The lawyer for Beaumont doctor Jeffrey Klem is trying to work out a plea agreement on the child molestation charges he is facing in Houston.
That would make sense. Klem has already pleaded guilty to similar charges in Beaumont.
As his Houston attorney said in our paper Thursday, “Since Dr. Klem has already entered a plea agreement over there, it would be in everybody’s best interests, including the victims, to work out some kind of agreement in Harris County to avoid a trial.”
Well put, counselor. Let the wheels of justice grind on.
A few points must be made, however.
Despite admitting sexual contact with three young girls, so far Klem has avoided:
A) prison time
B) being forced to register as a sex offender
C) the loss of his medical license
In child molestation cases, these things can happen. The crimes can be difficult to prosecute. A child victim can be terrified at the prospect of testifying in court or being cross-examined.
In a curious bit of legal wizardry, Klem pleaded guilty to a more serious offense in Beaumont, a first-degree felony count of causing injury to a child, to avoid the sex-offender registry.
He also got 10 years of probation instead of hard time behind bars.
He may lose his medical license later. Right now, however, it’s undecided, and the process of revoking his credentials through the Texas Medical Board could take months.
Justice can still be served with another plea agreement in Houston.
If Klem continues to escape A, B and C as listed above, it will not.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Crime and punishment
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
The fun continues
What is this, Dumb Jock Month?
First O.J. Simpson, pulls an armed robbery in Vegas, and a clownish one at that. This wasn’t “Ocean’s Eleven” with a smooth, wise-cracking George Clooney. It was more like “Earnest Goes Souvenir Shopping.”
The Juice, of course, doesn’t seem to realize how lucky he is to not be doing life for murder. Now he’s facing a whole bunch of years for a stupid stickup.
Then boxer Mike Tyson finds another way to screw up his life, namely drug possession and a DUI. He’s looking at more than four years inside for this one — almost as much time as he served for rape in the ’90s.
Now Michael Vick is slapped with tighter probation … for testing positive for marijuana.
Don’t these morons ever learn to leave well enough alone? I guess not.
One more blunder, and Vick will spend the next few months in jail — waiting to find out how many years he will spend in prison.
Maybe he considers it to be like summer training camp in the NFL — getting ready for the real thing.
As a result of his latest stunt, Vick has to wear one of those ankle bracelets that irritated former astronaut Lisa Nowak so much. He also has to remain home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., which pretty much rules out the party circuit.
Most seriously of all, he has just cheesed off the very judge who will sentence him later on for up to five years for that little dogfighting thing. Not smart, Michael.
I will give him one thing: The state charges that were filed against him this week look like piling on.
He has pleaded guilty to the crime in the federal system. He is supposed to tell investigators all he knows. How can he do that if he fears his confession will fuel the new round of state charges?
Two words: double jeopardy.
But don’t worry about any of these jerks. They had it all, and they threw it away.
It’s just amazing to watch them keep digging the hole deeper.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Don't be like Mike
If you’re tempted to feel sorry for boxer Mike Tyson, don’t.
True, the man who was the youngest heavyweight champion of the world (age 20) and held the undisputed crown for four years has fallen far. Reeaally far.
In addition to everything else you’ve read/heard about “Iron Mike,” his latest bout with the law has flattened him.
He’s facing a max of four years and three months in Arizona after pleading guilty to drug possession, driving under the influence and being an idiot.
OK, I made up that last charge. But the first two are legit.
The only questions now are exactly how much time he will serve and whether it will be in an Arizona state prison or Maricopa County Jail. I’m voting for the jail.
It’s run by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the most controversial sheriff in America. In Sheriff Joe’s jail, life ain’t too easy. In fact, it’s kind of unpleasant.
Among other indignities, the inmates have to wear pink underwear, just so they don’t think they’re tough.
They eat meals that cost taxpayers only 30 cents a day. On that budget, I think you can pretty much rule out blackened redfish, deep-dish pizza, fresh fruit or gourmet coffee.
On top of everything, the bland cuisine is not enhanced by extras like salt or mustard.
If you obey laws and pay taxes, you gotta like that approach.
Anyhow, back to the first sentence in this blog. You can’t feel sorry for Mike Tyson for three reasons.
1) He had every chance in the world to lead a great life, and he blew it. Think of all the people who never had that chance.
2) He didn’t just make one mistake. He committed blunder and blunder until his life and career were in shambles.
3) Don't ever forget that he was convicted of rape in Indiana in 1992. That's a despicable crime.
As far as I’m concerned, Mike Tyson can bake in the Arizona sun for a long, long time. Good riddance to that loser.
He makes other fallen jocks like Floyd Landis or Michael Vick look like statesmen in comparison.
Friday, September 21, 2007
No parole? No problem
Hooray for M. Jodi Rell. She happens to be the governor of Connecticut, a Republican. On Friday, she did something that more politicians in both parties should do. She used common sense.
Rell banned parole for violent inmates until the state’s broken system is fixed. Several recent parolees have — surprise! — committed more crimes, including the ghastly triple murder in a home invasion in Cheshire that made national news.
Critics said Rell’s move could cause the state’s prisons to become overcrowded. That would be funny if it weren’t so serious.
Hmmm, let’s see: We could inconvenience some thugs for a few weeks or months longer, or we could let more innocent people be raped or brutalized or killed?
Even Homer Simpson could figure that one out.
Rell laid it out in plain English: “I will not allow public safety to be jeopardized because parolees return to a life of crime.”
There is a place for parole in our judicial system. It should be given to inmates who have shown they won’t hurt anyone else. If they can’t do that, they can stay behind bars till they're 90.
That’s not cruel, it’s humane. It puts the emphasis where it should be — on the rights and safety of law-abiding folks.
It’s not complex either, it’s simple common sense.
Thank God a few politicians in this country still have it.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Jerry Jones tanks again
I’m trying to root for the Dallas Cowboys, but owner Jerry Jones is making it hard.
If you’re from Southeast Texas, you have to have a soft spot in your heart for new head coach and former PN-G Indian Wade Phillips. Wade is one of the good guys. His dad Bum is a legend.
But Tank Johnson? Did the Cowboys have to be the team that couldn’t wait to sign the thug kicked off the Chicago Bears?
Well, since the Cowboys couldn’t wait to sign Terrell Owens, the jerk kicked off the Philadelphia Eagles, I guess no one should be surprised.
Is Pacman Jones, the thug suspended from the Tennessee Titans next? Why not. He shares the same last name and the same contempt for high standards as the Cowboys’ owner.
Tank Johnson’s agent said it all when he noted, “For a lot of reasons, he really just felt the Cowboys were the right fit.”
You'd better believe Tank was a good fit with ol’ Jerry. They share a lot in common — win at all costs on the field, do what you want off the field.
If somebody gets hurt — or killed, like Tank Johnson’s former “bodyguard” at a strip club shooting — well, heck, that’s the way the ball bounces sometimes.
Being a real role model? Doing the right thing even if it’s the hard thing? Don’t make them laugh. That’s for Boy Scouts and losers in their book.
And to think that uber-straight arrows Roger Staubach and Tom Landry used to represent the team’s image.
The Cowboys have come a long way since those days — a long way down.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Northern Exposure
Good luck, North Dakota, on your drive to boost the state population. That’s all I can say, as I sure as heck will never live there.
Neither will many other folks, including a bunch who were born there. That’s why the Roughrider State is hosting a job fair in Chicago and Colorado to lure young professionals back to their home state.
Seems that an economic boomlet of sorts has created more than 10,000 jobs. And while the good folks in North Dakota may have their shortcomings, they know that they have a better chance of convincing native-born sons and daughters to return. They know they will have a harder time persuading folks in the other 49 states to relocate to a place widely believed to be, well, cold, desolate and Godforsaken.
And that’s not just hearsay. I went through North Dakota on a bus once in the depth of winter. Once was enough.
I was headed to Manitoba, Canada, to view a total eclipse. The eclipse was nice. The journey up there was not.
I distinctly remember looking out of the bus window and viewing a surreal sunrise over a treeless, frigid, windblown plain. I distinctly remember thinking, “Hmmm. So this is what a sunrise on the moon must look like.”
Whatever. I bear no grudges. I do hope the job fairs will be successful and Bismarck will be bustin’ at the seams. In fact, I’ve come up with a few slogans to help the effort:
1) “We’re not the North Pole — that’s even farther north, if you can imagine that.”
2) “North Dakota — we’re like South Dakota, only colder.”
3) “Enjoy a wide variety of seasons in North Dakota — Fourth of July and winter.”
4) “Come to North Dakota! Frostbite isn’t just the Official State Disease, it’s a way of life!”
5) “North Dakota! It’s like Canada with American money!”
Monday, September 17, 2007
Blown away
Three cheers for Newton, Mass.! It wants to ban those infernal leaf blowers that are the worst invention since the annoying “Baby on Board” placards.
An alderman in Newton wants to outlaw gas-powered leaf blowers. The electric version, which is quieter and less powerful, would still be allowed.
Don’t laugh; its been done or discussed in Los Angeles, Calif., Aspen, Colo., and many other places. Personally, I think it ought to be done everywhere.
As one Newton woman was quoted by the Boston Globe, “I hate them. They go all day long. It really spoils the neighborhood and the peace and quiet we used to have.”
She’s right, of course, but there’s a bigger drawback to leaf blowers. It’s one so basic that most people don’t understand — until they’re on the receiving end of the problem.
Simply put, where are the leaves, grass and debris supposed to be blown to? It’s going off of one piece of land, but where does it end up?
A neighbor’s yard, so it looks like hell? The street, where cars can scatter it even more? Down the sewer, so the gunk can clog up when it rains?
I can tell you this: Nobody blows that stuff from one side of their property to another. It’s headed out, and if it lands where it’s a problem for you, well, tough luck.
On top of everything is that noise. That’s just what our world needs — more decibels.
Leaf blowers are one of those ideas that sound good on paper but fail in the real world.
Rake it. Mulch it. Or leave it lie.
Just don’t blow it over your property line and think you’ve accomplished something.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Humbled by Humberto
Talk about an unwelcome guest!
First Humberto drops in completely unexpected. Then he decides to morph from a tropical storm to a hurricane without any explanation whatsoever.
And he blows through in the wee hours, making sleep pretty much impossible.
Good riddance, H-man.
Also, we need to stop making history like this.
Hurricane Rita, according to Wikipedia, was the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico.
Same month, two years later, Humberto reached greater intensity faster than any other tropical cyclone.
That’s enough for the upper Texas Gulf Coast. I though Florida was supposed to be Hurricane Central.
Back at the homestead in Groves, the power is still out. Rumor has it that it could be two or three days before the juice starts flowing again.
I hope that’s as wrong as the experts who said Tropical Storm Humberto would bring a little wind and rain.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Haul off, Humberto!
By the time you read this, it is probably raining outside. Bigtime.
Humberto's headed here. He’s supposed to be big and wet and messy. Let’s hope he’s brief too.
I don’t know what’s worse -- a hurricane that you track for days as it bores in on you like a guided missile, or a surprise like Humberto that pops up overnight.
I do know that I’m sick of going to Web sites and The Weather Channel so much when I could be wasting time watching football or baseball.
Maybe the Good Lord will let us dodge this bullet. After Rita, we could use a break or two when it comes to tropical disturbances.
Here’s to you and yours; may you come through this one OK.
And may you remember the supreme importance of those two little words:
Flood insurance.
Hang in there, Kevin!
Miracles do happen.
Sometimes they are big, like when an airplane that is about to crash gets back under control.
Sometimes they are very small, like when Kevin Everett wiggled his toes.
When I heard about the paralysis of this former Thomas Jefferson High School star, I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut. Paralysis from the neck down is horrible beyond description.
To be honest, I think it’s better to be dead than left in that condition.
I’m no doctor, but I know that when these injuries happen there is rarely good news.
Yet against all odds, the former Buffalo Bills tight end can “wiggle his toes, bend his hip, move his ankles, elevate and kick his leg, as well as extend his elbows and slightly flex his biceps,” according to the Associated Press.
Kevin has lots of mountains left to climb. Forget about pro football; that is over forever. But if he can walk and use his arms, he will be the luckiest man alive.
He needs our prayers and support. Let’s make sure that both are not in short supply.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Sayonara, Osama
As if we aren’t sad enough with the approaching anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we are going to have to put up with yet another videotape from the master murderer himself, Osama bin Laden.
A still from the upcoming release has already been posted on al Qaida Web site, and the video is expected to hit the ’Net anytime now. That’s al Qaida for you — 21st century tactics, 12th century thought.
It would be Osama’s first video since 2004. Apparently, life on the run in a series of dank caves isn’t all that much fun after all.
It’s amazing that anybody still thinks this moron is some kind of genius. He bolted like a coward as soon as we came after him. His only accomplishment since then has been staying alive.
I’m tired of him and his primitive rants.
The only video I want to see of him is one from an Air Force UCAV, an unmanned combat aerial vehicle, as a smart bomb streaks toward him.
That expression on his face as he looks up in that last millisecond will be priceless.
Until then, sleep well, Osama. Your suite in Hell is waiting.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
A crime, but not murder
I rarely side with criminals.
If they did the crime, they should do the time — and lots of it. I’m sorry if they had a tough life, but that’s tough. It doesn’t excuse horrible things like murder or rape.
Keep in mind that their victims usually suffer a “life sentence” from the crime. They never forget about it, they are never able to put away the fear or horror they felt.
But a former crook named William Barnes is getting a raw deal in Philadelphia, even though he did a despicable thing.
Four decades ago, he shot a rookie cop during a burglary. Officer Walter T. Barclay didn’t die, but he was paralyzed from the legs down.
That’s rough. It makes me sick to think of that brave lawman going through life in a wheelchair because of a dirtbag like Barnes.
But Barnes did serve 15 years for attempted murder, and that’s about what shooters get for that rap.
The problem is that former officer Barclay died two weeks ago. The medical examiner ruled that his death was due to the gunshot wound he got back in 1966. Now the D.A. wants to charge Barnes for murder.
Sorry, no sale. Forty-one years is too long of a time to lapse between shooting and death.
What Barnes did way back then was a crime. But it wasn’t murder then, and it shouldn’t be now.
The D.A. should drop the charges. Barnes is 71. He will face a different kind of judgment soon.
Monday, September 03, 2007
See ya, senator
Billy Martin is a great lawyer. He has represented the wealthy and powerful ranging from Monica Lewinsky to Michael Vick. Now he has been hired by the soon-to-be-former Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho to help him straighten up this little mess about cruising for gay sex in an airport restroom.
Good luck, Billy. As with your latest client, the guy who once played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, it’s hard to overcome a strong case. And it’s really hard to overcome a mountain of evidence.
Vick was involved in dogfighting up to his eyebrows. That’s the way it looked from the start of this mess, and by golly, that’s where it ended up.
Heck, Martin did Vick a favor by convicing him to stop spending money on lawyers, plead out and hope for a light sentence.
It’s not clear what Martin is supposed to do for Craig, who said when announcing his resignation, “ … clearing my name is important to me and my family.”
Uh, Larry, it’s a little late for that. The cat is out of the bag, and you are out of the closet. Years of rumors about Craig have been confirmed by his Minnesota misadventure.
If Craig tries to push this nonsense about an undercover cop misconstruing his intentions, he will only accomplish two things.
1) People will laugh even harder, and
2) Other men whom Craig has been, er, involved with will come forward.
Unless Craig is even dumber than he looks, he will realize this. The hiring of Billy Martin and the brave talk about “clearing my name” are simply gestures designed to put up the appearance of resistance.
Nothing will come of this nonsense — indeed, nothing can. Craig will shuffle back to Idaho and grow potatoes or something in his retirement.
Maybe he will go to his grave pretending he was hounded. Maybe a few fools will even believe him.
Whatever. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that while senators can and do get away with a lot, they can’t and shouldn’t get away with something like this.
Posts
