The MooCow's New Blog
Friday, January 14, 2005
Well, Duh.... :=8/
:=8D
Don't ferget u can always e-mail the MooCow with cowments at MooCowMoo@aol.com!!!
Hmmm, I can hear Baby Bush do his best Ralphie from the Simpsons: "I'm learnding!!!"
President Has Second Thoughts About 'Bring 'Em On'
WASHINGTON (Jan. 14) - President Bush says he now sees that tough talk can have an "unintended consequence."
During a round-table interview with reporters from 14 newspapers, the president, who not long ago declined to identify any mistakes he'd made during his first term, expressed misgivings for two of his most famous expressions: "Bring 'em on," in reference to Iraqis attacking U.S. troops, and his vow to get Osama bin Laden "dead or alive."
"Sometimes, words have consequences you don't intend them to mean," Bush said Thursday. "'Bring 'em on' is the classic example, when I was really trying to rally the troops and make it clear to them that I fully understood, you know, what a great job they were doing. And those words had an unintended consequence. It kind of, some interpreted it to be defiance in the face of danger. That certainly wasn't the case."
Just a thought: isn't it a bit too late for this guy to develope a brain stem of any size? Karl Rove's fingerpuppet is sounding stupider and stupider with each passing day. :=8/
Oh, and in a related story:
U.S. Hunt for Iraq WMDs Proves Fruitless
WASHINGTON (Jan. 12) -- The U.S. force that scoured Iraq for weapons of mass destruction has abandoned its long and fruitless hunt and is assisting in the more immediate task of counter-insurgency efforts, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
President Bush and other U.S. officials cited the grave threat posed by Iraq's chemical and biological weapons and Baghdad's efforts to acquire a nuclear arms capability as a central justification for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. No such weapons have been found.
The 1,700-strong Iraq Survey Group, responsible for the hunt, last month wrapped up physical searches for weapons of mass destruction, and its mission is now refocused on gathering information to help U.S. forces in Iraq win a bloody guerrilla war, officials said.
''You can only search so many places for WMD,'' said a defense official, who added that the ISG continues to review documents and interview people knowledgeable about deposed President Saddam Hussein's arms programs for possible leads.
Charles Duelfer, the CIA special adviser who led the ISG's weapons search, has returned home and is expected next month to issue a final addendum to his September report concluding that prewar Iraq had no WMD stockpiles, officials said.
''While the actual physical search is over for all intents and purposes, it's not closed in the sense that while this (document exploitation) operation continues ... if they stumble upon something in the course of that effort that says the stash is there, they are certainly going to run out there and look for it,'' said another U.S. official.
The U.S. official, who asked not to be named, added that the team that had conducted the actual physical search was back home.
U.S. forces are locked in a bloody struggle with insurgents in Iraq, and the U.S. military death toll since the invasion stands at more than 1,350, with 10,000 more American troops wounded.
The Washington Post first reported that the ISG had ended its weapons search and said the White House had been reluctant to call off the hunt, holding out the possibility that weapons had been shipped out of Iraq before the war or well hidden inside the country.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters that he believed ''a few people'' in the ISG were still focused on finding any weapons of mass destruction.
The Duelfer report concluded that Iraq had no stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons and its nuclear program had decayed before last year's U.S.-led invasion.
The findings are contrary to prewar assertions by the Bush administration, which stated in the run-up to the war that Saddam possessed stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, was actively reconstituting his nuclear arms program, and might provide weapons of mass destruction to terrorists to attack America.
WASHINGTON (Jan. 12) -- The U.S. force that scoured Iraq for weapons of mass destruction has abandoned its long and fruitless hunt and is assisting in the more immediate task of counter-insurgency efforts, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
President Bush and other U.S. officials cited the grave threat posed by Iraq's chemical and biological weapons and Baghdad's efforts to acquire a nuclear arms capability as a central justification for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. No such weapons have been found.
The 1,700-strong Iraq Survey Group, responsible for the hunt, last month wrapped up physical searches for weapons of mass destruction, and its mission is now refocused on gathering information to help U.S. forces in Iraq win a bloody guerrilla war, officials said.
''You can only search so many places for WMD,'' said a defense official, who added that the ISG continues to review documents and interview people knowledgeable about deposed President Saddam Hussein's arms programs for possible leads.
Charles Duelfer, the CIA special adviser who led the ISG's weapons search, has returned home and is expected next month to issue a final addendum to his September report concluding that prewar Iraq had no WMD stockpiles, officials said.
''While the actual physical search is over for all intents and purposes, it's not closed in the sense that while this (document exploitation) operation continues ... if they stumble upon something in the course of that effort that says the stash is there, they are certainly going to run out there and look for it,'' said another U.S. official.
The U.S. official, who asked not to be named, added that the team that had conducted the actual physical search was back home.
U.S. forces are locked in a bloody struggle with insurgents in Iraq, and the U.S. military death toll since the invasion stands at more than 1,350, with 10,000 more American troops wounded.
The Washington Post first reported that the ISG had ended its weapons search and said the White House had been reluctant to call off the hunt, holding out the possibility that weapons had been shipped out of Iraq before the war or well hidden inside the country.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters that he believed ''a few people'' in the ISG were still focused on finding any weapons of mass destruction.
The Duelfer report concluded that Iraq had no stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons and its nuclear program had decayed before last year's U.S.-led invasion.
The findings are contrary to prewar assertions by the Bush administration, which stated in the run-up to the war that Saddam possessed stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, was actively reconstituting his nuclear arms program, and might provide weapons of mass destruction to terrorists to attack America.
Excuse me if I say DUH again! No one with half a brain believed this shaggy dog story from the get-go, so this comes as no surprise. Soooo, Baby Bush and his cronies have all but admitted that they have foisted this damaging and pointless war on the American public, leading to thousands of needless American casualties and uncounted Iraqi deaths, injuries, and dismemberment. And now that the Iraqi "insurgents" have made the slicing up of Iraq's oil resources a far mooore dangerous prospect, people are only just now getting an indication of the consequences of this poorly planned, poorly reasoned, nightmare of a military debacle.
Can't say the MooCow didn't warn ya!
:=8/
- posted by The MooCow @ 2:51 PM 0 comments
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Mooore Fun Headlines!!
:=8D
Don't ferget u can always e-mail the MooCow with cowments at MooCowMoo@aol.com!!!
Here are a few of the choisest headlines at the close of 2004 which deserve at least some attention:
Sex, Dogs and Chickens -- Weird Headlines of 2004
LONDON (Reuters)
Canadian guide dog barred for only answering its master's commands in French. Japanese boy writes apology in blood for dozing in class.
A vibrating sex toy chucked into a rubbish bin at an Australian airport sparked a security alert that only ended when an embarrassed passenger came forward to claim what was identified as "an adult novelty device."
A vibrating sex toy chucked into a rubbish bin at an Australian airport sparked a security alert that only ended when an embarrassed passenger came forward to claim what was identified as "an adult novelty device."
A fervent evangelist who leapt into the lions' den at Taipei zoo and shouted "Jesus will save you" was lucky to escape with just a bite in the right leg when he tried to convert the king of beasts to Christianity.
Feeling suicidal in Beijing? Then be patient.
Nine out of 10 Chinese calling into a suicide-prevention hotline were greeted by an engaged signal.
Nine out of 10 Chinese calling into a suicide-prevention hotline were greeted by an engaged signal.
A German inventor came up with a best-selling gadget that berates men if they try to use the toilet standing up, telling them: "Put the seat back down right away, you are definitely not to pee standing up."
German police arrested a flasher who stumbled over his dropped trousers during an aborted attempt to flee.
A cost-cutting German theater was berated for using just four dwarves instead of seven in their Snow White show.
A survey revealed that most German men wear the wrong size condoms. Germans said they find smelly co-workers to be the most annoying aspect of their jobs.
German police arrested a flasher who stumbled over his dropped trousers during an aborted attempt to flee.
A cost-cutting German theater was berated for using just four dwarves instead of seven in their Snow White show.
A survey revealed that most German men wear the wrong size condoms. Germans said they find smelly co-workers to be the most annoying aspect of their jobs.
Britain had its share of oddities too.
UK nursing home staff were so proud of a 105-year-old woman who had smoked since the age of 15 that they cremated her with a packet of her favorite cigarettes in the coffin.
A British train conductor stamped and carefully returned the ticket of a slumbering passenger without realizing the man was dead.
UK nursing home staff were so proud of a 105-year-old woman who had smoked since the age of 15 that they cremated her with a packet of her favorite cigarettes in the coffin.
A British train conductor stamped and carefully returned the ticket of a slumbering passenger without realizing the man was dead.
A South African radio reporter went a little more live than he anticipated when he was mugged on the air for his cellphone while transmitting from a squatter settlement.
A Norwegian court acquitted a man accused of raping a sleeping woman after he said he was also asleep at the time.
All three wives of a 67-year-old Iranian man took overdoses in an unsuccessful triple suicide bid after the youngest wife sparked jealousy by buying an expensive pair of boots.
A Malaysian man shot his wife dead after he mistook her for a monkey picking fruit behind their house.
A Spaniard tried to have his wife charged with domestic abuse because she refused to have sex with him on five consecutive nights.
Two Italians with the nicknames Bull Shark and Nurse Shark donned bubble-helmet immersion suits to get married in a shark tank.
A Mexican man killed his lover in a drunken, drugged fight and then cooked the man's body in tomato and onion sauce and ate it over three days.
And a Zambian man hanged himself in shame after his wife rushed into their house to investigate a noise and found him having sex with a chicken. The chicken was slaughtered afterwards.
A Norwegian court acquitted a man accused of raping a sleeping woman after he said he was also asleep at the time.
All three wives of a 67-year-old Iranian man took overdoses in an unsuccessful triple suicide bid after the youngest wife sparked jealousy by buying an expensive pair of boots.
A Malaysian man shot his wife dead after he mistook her for a monkey picking fruit behind their house.
A Spaniard tried to have his wife charged with domestic abuse because she refused to have sex with him on five consecutive nights.
Two Italians with the nicknames Bull Shark and Nurse Shark donned bubble-helmet immersion suits to get married in a shark tank.
A Mexican man killed his lover in a drunken, drugged fight and then cooked the man's body in tomato and onion sauce and ate it over three days.
And a Zambian man hanged himself in shame after his wife rushed into their house to investigate a noise and found him having sex with a chicken. The chicken was slaughtered afterwards.
Who needs joke writers - just look at the news! :=8D
- posted by The MooCow @ 9:44 AM 0 comments
Moore Tsunami News!!
:=8D
Don't ferget u can always e-mail the MooCow with cowments at MooCowMoo@aol.com!!!
Check out this kewl story:
Elephants Saved Tourists from Tsunami
KHAO LAK, Thailand (Reuters) - Agitated elephants felt the tsunami coming, and their sensitivity saved about a dozen foreign tourists from the fate of thousands killed by the giant waves.
"I was surprised because the elephants had never cried before," mahout Dang Salangam said on Sunday on Khao Lak beach at the eight-elephant business offering rides to tourists.
The elephants started trumpeting -- in a way Dang, 36, and his wife Kulada, 24, said could only be described as crying -- at first light, about the time an earthquake measured at a magnitude of 9.0 cracked open the sea bed off Indonesia's Sumatra island.
The elephants soon calmed down. But they started wailing again about an hour later and this time they could not be comforted despite their mahouts' attempts at reassurance.
"The elephants didn't believe the mahouts. They just kept running for the hill," said Wit Aniwat, 24, who takes the money from tourists and helps them on to the back of elephants from a sturdy wooden platform.
Those with tourists aboard headed for the jungle-clad hill behind the resort beach where at least 3,800 people, more than half of them foreigners, would soon be killed. The elephants that were not working broke their hefty chains.
"Then we saw the big wave coming and we started running," Wit said.
Around a dozen tourists were also running toward the hill from the Khao Lak Merlin Resort, one of a line of hotels strung along the 10 km (6-mile) beach especially popular with Scandinavians and Germans.
"The mahouts managed to turn the elephants to lift the tourists onto their backs," Kulada said.
She used her hands to describe how the huge beasts used their trunks to pluck the foreigners from the ground and deposit them on their backs.
The elephants charged up the hill through the jungle, then stopped.
The tsunami drove up to 1 km (1,000 yards) inshore from the gently sloping beach which had been so safe for children it made Khao Lak an ideal place for a family holiday. But it stopped short of where the elephants stood.
On Sunday, the elephants were back at work giving rides to the tourists on whom the area depends.
In a related news story, Heifer International reports that no donated cows or goats perished in the tsunami. Always find that silver lining, kids!
;=8)
- posted by The MooCow @ 9:36 AM 0 comments
Monday, January 03, 2005
Dog Saves Child!
:=8D
Don't ferget u can always e-mail the MooCow with cowments at MooCowMoo@aol.com!!!
Finally, some tsunami news we can all feel good about! :=8D
Dog Saves Boy From Tsunami
Jan 2, 2005 8:44 pm US/CentralCHINNAKALAPET
Mom Had To Leave Oldest Son Behind , India (AP)
Mom Had To Leave Oldest Son Behind , India (AP)
"Run away!" her husband screamed from a rooftop after he spotted the colossal waves. It was a simple command that smothered Sangeeta in a nightmarish dilemma: She had three sons, but just two arms. She grabbed the two youngest and ran — reasoning that 7-year-old Dinakaran, the oldest, had the best chance of out-running the giant waves. When the boy didn't follow, Sangeeta was crushed by grief, believing she would never see him again. The family dog made sure she did. Dinakaran had not followed her but ran instead to the safest place he knew — the family's small, concrete-walled hut just 40 yards from shore. While water lapped at Sangeeta's heels as she rushed up the hill, the scruffy yellow dog named Selvakumar ducked into the hut after the boy. Nipping and nudging, he did everything in his canine power to get the boy up the hill.
Sangeeta, who like many south Indians only uses one name, had no idea of the drama unfolding below. Once she had crossed the main road to safety she collapsed in tears, screaming over the loss of her Dinakaran. "I had heard from others that the wall of my house had collapsed, I felt sure that my child had died," the 24-year-old mother said.
Selvakumar looks pretty much like every other mongrel in the village. He hardly ever barks and lets the three boys climb on him and pull his tail without protest. At night, he joins the rest of the family and sleeps among them, no matter how may times they throw him out. Most days, the dog escorts Dinakaran to and from school, spending the rest of the day playing with the other two boys, or begging for food. Sangeeta's brother-in-law gave her the puppy, after the birth of her second son.
When a brother-in-law died in an accident two years ago, the gave the dog his name. Sangeeta's family had always lived along the coast, just north of Pondicherry, a former French colony, on the southeast coast of India. The morning of Dec. 26 began like most others, with sunny skies and a cool breeze. Sangeeta's husband, R. Ramakrishnan, had just returned from the sea with a boat full of fish. From their home, the view of the ocean was obstructed by a two-story community center. So when they heard a strange noise coming from the sea, Sangeeta's husband went to investigate. When Ramakrishnan saw the waves, he ran to the roof of the center and shouted down to Sangeeta to flee.
That's when she made her agonizing choice. "He is somewhat older than the other two. I knew he would be able to run, so I grabbed the other two," Sangeeta explained. Dinakaran credits the dog with saving his life. "That dog grabbed me by the collar of my shirt," the boy said from under some trees at Pondicherry University, where the family waits for relief aid. "He dragged me out."
Sangeeta said she wept with joy when she saw her son walking up to her, with Selvakumar by his side. The Tamils of south India believe that talking about the death of a living person can make it so, so Sangeeta didn't want to speak of her decision or speculate how she would have felt had her son not survived. She did say that she believes some special spirit, perhaps her brother-in-law's, resides in the young yellow dog. "That dog is my God," said Sangeeta — with Dinakaran sitting on the ground at her feet. Selvakumar slept on the warm asphalt next to him.
Need any mooore proof about man's best friend?? Let's see a cat do that! ;=8)
- posted by The MooCow @ 10:30 PM 1 comments
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Hapy Moo Year!!! :=8D
:=8D
Don't ferget u can always e-mail the MooCow with cowments at MooCowMoo@aol.com!!!
Well, the MooCow is glad to see the back of 2004. My father's death, the death of friends, Bush's inexplicable re-election, the tsunami... we can all hope for a moooch improved 2005! Cowever, let's go over a few last news tidbits from 2004:
Aftershock and Flooding Hits Survivors
By Chris Brummitt, AP
By Chris Brummitt, AP
JAKARTA, Indonesia (Jan. 1) - A 6.5-magnitude aftershock to last weekend's killer earthquake hit off the coast of Sumatra on Saturday, sending frightened residents running into the streets. No injuries were reported.
Aftershocks in the 4- and 5- magnitude range were also recorded, officials said.
The 6.5 jolt was an aftershock to last weekend's 9.0-magnitude temblor that spawned the devastating tsunamis that hit 11 countries and killed more than 123,000 people.
"Unfortunately, large aftershocks are common after an earthquake of this size," said Kathleen Gohn, a spokeswoman for the Golden, Colo.-based USGS.
She said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued an information bulletin saying that aftershocks of that magnitude generally do not produce tsunamis.
Northwestern Sumatra was the hardest hit area in Sunday's earthquake and tsunami disaster, with about 80,000 people there killed.
Pounding rain drenched the wrecked city of Banda Aceh on Saturday, adding to the misery of homeless earthquake and tsunami survivors and heightening fears of waterborne diseases. Flash floods in Sri Lanka forced evacuations and thwarted aid deliveries.
Worldwide donations to aid those battered by the huge waves that slammed Asian and African nations approached $1 billion, and a steady stream of foreign military aircraft touched down in the epicenter of the disaster, the Aceh province on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island.
But supplies were bottlenecking and officials acknowledged distribution networks were not in place to deliver desperately needed supplies to the worst-hit areas.
Six days after the earthquake and tsunamis, the confirmed death toll passed 123,000. U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland estimated the number of dead was approaching 150,000.
President Bush, his administration stung by criticism that its aid pledges were small and slow to materialize, raised the U.S. promise of help from $35 million to $350 million.
``Our contributions will continue to be revised as the full effects of this terrible tragedy become clearer,'' he said. Britain has pledged $95 million, Sweden $75 million and Spain $68 million.
Saturday's rainstorm in Banda Aceh was the first since last Sunday's disaster. Health workers have warned that heavy rain could spread diseases like cholera and diarrhea. Thousands of uncollected corpses remain in and around the city.
At one refugee camp on the grounds of the airport, hundreds of people spent a damp night under plastic sheets. Mothers nursed babies while others tried to light a fire with damp matches.
``With no help we will die,'' said Indra Syaputra. ``We came here because we heard that we could get food, but it was nonsense. All I got was some packets of noodles.''
Officials and volunteers in the Andamans struggled to deliver tons of rations, clothes, bedsheets, oil, and other items, hampered by lack of transportation.
``There is starvation. People haven't had food or water for at least five days. There are carcasses. There will be an epidemic,'' said Andaman's member of parliament, Manoranjan Bhakta.
Indonesia reported 80,000 deaths; Sri Lanka 28,700, India just shy of 9,000. Thailand's toll stood at 4,800, just over half of those foreign tourists, but 6,500 people were missing and presumed dead.
Thailand's prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra said Saturday that his country would investigate why no warnings were issued ahead of the tsunamis.
Aid continued to arrive. But bureaucratic delays, fuel shortages and impassable roads blocked many of the supplies. In an airport hangar in Medan, south of Banda Aceh, thousands of boxes of basics had accumulated since Monday and were going nowhere.
Gosh, Baby Bush, guess you needed 5 days of indescibably human misery and stinging criticism for the country's cowtribution to "become clearer". Is it clear now?? Should we wai an-udder week?? A great opportunity to help out and scrape some of the mud from our name in the Muslim world has fizzled out, thanks to our "compassionate conservative" president. Don't drown near him - it may take a few days for it becomes clear enough for him to throw you a rope... :=8/
Final six months of 2004 deadliest ever for US forces in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AFP) - The last six months of 2004 proved the deadliest period for US forces in Iraq despite the formal end of the US-led occupation in June, with a total of 503 soldiers killed, figures showed.
Rather than deflating the insurgency, the first half year of Iraqi sovereignty under the US-backed interim government saw a surge in bloodshed.
The deadliest month was November when 141 troops were killed, reflecting the heavy combat in the Sunni Muslim bastion of Fallujah where US troops battled rebels in the street in some of the heaviest fighting ever in Iraq.
In December, a total of 75 soldiers were killed, 14 of them in last week's unprecedented suicide bombing of a US army base in the northern city of Mosul -- the deadliest single strike ever on Americans in Iraq.
Another 67 lost their lives in October, 87 in September, 75 in August and 58 in July. The tolls include combat and non-combat deaths.
US officials hoped the formal transfer of sovereignty in Iraq would take wind out of the insurgency's sails. Instead, violence has escalated against both US troops and Iraqis. In the first half of the year, with Iraq under occupation, 401 soldiers died in Iraq.
Observers says the violence testifies to the insurgency's staying power and evolution.
"There is no question the growing death toll indicates a growing insurgency," Jorst Hiltermann, Middle East director of the International Crisis Group, told AFP.
Since Tuesday, more than 100 Iraqi security forces, public servants and civilians have been killed, including the deputy governor of al-Anbar province.
The great Epic of Failure cowtinues, with no end in sight. :=8/
Pentagon: Rumsfeld misspoke on Flight 93 crash
Defense secretary's remark to troops fuels conspiracy theories
Defense secretary's remark to troops fuels conspiracy theories
A comment Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made during a Christmas Eve address to U.S. troops in Baghdad has sparked new conspiracy theories about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
In the speech, Rumsfeld made a passing reference to United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to stop al Qaeda hijackers.
But in his remarks, Rumsfeld referred to the "the people who attacked the United States in New York, shot down the plane over Pennsylvania."
In the speech, Rumsfeld made a passing reference to United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to stop al Qaeda hijackers.
But in his remarks, Rumsfeld referred to the "the people who attacked the United States in New York, shot down the plane over Pennsylvania."
A Pentagon spokesman insisted that Rumsfeld simply misspoke, but Internet conspiracy theorists seized on the reference to the plane having been shot down.
"Was it a slip of the tongue? Was it an error? Or was it the truth, finally being dropped on the public more than three years after the tragedy" asked a posting on the Web site WorldNetDaily.com.
Some people remain skeptical of U.S. government statements that, despite a presidential authorization, no planes were shot down September 11, and rumors still circulate that a U.S. military plane shot the airliner down over Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
"Was it a slip of the tongue? Was it an error? Or was it the truth, finally being dropped on the public more than three years after the tragedy" asked a posting on the Web site WorldNetDaily.com.
Some people remain skeptical of U.S. government statements that, despite a presidential authorization, no planes were shot down September 11, and rumors still circulate that a U.S. military plane shot the airliner down over Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The independent panel charged with investigating the terrorist attacks concluded that the hijackers intentionally crashed Flight 93, apparently because they feared the passengers would overwhelm them.
Now there would be a cow-pie storm if it came out that the government lied to the general public about what happened on 9/11. What? Our government lie?!?!?!?? :=8/
Couple Accused Of Forcing Mentally Ill To Do Farm Work Nude
UPDATED: 7:20 AM EST December 30, 2004
TOPEKA, Kan. -- A Newton, Kan., couple already charged with forcing mentally ill residents of a group home to work on their farm in the nude were indicted Wednesday on 35 charges.
The indictment, issued by a federal grand jury, includes allegations that Arlan D. Kaufman, 68, and Linda J. Kaufman, 61, physically, psychologically and sexually abused group home residents, kept two people in involuntary servitude for 14 years, and defrauded the federal Medicare program.
The indictment replaces one issued in November, charging the Kaufmans with a single count of involuntary servitude.
The Kaufmans now face 16 counts of health care fraud, 10 counts of mail fraud, three counts of holding group home residents in involuntary servitude, two counts of forcing them to perform labor and a single count each of conspiracy, obstructing a federal audit and making false documents.
The 35th count is a forfeiture charge through which prosecutors are seeking to reclaim more than $283,000 in proceeds authorities allege the Kaufmans received from their activities, including nearly $217,000 in payments from the federal Medicare program.
James Wyrsch, a Kansas City, Mo., attorney representing the Kaufmans, said Wednesday night that he had not seen the indictment but that the Kaufmans, "intend to plead not guilty and vigorously defend themselves."
If convicted, the Kaufmans could face up to 20 years in prison for each of the conspiracy, forced labor and involuntary servitude charges; up to 10 years for each of the health care fraud charges; and up to five years for each of the other charges.
The Kaufmans incorporated their treatment center for mentally ill adults in 1980 and operated it through October, when they were arrested. The group home was not licensed, and the Kaufmans changed their operation after the state Supreme Court ruled that one was needed one, according to the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.
At least 20 people were residents at various times, according to the indictment, which alleges the Kaufmans began a criminal conspiracy around 1986.
The indictment alleges the Kaufmans submitted claims for nearly $1 million to Medicare from 1991 through 2000 for individual and group therapy that either had not been provided or documented.
The original involuntary servitude charge stemmed from an allegation that residents of the home were forced to work in the nude at a farm in Potwin, about 50 miles southeast of the group home, in 1999. One charge of involuntary servitude in the new indictment covers that incident, which involved three group home residents.
The other involuntary servitude counts allege two other residents were kept in involuntary servitude for 14 years. The indictment also alleges the Kaufmans threatened the two residents with serious harm to force them to perform labor.
The new indictment also alleges that the Kaufmans forced group home residents to perform sexually explicit acts and that they videotaped some of the residents' sexual contacts during purported therapy sessions.
The indictment also alleges the residents were forced to masturbate, fondle each other and shave each other's genitals. It also accuses Arlan Kaufman of fondling residents.
The indictment alleges residents faced abuse including isolation, dehydration, forced nudity and threats of being institutionalized.
U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren's office announced the indictment Wednesday evening but declined further comment.
The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services conducted an investigation in 2001 that resulted in the suspension of Arlan Kaufman's social work license. That year, 30 videotapes were seized of "nude therapy" sessions.
Linda Kaufman, a nurse whose state license was suspended in February, was in charge of dispensing medication at the group home.
The Kaufmans, who posted bond last month, are confined to their home and electronically monitored.
Ummmm..... heh?? :=8/ Of all the weird stories cowming out of 2004, this has to be one of the weirdest. Farming nuded?!?!? Trust the MooCow folks: ya don't wanna run around nekkid near sharp farm implements! And please, let's not scare the dairy cows with flabby human thighs, hairy butts, or unsavory human genitailia. Ewwwwww.... :=8P
I guess that's all for now, folks. Have a great 2005!!! :=8D
Oh, and if u get the chance, please support this worthy cause: Unique gifts that help end world hunger Heifer International
:=8)
- posted by The MooCow @ 9:02 AM 0 comments
