... unglaublich

Ich wunderte mich schon warum Mittwoch morgen soviele state troopers bei mir in der gegend jede stichstrasse abgefahren haben. Das haette ich aber nicht erwartet.

Der Pfeil ist wo der moerder stattgefunden hat und das leichtgruene ist mein Haus.



At the end of a quiet rural lane amid the dense forest of the Platte Clove area of Saugerties, state police and town cops mill around outside a neatly kept ranch house with a tricycle in the front yard near a blue school bus up on blocks and a tie-dyed curtain hanging in a window. Inside, a witness says, is a scene of horror: a 37-year-old mother of two in a pink nightgown lying face down in a hallway, dead from multiple gunshot wounds to the head, the family golden retriever - Holly - snarling protectively alongside her keeping police at bay.

A few doors down, standing on a relative's front deck, a little girl who had been looking forward to a birthday party on Saturday will now have to come to grips with the death of one parent, allegedly at the hands of the other.

That was the scene at 4 Pine Tree Lane Wednesday morning after a 911 call from inside the house alerted police to a fatal shooting. According to police, Tracey Passaro was found dead in her home around 7 a.m. According to media accounts, state police captain Wayne Olsen said her husband, Anthony Passaro Jr., was arrested outside the home and told police he had shot his wife during an argument. Olsen added that Tracy Passaro was shot several times with a .223 caliber rifle and the children were in the home when it happened. Anthony Passaro was arraigned in Saugerties Town Court on Wednesday evening and sent to the Ulster County Jail without bail.

Neighbor Henry Borrero said his wife heard a gunshot around 2 or 3 a.m., but couldn't tell where it came from. A few hours later police, alerted by a 911 call from the Passaro house shortly before 7 a.m., arrived on the scene. Borrero said he saw heavily armed police coax Anthony Passaro out of the house where he was led away in handcuffs. Later, Borrero said, police outfitted him with a protective white suit and allowed him inside the house to remove the family dog, who would not let officers near Tracy Passaro's body.

"I was the one who went in there," said Borrero, who was acquainted with the dog. "Otherwise they would have either had to put the dog down or put it to sleep."

Borrero said the house at the end of the lane was the scene of frequent parties and quarrels between the couple.

"He was very controlling, he was dominant," said Borrero. "When he said jump, she jumped."

Borreo said the family had money troubles and Anthony Passaro had been ill recently. Borrero said the killing may have stemmed from a dispute over a kitten Tracey Passaro recently brought into the house.

"She went and got a kitten for the little girl, something happened with the kitten and I guess he just snapped," he said.

A few doors away at 26 Notch View Boulevard, Tracey Passaro's cousin Lynn Sinsapaugh looked after the couple's two children, a girl aged 5 and a boy aged 9 throughout the morning. Later, she said, the children where taken for professional counseling; it was unclear where they were Wednesday night.

Sinsapaugh also said Anthony Passaro had health problems and was taking medication for multiple sclerosis. "He was sick, he had a lot of problems, MS, this and that and medications. But I just don't know ... I just can't fathom."

Sinsapaugh said the couple had "normal fights," but if there was violence in the home, she was unaware of it. "I mean, we were close, but not 'hang out' close. We visited on and off; birthday parties, or whatever. We've been close lately, because we're at the bus stop together, waiting for my grandkids to get on and off the bus. ... In fact she invited me for Saturday; she was gonna have a cake for her daughter. She was turning six. And then I get up this morning and I hear all of this crap."

"I feel like I'm living a nightmare now," said Sinsapaugh, who was planning to attend a birthday party for the couple's daughter on Saturday. "I can't believe it's even happened. I can't believe it."

"She didn't deserve to die that way," said Borrero, shaking his head. "I hope this man rots in hell."

Borrero, too, said it was like a nightmare - and for him, a recurring one. "I don't have to get personal, but I saw my mother shoot my father at age four and a half. Downtown Delancey Street, when the bathtub sat on a platform in the kitchen. And I had to live through that through the course of my years. What can I say, sir? That's how come I took to the kids. It's tough. Maybe, perhaps, it's strange to say this, but what she had to tolerate from this man - don't take it the way it sounds, but maybe she's in a better place."

Democrats should run Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for president. He's more coherent than Dennis Kucinich, he dresses like their base, he's more macho than John Edwards, and he's willing to show up at a forum where he might get one hostile question -- unlike the current Democratic candidates for president who won't debate on Fox News Channel. He's not married to an impeached president, and the name "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad" is surely no more frightening than "B. Hussein Obama."

And liberals agree with Ahmadinejad on the issues! We know that because he was invited by an American university to speak on campus.

Contrary to all the blather about "free speech" surrounding Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia, universities in America do not invite speakers who do not perfectly mirror the political views of their America-hating faculties. Rather, they aggressively censor differing viewpoints and permit only a narrow category of speech on their campuses. Ask Larry Summers.

If a university invites someone to speak, you know the faculty agrees with the speaker. Maybe not the entire faculty. Some Columbia professors probably consider Ahmadinejad too moderate on Israel.

Columbia president Lee Bollinger claimed the Ahmadinejad invitation is in keeping with "Columbia's long-standing tradition of serving as a major forum for robust debate."

Except Columbia doesn't have that tradition. This is worse than saying "the dog ate my homework." It's like saying "the dog ate my homework" when you're Michael Vick and everyone knows you've killed your dog.

Columbia's "tradition" is to shut down any speakers who fall outside the teeny, tiny seditious perspective of its professors.

When Minutemen leader Jim Gilchrist and his black colleague Marvin Stewart were invited by the College Republicans to speak at Columbia last year, the tolerant, free-speech-loving Columbia students violently attacked them, shutting down the speech.

Imbued with Bollinger's commitment to free speech, Columbia junior Ryan Fukumori said of the Minutemen: "They have no right to be able to speak here."

Needless to say -- unlike Ahmadinejad -- the university had not invited the Minutemen. Most colleges and universities wouldn't buy a cup of coffee for a conservative speaker.

Fees for speakers who do not hate America are raised from College Republican fundraisers and contributions from patriotic alumni and locals who think students ought to hear at least one alternative viewpoint in four years of college.

And then college administrators turn a blind eye when liberal apple-polishers and suck-ups shut down the speech or physically attack the speaker.

Bollinger refused to punish the students who stormed the stage and violently ended the Minutemen's speech.

So the one thing we know absolutely is that Bollinger did not allow Ahmadinejad to speak out of respect for "free speech" because Bollinger does not respect free speech.

Only because normal, patriotic Americans were appalled by Columbia's invitation of Ahmadinejad to speak was Bollinger forced into the ridiculous position of denouncing Ahmadinejad when introducing him.

Then why did you invite him?

And by the way, I'll take a denunciation if college presidents would show up at my speeches and drone on for 10 minutes about "free speech" before I begin.

At Syracuse University last year, when liberal hecklers tried to shut down a speech by a popular conservative author of (almost!) six books, College Republicans began to remove the hecklers. But Dean of Students Roy Baker blocked them from removing students disrupting the speech on the grounds that removing students screaming during a speech would violate the hecklers' "free speech." They had a "free speech" right to prevent anyone from hearing a conservative's free speech.

That's what colleges mean by "free speech." (And by the way, my fingers are getting exhausted from making air quotes every time I use the expression "free speech" in relation to a college campus.)

"Tolerance of opposing views" means we have to listen to their anti-American views, but they don't have to hear our pro-American views. (In Washington, they call this "the Fairness Doctrine.")

Liberals are never called upon to tolerate anything they don't already adore, such as treason, pornography and heresy. In fact, those will often get you course credit.

At Ahmadinejad's speech, every vicious anti-Western civilization remark was cheered wildly. It was like watching an episode of HBO'S "Real Time With Bill Maher."

Ahmadinejad complained that the U.S. and a few other "monopolistic powers, selfish powers" were trying to deny Iranians their "right" to develop nukes.

Wild applause.

Ahmadinejad repeatedly refused to answer whether he seeks the destruction of the state of Israel.

Wild applause.

He accused the U.S. of supporting terrorism.

Wild applause.

Only when Ahmadinejad failed to endorse sodomy did he receive the single incident of booing throughout his speech.

Responding to a question about Iran's execution of homosexuals, Ahmadinejad said there are no homosexuals in Iran: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals, like in your country. In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have it."

I already knew that from looking at his outfit. If liberals want to run this guy for president, they better get him to "Queer Eye for the Islamofascist Guy."

mmh schon erstaunlich wie gut das erste bier ( Sam Adams Octoberfest ) nach 2 Wochen Diaet schmeckt... ich wunder mich ob die erste Zigarette nach 5 Jahren nichtrauchen genauso gut schmeckt....

Die Bald Eagles ziehen im Herbst in ihre winterquartiere in der hudson valley um. Rehe gehen aus den hoeheren lagen der berge in die taeler wo mehr schutz vor dem wetter ist...und die leute aus den staedten kommen in die Catskills und nach New England um die wunderschoenen Farben der blaetter zu geniessen und zu bestaunen. Als ich das wort "Leafer" die ersten paar male gehoert habe wusste ich nicht genau was damit gemeint war. Bis ich irgendwann auf dem heimweg hinter einem wagen fahren durfte der mit 20 auf einer 45 strasse fuhr und alle paar feet auf die bremse getreten ist und mit den haenden auf die berge gedeutet hat.
Ok, sie sehen wunderschoen aus und ich geniesse es jedesmal wenn ich heimfahre das ich dort lebe und es von meiner terasse aus geniessen kann aber muss man deshalb den ganzen feierabendverkehr zum stillstand bringen ?
zugegeben,Ich fahre auch im Herbst los und schaue mir die Gegend an, aber ich fahre zuegig und mit dem verkehr und verursache keinen stau fuer die einheimischen. Wenn ich ein bild machen will, dann fahre ich an die seite und wenn ich langsam fahren will dann lasse ich andere vor die schneller fahren wollen.

Aaron und ich werden Samstag wohl einen weiteren 3500 bewandern und von unserer Liste streichen. Ich habe vorgeschlagen das wir nun einen in & out machen.. sprich parken, 4 miles zum gipfel kehrtwendung und zurueck. Eagle Mountain bietet sich dafuer an,3600 feet, circa 45 min vom Haus.. gesamtstrecke waeren um die 8 meilen , allerdings soll es auch einer der steilsten Pfade sein, teilweise ueber 35 % steigung ... naja zumindest ist es kein bushwhack wo man klettern und krabbeln muss, sich pitchnass einen wolf laeuft und abends wie ein toter ins bett faellt. schoen aufm markierten weg, rein und raus, kein grosses geschleppe und so wie es auschaut wird das wetter angenehme 20 grad haben. 17 Gipfel haben wir geschafft 18 muessen wir noch. das traurige ist das die meisten dieser 18 keinerlei aussichtspunkte haben