel AT ALL sorry for them, nor do I think they did the RIGHT thing.

Really I think he (Mr. Logan) should be able to sue them (the attorneys) and the state, for wrongful incarceration and other damages he suffered because of their... ommission?... negligence?... blind obedience?... or whatever you want to call it.

There may not be any laws specifically against what they did. I agree that they had a tough decision to make, and they were in a way, "just doing their jobs". But that's the same excuse Nazi soldiers used to justify their crimes. And in this situation, I see the attorneys' actions (or lack thereof) to be similar in nature. Though I'm willing to bet that if Mr. Logan were to sue the attorneys, no US court would rule in his favor.

Regardless of what the laws say or omit, and regardless of what any "code of ethics" says, there is ALWAYS a line between "Right" and "Wrong". Maybe they couldn't see that line because of the foggy grey Ethics area. But they knew he was innocent, and that he was at constant risk of being raped or murdered while in prison.

Yet they still made a conscious decision to withold information that would have set this innocent man free. It may have been a tough decision for the attorneys, but their choice cost an innocent man 26 years in prison, putting him in extreme danger and effectively destroying his life. And NO amount of ethics can give Mr. Logan half of his life back.

Thomas Lessman
Website: http://www.thomaslessman.com/
Blog: http://www.talessman.blogspot.com/

World History Maps
. http://www.worldhistorymaps.info/

Lessman Farm and Truckhenge
. www.thomaslessman.com/LessmanFarm/
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Woman Convicted of DUI, Sentencing Postponed

See also from the Topeka Capital-Journal, 4-10-2008: Sentencing postponed for woman involved in fatal DUI wreck.

I saw this wreck happen; in fact, Justin's car was right behind my car. I saw her lights coming towards me and suddenly it registered that she was in MY lane! I swerved just in time to avoid her - she literally missed me by less than 4 feet. I swerved back onto the road and looked in my rear view mirror just in time to see her hit his car head-on. He and I were each going about 60 mph; I don't know how fast she was going.

I've seen a LOT of things in my life, including seeing other people die, but what I saw that night shook me. I've lived in this area my whole life (30 years) and didn't know any of the people involved. But I DO know what I saw. Out of respect for the Mr. Fujibayashi and his family, I'll keep those details between myself and the police report.

What really got me was a week later, when I was called to the Highway Patrol headquarters. They needed a statement from me, as a witness, because it seemed that Ms. Dennon and another witness (her friend) were trying to claim that she was in the correct lane, and that Mr. Fujibayashi was in the wrong lane.

In other words, they were trying to save Dennon's skin, by blaming it on her victim, the man she killed!

As a single parent myself, I understand the need to get out and away and have fun. Everybody makes mistakes, and sometimes they are fatal. However drunk driving is no innocent mistake, it's extreme reckless negligence. And in this case, her actions ruined 3 lives.

It's a shame that Ms. Dennon's child will have a mother in prison. It's an even greater shame that Ms. Dennon needlessly took a life, tried to blame it on her victim, and now her daughter is going to pay the price.

There is a MySpace page in memory of Justin Fujibayashi. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=143196782

Sincerely,

Thomas Lessman
Website: www.ThomasLessman.com
Blog: www.talessman.blogspot.com

World History Maps
. www.WorldHistoryMaps.info

Lessman Farm and Truckhenge
. www.thomaslessman.com/LessmanFarm/

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"If You Don't Like It Here, You Should Move..."

It's often tempting if you don't agree with someone else's political views, to tell them they should "move to some other country" if they don't like it here so much. That kind of thinking is actually un-American, although it's a sin I myself have occasionally fallen into.

One of the most beautiful things about America is that you can live here, be a citizen, and disagree about certain things, even major things, but we're all allowed the right to have our own ideas, beliefs, and opinions. It's in the first amendment of the Bill of Rights. A good read, I highly recommend it!

I don't agree with views of a lot of people sometimes. And they don't agree with some of my views either. But we all have that right, and nobody has to leave just because they don't agree with somebody else.

Disagreeing with the President, or agreeing with the President, or not liking a certain type of tax or government program, or whatever, doesn't mean somebody is "un-American", nor do they need to leave.

America (the US) is the greatest nation on Earth. That doesn't mean the government is always right, and it doesn't always act in the best interest of We the People. It also doesn't mean that America is always right in the ways it deals with other nations. It's our duty as citizens to take care of this nation - including making sure our government stays in line.

And with the way things have been going, we are literally *this* close to losing our nation, people! Illegal immigration is FAR worse than most official reports admit. Our economy is on the verge of collapse (it will be comparable to the Great Depression 80 years ago, if we don't get a grip on it NOW). We have quite a few enemies around the world who are becoming major threats. And that's only the tip of the iceberg that's about to hit our Titanic...

Respectfully,

Thomas Lessman
. www.ThomasLessman.com
Blog: www.talessman.blogspot.com
Email: talessman@yis.us

World History Maps
. www.WorldHistoryMaps.info

Lessman Farm and Truckhenge
. www.thomaslessman.com/LessmanFarm/
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Racial Issues, Part 1

I think Glenda Overstreet and I may finally agree on *something* related to racial issues. Seriously! The last 3 paragraphs in her post, "Apology vs. Action", may be the best common-ground place to start healing America's racial issues.

America has serious racial issues that we haven't handled very well. When I say "we", I mean EVERYONE in America: Whites, Blacks, Natives, Grandparents, Adults, Children, even Deceased people. Every generation in American history has faced racial issues that have changed over time. The issues we face are not the exact same racial issues that our parents, great-grandparents, or great-great-great-great grandparents dealt with. And each generation has handled these issues in their own way.

These racial issues are very complex and deep-rooted, and it will take a LOT of work on all sides before these wounds can be healed. I appreciate Glenda's last 3 paragraphs because she at least acknowledges that slavery has happened to some members of every race at some point in history. I'll add further that every race has also, at some point, enslaved members of other races. There is no such thing as an "innocent race".

I understand that in America's early years most blacks were brutally enslaved by some whites (not ALL whites). I also understand that blacks suffered discrimination even after slavery was abolished, and that some blacks still face various forms of discrimination. The thing is, Blacks aren't the only race to face discrimination in modern America. Policies like affirmative action, racial quotas, and other ill-conceived policies only substitute one form of discrimination for other forms of discrimination.

Whites and Latinos, Natives, and other races all suffer various forms of discrimination from members of other races. Everyone has their own stories of discrimination they've faced in their lives. Speaking from my view as a white male, I've seen and experienced discrimination many times, in many ways. But individual stories are not the point.

People must look past their own personal experiences, and realize that racism affects everyone. Blacks have legitimate reasons to feel historically exploited by America. So have Natives and Whites. There isn't any race in America that hasn't been exploited or discriminated against at some point in history.

Today we are all supposedly recognized as equals before the law, regardless of race or gender or etc. Which is how it should always have been, because each one of us is as human as the next person. Nobody is more human than anyone else. We are all equally human.

Respectfully,

Thomas Lessman
. http://www.thomaslessman.com/
Blog: http://www.talessman.blogspot.com/
Email: talessman@yis.us
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World History Maps by Thomas Lessman
. http://www.worldhistorymaps.com/

Rape

(I decided to write this after reading an article in the Topeka Capital-Journal about a fundraiser for a new anti-rape group.

Rape is a terrible crime. There's another rape epedimic that gets little or no coverage, even though it happens more frequently than violent rapes.

The epedimic is in FALSE ALLEGATIONS of rape. Several studies have shown that between 20% to 40% of rape accusations are FALSE (as in, the accuser admitted she lied, or at least the evidence she lied was overwhelming).

Here's a good example: http://glennsacks.com/blog/?cat=21

False accusers have many of the same traits as other types of rapists. They pick victims and commit the crime based on revenge, it's a power trip, they don't want their husband to know what they were really doing out so late, they were bored or angry, etc.

Victims of rape by false allegation suffer many of the same problems as other rape victims. They become confused, fearful or suspicious of other people, withdrawn, unable to sleep, distracted or unable to work, depressed, and suffer post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Except that victims of other types of rape get support, shelter, sympathy, justice, and other help. But victims of rape by false accusation get none of that; instead they lose their friends, their jobs, their faces get plastered all over the news, and no justice (the rapist is rarely even punished).

I agree that true rape is a horrible crime. To falsely accuse someone of rape is actually a way of raping them. Someone who makes false accusations should be charged with "Rape by False Accusation", and if convicted get the same punishment like any other rapist.

Respectfully,

Thomas Lessman
. ww.ThomasLessman.com
Blog: http://www.talessman.blogspot.com/
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http://www.hisside.com/
http://www.falseallegations.com/

Libertarian Bob Barr for President?

GOPUSA sent out an article about former US Rep. Bob Barr, who may run for President as a Libertarian candidate. Bob Barr is a former Republican who decided the Libertarian Party was better. The article is located <here on the GOPUSA Forum>.

Like Ron Paul, Bob Barr seems to be an honest man of integrity. He fights to protect our freedoms and constitutional rights, and has the genuine interest of "We the People" at heart. Bob Barr is well known as a true Conservative and many people will flock to his campaign, like they did with Ron Paul. It will definitely make this campaign interesting again!

**Take the World's Smallest Political Quiz! Just 10 easy questions, and you'll know which political party supports your views. You may be surprised!

Personally, I support whomever I honestly feel is best for the job of defending our rights and freedoms. If a candidate has already been elected to office previously, they have an record of how they voted on legislation (elected voting record). If that record is good, and the candidate fulfilled their elected duties, and protected the Constitution and Bill of Rights, then they've likely earned my vote. If their record is bad (eg. they supported bad laws, restricted freedoms, or were otherwise bad leaders), I won't vote for them because I refuse to reward bad leadership by voting for it! Seems simple enough.

When you vote, are you confident in the people you vote for? Have you ever decided to vote for the "lesser of two evils" because you didn't think a 3rd party candidate couldn't win? If so, the bottom line is that you sold your vote to a candidate you don't agree with, and who really doesn't represent you. In other words, you voted against yourself!

Too many Republicans (and Democrats) have fallen victim to the "Our Party First" syndrome. That mindset got us 8 years of Clinton and 8 years of Bush. If we suffer 8 years of McCain, Obama, or Clinton #2, our lives will only go from bad to worse, or even more worse than that. Each of them might take us down a different drain, but the bottom line is that if they're elected we WILL be going down a drain.

The Republicans may well lose this election, and it's their own fault for ignoring common sense and putting up McCain as their candidate. I'd have switched parties for Ron Paul, but if the Republicans would rather support Bush and McCain over Paul or Barr, then it's no longer the Republican Party. It's become the "New Moderate Party", only most of its members don't want to believe it. Conservatives are starting to wake up and look for a party that supports their ideals.

The Democrats aren't doing much better. Their campaigns have been so intolerably ho-hum that many Democrats aren't even bothering to vote. There's a strong split between Hillary's "Femocrats" and Obama's supporters, and they are split along racial and gender lines.

We may yet see the demise of this faulty 2-party system, to be replaced by a multi-party (4 or more) system that gives people more choice and more representation. Conservatives may join the Libertarian Party, leaving the "Moderate Republican" party. The Democrats may split into 2 or more parties, covering minority issues, gender issues, and possibly labor issues.

I definitely don't agree with the GOPUSA editor, who said that Ron Paul should be kicked out of the Republican Party if he supports a Libertarian Presidential candidate. Some Libertarians said the same of me when I supported Republican Ron Paul's campaign. If the Republican Party starts kicking out members who vote for better candidates, then it's really lost it's mind! Didn't another party also deal harshly with people who supported better candidates from other parties? I believe it was called the Communist Party...

Thomas Lessman
. http://www.ThomasLessman.com/
World History: http://www.WorldHistoryMaps.info/
Blog: http://www.talessman.blogspot.com/
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Libertarian Party of Kansas: http://www.LPKS.org
US Libertarian Party: http://www.LP.org