Tiger Walks Away from Golf After Admitting to Affairs!

TIGER Woods has decided to temporarily walk away from golf after admitting his affairs for the first time. Last month, Tiger crashed into a tree just yards from his front door. After his accident, he required hospital treatment. This raised a media frenzy, especially in light of the fact that TMZ.com exposed the issue of Tiger's affair with New York socialite Rachel Uchitel. According to TMZ, this led to a confrontation between Tiger and his wife shortly before he got into his SUV that morning. Since the accident, several other women have come forward admitting their affairs with Tiger, including admissions of infidelity in his own home. All of this news coverage has impacted his family and his golf career.

In a statement on Tiger's official website he said: “After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I’ve done, but I want to do my best to try.”

I am disappointed in Tiger. I have always viewed him as a role model. The story of his dad mentoring his young son at such an early age into becoming the world's greatest golfer and achieving the American Dream was a lesson all father's wish they could achieve. I compare Tiger to any minority who has acheived great success, including our President Barack Obama.

To find, alas, that Tiger is just a man is disappointing, but understandable. As I've reported previously, several studies tell us that 50 - 60% of men cheat on their wives. These same studies say 45 - 55% of women cheat on their husbands. For a celebrity of Tiger's stature, with women constantly being the aggressor, it is understandable, though I am extremely disappointed in him.

Anyone who puts themselves in the public eye and commercially sells their image to various marketers should expect the American Public to question their public indiscretions. In the past, I've written about misdeeds of various politicians or individuals in the public eye. Bill Clinton cheated on Hillary and continued to cheat even after he was discovered. Yet he lied not only to Hillary but to the American Public. SC Governor Sanford lied to his wife and to the American Public and later crooned about his profound love for his mistress. Jenny Sanford is divorcing him. Former Presidential Candidate John Edwards lied to his wife and to the American Public about his affair with his mistress, promising to marry her after his wife Elizabeth died. These three politicians bear much more responsibility to the American Public then National Golf legend Tiger Woods. At least Tiger is admitting the truth and is stepping out of the Public View temporarily.

I realize Tiger and his family are in great pain right now. How do you forgive the unforgivable... the overblown ego that permitted these actions, the loss of trust, the sex acts themselves? I can't imagine the pain their family and extended family are going through right now as they go through these trials so much in the public eye. Tiger's mother and mother-in-law are particularly suffering.

I am also suffering and so are all of Tiger's admirers. He was our role-model, our icon who acheived the American Dream. "If he can do it, we can do it...Si Se Puede!" And what is worse, all those naysayer/backstabbers who wished and dreamed Tiger would fail, all those golfers who had no hope of ever even coming close to Tiger's stats, are all laughing now. Remember Fuzzy Zoeller's comment when Tiger won The Masters? Zoeller, referring to the following year's Master's Club Champion's Dinner, for which the defending champion selects the menu, said, "He's doing quite well, pretty impressive. That little boy is driving well and he's putting well. He's doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year. Got it." Zoeller then smiled, snapped his fingers, and walked away before turning and adding, "or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve."

For many years to come, Tiger will be a figure of fun to comedians great and small. Tiger Woods will have to put up with those jokes and jabs for at least 20 more years. My prayers go to his wife, his children, his mom and mother-in-law, and to Tiger himself.

Police Statement Says Jeff Conroy Confessed in "Beaner Stomper" Murder of Marcelo Lucero!

Newsday Reports:

A knife in his right hand extended outward, Jeffrey Conroy went toward the "Spanish guy" who was swinging his belt, according to a written statement he made to Suffolk police hours after the fatal stabbing of Marcelo Lucero ."His back was to me and as I ran towards him he turned to face me," according to the statement, made Nov. 9, 2008. "He was about four or five feet from me, I continued to run towards him and stabbed him once in either his shoulder or chest."Minutes later as police approached, Conroy confessed, according to his statement. "I told the cop that my knife was tucked in my boxers and I was the one who stabbed the guy," he said in the statement obtained by Newsday. "I don't blame the Spanish guy for swinging the belt at us. It was obvious that he wanted to get the [expletive] out of there. He was ready to defend himself . . . "The "guy" was Lucero, 37, an legal Ecuadorean immigrant whose death authorities have labeled a hate crime. Seven former Patchogue - Medford High School students were charged with gang assault and conspiracy in connection with Lucero's death. Conroy, now 18, of Medford , was also charged with murder and manslaughter as a hate crime. Nicholas Hausch and Jose Pacheco have pleaded guilty; the other five, including Conroy, are awaiting trial. Pretrial hearings begin Wednesday on whether Conroy's statement was taken appropriately and can be used in a trial.

Conroy's attorney, William Keahon of Islandia , did not return calls for comment Tuesday. He previously has said police were "creative" in taking the statement. When asked two months ago about excerpts from Conroy's statement quoted in court papers, in which Conroy referred to regularly going out and looking for Latino people to beat up, Keahon said, "He never said those words, he never said anything like it."Handwritten statements by each of the seven teens - written by Suffolk detectives based on interviews and signed by the defendants - were obtained by Newsday.The statements tell a similar story of the night of Nov. 8, 2008: a group of teenagers hanging out at a local park, eventually leaving, determined to find Latinos to beat up.In each statement, the seven defendants said they were near the Patchogue train station, where several of them approach Lucero and a companion and provoke a fight. Both Lucero and his companion defended themselves by swinging their belts, according to the statements. One of them "yelled at us that he had been in this country 20 years," Jordan Dasch's statement read. None of the other six defendants witnessed Conroy stab Lucero, according to their statements, and none realized Lucero was stabbed until Conroy told them as they walked away."Jeff said . . . 'I stabbed that guy.' At first I didn't believe him, but when he showed me his knife with blood on it I knew it was no joke," read Kevin Shea's statement. Shea's attorney argued in court last week the statement was coerced.One defendant suggested Conroy toss the knife, according to multiple statements.

"I tried to wash the blood off in a puddle, but there was still blood on it," Conroy's statement read.

Justice Sotomayor introduces "Undocumented Immigrant" into the Supreme Court's Vocabulary!

Justice Sonia Sotomayor is already making a difference! She is introducing Humanitarian Language to the Supreme Court's Vocabulary! Thank you Justice Sotomayor!

Think Progress Reports:
Sotomayor’s opinion marks the Supreme Court’s first use of the term ‘undocumented immigrant.’

Yesterday, the Supreme Court “released its first four decisions in argued cases this term,” including one marking Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s debut. The case concerned “whether federal trial-court rulings concerning the lawyer-client privilege may be appealed right away,” to which Sotomayor said no. The New York Times notes one particularly noteworthy part of Sotomayor’s opinion:

In an otherwise dry opinion, Justice Sotomayor did introduce one new and
politically charged term into the Supreme Court lexicon.
Justice Sotomayor’s
opinion in the case, Mohawk Industries v. Carpenter, No. 08-678, marked the
first use of the term “undocumented immigrant,”
according to a legal database.
The term “illegal immigrant” has appeared in
a dozen decisions.

The Experts have Spoken: "The Time for Immigration Reform is NOW!"

El Paso Times reports:
The time has come for the U.S. government to focus on other aspects of immigration besides enforcement, a panel of national security and law- enforcement experts said Tuesday. "While we have made unprecedented investments in security at the border, more enforcement resources alone will not make us more secure," said James W. Zig lar, ex-commissioner of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service and a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. The experts said an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants are living in the United States.
"Comprehensive immigration reform will allow law enforcement to focus limited resources on criminals who continue to evade the law, and help re-establish trust between law enforcement and everyone living in our communities," El Paso Chief of Police Greg Allen said.
Stewart Verdery, a former Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, said Tuesday's conference was timely because Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is scheduled to address the Senate Judiciary Committee today. She is expected to provide details about recent enforcement improvements, as well as the need for broader legislative reforms.
"While the vast majority of those who are here illegally are hard-working residents seeking to support their families, right now we don't have any way of differentiating those who come to work from those who are violent or repeat criminals," Ver dery said.
Allen said El Paso attained its ranking as the second- safest city of its size in the United States by developing close ties with community residents. "We don't want to seek out people only for their immigration status," he said. Ziglar said proposed immigration reform fell victim to partisan politics in 2006, mainly because of concerns over gaps in border security. However, he said, the government has made important strides during the past six years. For example, the annual budget for Customs and Border Protection doubled from $6 billion to $12 billion, and the number of armed Border Patrol agents increased to 20,000, most of them deployed to the southern border.
The federal government also completed 700 miles of border fencing, which incorporated technologies, physical barriers and other structures that helped agents deter illegal immigration. In recent years, the flow of undocumented immigrants has slowed because of increased enforcement and the recession. Further enforcement measures could see diminishing returns, Ziglar said. Border Patrol statistics for the El Paso sector show that apprehensions of undocumented immigrants have dropped by nearly half in recent years.

Fish and Visitors Smell After Three Days -- There's No Place Like Home!

As I mentioned in my previous blog, my brother is ill and our family around the country was called in to say good-bye to him. We didn't know exactly how long we would stay. Some of us planned to stay a week, others 10 days, some thought they would wait until the end. With each passing day, each of us realized that while his illness is severe, he may possibly hang on for days, weeks or months. We all have our families and jobs and lives at home. I decided to come home today.


I miss my family very much, but there were other factors. Benjamin Franklin once said, "Fish and Visitors Smell After Three Days." I always remember Ben's words after Family Reunions, Funerals and family gatherings such as this. I love my extended family, my brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. It was especially good to see all of my sisters together again. We range in age with an 18 year difference in ages from the youngest to the oldest. We all stayed at another brother's house. My brother was a hero for having us stay at his home. His wife is the most gracious old-fashioned homemaker, much like our own mother.

After visiting our ill brother each day, "the Aunts" (as we were called) went to dinner or stayed in and watched movies or played scrabble. We are all competitive when we play games. Some of us have very different political views. We are each matriarchs of our own families. We each live in different cities/states. I guess you would be right if you said each of us was a bit bossy and tend to get our own ways with our own families. With all the stress of our brother's illness, I knew it was just a matter of time before the tension built up.


My oldest sister is an old-fashioned type of girl. She was a beauty queen in high school and still carries on some of her old daily prep routines. Every morning she prepares herself, like a ritual, for the day. She showers, applies make-up, including mascara, eye shadow and eyeliner. Her hair is thinning so she wears a small hair piece. She always dresses nicely, making sure she is color coordinated in a pantsuit with matching shoes and jewelry. Politically, she is a Republican. She does not like our President. She mentioned to me that she doesn't know for sure about Obama being a Muslim or a citizen but she does know that he was born out of wedlock and a President should not be born out of wedlock. There are higher standards for President. I love my sister so I didn't disagree with her. I just shrugged my shoulders and changed the subject.


The rest of my sisters are more casual. At home we wear jeans/slacks and tops. My second oldest sister doesn't wear make-up. I wear very little. The two youngest tend to glam it up a bit with make up and do's. They also tend to stick together. Both are as competitive as the rest of us.


What is interesting is, my two oldest sisters and I, especially my oldest, with the most opposite view in politics and in life --- we tend to get along together more so than with the younger ones. We don't say this out loud. It tends to go unsaid. It may be because we have quieter life styles. Our "party days" are long gone. We enjoy staying home, watching TV, blogging, playing games on the internet and occasionally going to the Casino.


Call me silly, but I did enjoy the sound of my husband begging me to come home early vs waiting for the end of the week. I enjoyed my son calling me and telling me he missed me, asking when I would come home. I enjoyed my son and daughter in law texting me and saying they missed me too.


Even in these sad, stressful times of my brother's illness, it's just like Judy Garland said, "There's no place like home!"

Justice for Marcelo Lucero: Another Defendant Plea Bargains!

Jose Pacheco, one of six remaining defendants awaiting trial in the fatal stabbing of Marcelo Lucero, a legal Ecuadorean immigrant in New York has pleaded guilty to gang assault as a hate crime. Jose Pacheco agreed Wednesday to testify against other defendants accused in the death of dry-cleaning worker Marcelo Lucero. Lucero was stabbed in the chest Nov. 8, 2008, in Patchogue, N.Y. Authorities say seven teens went "Beaner Jumping" looking for a Latino victim. Last month, another defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy and hate crime charges and agreed to testify. The year since the Lucero slaying has put national spotlight on the area's race relations. The U.S. Justice Department launched a probe of hate crimes and police response to them.

With two of the seven defendants pleading guilty to charges in connection with the hate killing of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero, legal experts say more pleas can be expected as the case moves toward trial.
"It usually ends up being a little bit like bowling pins," said Bruce Barket, a Garden City defense attorney not affiliated with the case. "Once one falls, it tends to cause others to obtain a plea." With Pacheco testifying against the group, it may be possible for the remaining defendants to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Hopefully this will deter future potential Hate Crime attackers from hurting anyone else.
Reference:
NY teen guilty of hate crime in Ecuadorean's death
STOP HATE CRIMES! Sunday Marks One Year Anniversary of Marcelo Lucero's Murder!

Remember...You Must Die -- What will happen as all the Baby Boomers enter their Golden Years?

I haven't written a blog for a few days because I am out of town visiting my brother. He is in the last stages of ALS and is dying. We don't know if he has a few days or weeks to live, but the doctors tell us he doesn't have much time. ALS is a particularly cruel disease. You may know it as Lou Gehrig's disease. From a layman's point of view, you continue to lose muscle control over your own body until you die.

About a year and a half ago my brother was perfectly healthy. He had retired and he and his companion were living the typical retiree's American Dream of traveling around the country in a 5th wheel and travel trailer. Out of nowhere he started seeing some symptoms. He started dropping things, then tripping or falling. He is a widower with four daughters. At his daughters' insistence, he underwent a complete physical. He is a veteran and went to the VA for his physical. They diagnosed ALS. As the disease progressed, he began losing more muscle control. He stopped traveling. Soon, he couldn't lift things and stopped walking and became confined to a wheel chair. At the insistence of his daughters, he moved in with his oldest daughter so she and her son could care for him. He lost more and more control over his body. He went on a breathing ventilator. Soon he was bed ridden and relied on machines not only for breathing but for eating and for urinary and bowel movements.

He was fortunate that he had proper insurance and was well covered. Not only the VA, but Medicare and supplemental. I shudder to think what he would have done without his medical coverage. He is on home care and his bedroom/bath were updated to care for his needs. His only joy now, besides seeing his family, is watching television on a big screen TV with surround sound. He stopped using a computer months ago.

It is difficult visiting him. He can barely talk. He has tubes in his arms, across his body and in several orifices. He has to have air pumped into his lungs to help him talk. His daughter has to come in, pump him with air, and he is able to speak in short gasps. He says it hurts him to talk because he can't breathe when he talks.
Before he became so disabled, he used to say, "I'm not sick, I am disabled." You see, he has full mental capacity. It is just his body giving out.

I used to think that my father and mother had it rough at the end. My dad, at 79, had a stroke a few years prior to his death. Afterwards, he had the mind of a 3 year old. However his body was fully functional and he was able to walk and feed himself his last few years, though my mother had to change and bathe him. My mother died last year at 93. She had those tiny mini-strokes six months prior to her death and had trouble with her memory and she became bedridden then died. I also had 2 older brothers who died. One died at 66, though he had just been diagnosed with leukemia, he actually died from an aneurysm that burst. His death was sudden. I had another brother who died from years of lost hope. His death was also short in coming. We were shocked by both brothers' deaths.

Today, thinking about all of these deaths in my family over the last several years has caused me to be very contemplative. Death is inevitable. Sometimes, I think we in the U.S. don't think about it enough. We are all going to die. If death is a natural part of life, then we should stop to consider our future destiny and document our wishes. The use of the term "death panels" is absolutely ridiculous. The doctors and nurses have talked to my brother's family extensively about my brother's last days, hospice, nursing, making choices about life and death. They have spent much time talking about his options. You have to be able to discuss your options at his point in his life.

In meeting with many family members here this week, I also find that three more of my nephews are heading off to war. One is currently in Iraq - his 3rd tour, another is on on his way to Afghanistan - after 2 tours in Iraq, and one who is in training is going overseas in a few weeks. Additionally, I spoke with some of their younger brothers and sisters who are planning on enlisting or going into ROTC. Many are planning careers in the military. Service to our country and the economy are major factors in their decisions.

Watching the news, I see that so many national/global issues personally impact my family and most families across America. In thinking about this all week, it is absolutely clear to me that we should all be supportive of:
1. Universal Health care with a Public Option so that Insurance is affordable and provided to all Americans. Pre-existing conditions should NEVER be a factor.
2. The Wars in the Middle East and the Economy: the state of the economy is causing more and more young people to go into the military, not only for their service to our country, but for economic reasons.

Readers: We need to talk about life and death. Death is part of the natural order of things. Tell me your thoughts of death. I grieve for my brother's illness and pain, not for the natural order of life and death. I grieve for those who do not have enough health care coverage. I grieve for those who do not have enough care in their hearts to want others to receive proper health care. I grieve for our young people going off to war whose lives are being cut short. While I support our President in sending more troops to Afghanistan, I continue to believe our involvement in Iraq was wrong. However, I still grieve for the soldiers who are dying every, every day and pray for the safety of my nephews.

And readers, please do not send condolences or say you are sorry to hear about the illnesses and deaths in my family. I received several nice messages from you when my mother and brother passed away. I ask instead for your ideas on how we can talk about the inevitability of death and how on earth are we going to be able to cope with the needs of all of the Baby Boomers as they (including me and mine) approach our Golden Years. Yes. We are all going to die. Yes, many of us will need extensive health care in our Golden Years. This care will range from days to months to years; from occasional to daily on-hands care by medical professionals. This is the reality. We all need to be thinking and planning for our own futures and do each of us want our children to go through what my brother's daughters are going through right now? Or do you want to go to a nursing home? Are you prepared to give up all of your worldly goods for hospice care? Or, instead will you live in denial and say "No! That will not happen to me."

When I was a child I thought as a child: "Only old people die. They close their eyes and go to sleep."

Today: "The Boomers will all die. Some will require years of hands-on medical treatment by family and medical care providers."