IS RUNNING AWAY A CRIME?

Well ... everyone else in the free world is going to be weighing in on the Jennifer Wilbanks thing today, so I might as well get my licks in.  There's no easy response to Jennifer's flight to Albuquerque.  Face it, we don't know the whole story.  So I'll just cover a few of the possible scenarios.

Such a big wedding!  Oh my!

Let's face it.  These two had been living together for five years.  When you've been living together for five years you should just go out there, get your license, and have a nice quiet little ceremony somewhere.  Huge weddings are fine, but aren't they really for couples who are just starting their lives together?  Jennifer and John Mason weren't starting anything.  They were merely legitimizing what they began years ago.  Eight bridal showers?  Twenty-eight bridesmaids and groomsmen?  Six hundred guests?  A bit much, don't you think?

But maybe the big wedding wasn't her idea!

Many, many years ago I had a relative commit suicide over an unwilling participation in a huge wedding.  Is it possible that Jennifer Wilbanks ran away for the same reason?  Was this huge wedding her idea, or was it something that was more or less forced on her by her parents?  I don't know if we'll ever know the answer to this one, but is it possible that Jennifer wanted a quieter wedding, but was being compelled to participate in something that she felt was getting completely out of control?  Sometimes you wonder just who these weddings are for .. the bride and groom, or the parents?  Just a thought.

Maybe five years was enough!

Now John Mason seems like a perfectly nice guy to me, but I wasn't the one who was going to marry him last Saturday.  Again, we don't know ... but maybe Jennifer just decided that five years was enough, and ran.  

But this much seems certain ...

Now maybe Jennifer Wilbanks is profoundly mentally disturbed.  Maybe, but not likely.  The truth is more likely that Jennifer is a completely self-absorbed, narcissistic brat who thinks somehow that it really is all about her.  What an incredibly self-centered thing she did.  Certainly she must have known of the fear that would have gripped the very souls of her fiancee and her parents if she went running and just didn't return.  Come on, folks ... she's not a child.  Did she really think that she would be able to just get on a bus and head out of town without creating some sort of a panic back at home?  And just what was it that cause her to end her little running game and call home?  Homesick?  No.  Remorse?  Evidently not.  It wasn't out of concern over the situation she had created back home in Duluth, Georgia.  The poor little runaway bride just ran out of money.  

Where does this go from here?

Well, a lot of people want her charged with some sort of a crime.  Fine, I can understand that.  But what crime?  Now I never practiced criminal law .. but the only crime I can think of is that she made a false report to the Albuquerque police.  She said she had been abducted.  Once she got to the police station it didn't take long for experienced interrogators to get to the bottom of her story, and the whole abduction nonsense was dead.  The Albuquerque police have said she won't be charged.  Can she be charged in Georgia for a false report to the Albuquerque police?  That would be a first.  

But wait!  Maybe we have this going for us.  In a phone call to Duluth Police Chief Randy Belcher poor little Jennifer also said that she had been abducted ... abducted from Duluth!  So there we have her making a false report of a crime to Duluth police!  Now there's something you can hang a charge on!  Go for it, Danny Porter!  It wasn't a crime for her to buy that bus ticket ahead of time, as is reported.  It wasn't a crime for her to get on that bus.  It wasn't a crime for her not to tell her fiance or her parents and friends where she was going.  It wasn't a crime for her not to call home.  Other than the false report to the cops, I can't see anything that she did that was illegal.  Well ... maybe fraud.  If she did intentionally deceive people .. and if people were deceived by her actions to their detriment ... well, maybe so.

In fact, maybe fraud could be the basis for a lawsuit brought by the city of Duluth and the State of Georgia.  There were thousands of man-hours spent by the Duluth police, the Georgia State patrol, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.  Someone ought to try to recoup those dollars .. as unlikely as that would be.  How many victims of actual, real crimes could have been helped with the money spent looking for Jennifer?  How many actual crimes might have been prevented if law enforcement hadn't been so busy looking for the runaway bride?   And what about the caterers?  Do you think they got paid?  Hope so.  Maybe they have a cause of action.  And then there's this story that she pre-arranged transportation to the bus station in Duluth.  Pre-arranged?  With who?  Certainly the person who took her to the bus station knew of the tremendous upheaval she caused back in Duluth.  Perhaps here is someone else who needs to be charged with a crime.  Is covering up an attempted fraud a crime?

I just love the statement Jennifer's family came out with on Saturday.  They said:  "We're so proud Jennifer is alive and well.  It has been determined Jennifer had some issues the family was not aware of. The family would appreciate some time and space to assist Jennifer in dealing with these issues."  Oh, now isn't that just special.  Jennifer has issues.  She has half the freakin' nation looking for her, spending taxpayer resources by the bucket full ... and she has issues.  Now that the cops aren't stomping through briars and creek beds looking for her body, the family wants some time to assist Jennifer in dealing with her "issues."  How nice.  And just who is going to help the taxpayers deal with their issues?  Issues like all the money that was spent because of her little stunt.

Hey .. Jennifer!  Here's an issue for you to deal with.  What's going to happen the next time a woman IS actually abducted on her evening run?  Will the law enforcement effort be just a bit less intense because of your childish little stunt?  Will some woman actually suffer while police are pondering whether or not this could be yet another runaway bride?  Many people thought that John Mason just might be guilty of murder because of the recent Scott Peterson case.  How many women truly in danger will be disbelieved because of Jennifer Wilbanks?

And just when is her appearance on Oprah?

Oh .. you just know this is coming, don't you?  Book deals .. perhaps a movie ... and then the crowning glory, Jennifer on Oprah!  Maybe the book deal would be a good idea.  Jennifer can pledge 100% of her royalties to pay back the people of Duluth for the money she cost them and the damage she did to Duluth's peaceful reputation.  That ought to just about take care of it. 

Then you can just move.

If Jennifer does sign a movie or book deal and doesn't pledge the revenues to those she damaged, then let's all follow the advice that a Duluth hairdresser named Lorraine gave to the entire nation on her weekend appearance on CNN.   "Don't friggen' watch it."   I think I like Lorraine.

Oh, by the way.  Has a new date for the wedding been set?  Run John! 

WELL, YOU KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.

You do remember the case of that out-of-control five-year-old in St. Petersburg, Florida, don't you?  The police finally had to handcuff her in order to keep her from hurting someone else or herself.  Well, the inevitable has happened.  The little girl was black.  At least some of the police who showed up subdue her were white.  That just can't be allowed to go unanswered.  So, here comes the NAACP to the rescue.  The NAACP wants the police disciplined.  I'm sure nobody is surprised.  Business as usual for the NAACP .. playing the race card to get attention.

AN ABANDONED U-HAUL?

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OK .. now just how does the story of an abandoned U-Haul become important enough to make it to the Nuze?  Go back ten years ago to Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.  , that's how.  It was a U-Haul truck full of explosives that destroyed the Murrah Federal Building and killed 168 people.  A U-Haul used as a truck bomb.  It happened once, but somehow authorities in our country act like it could never happen again.

Since 1995 I'm not aware of any city in the United States that put any restrictions on rental trucks.  Today you can drive a rental truck  down virtually any street in the middle of New York City or Washington DC.  Any one of those trucks could be filled with enough explosives to kill thousands.  All you have to do is set it off at the right place at the right time.  Restrictions?  I know of none.

But then what about small planes?  Oh yes, you can still drive a rental truck through downtown Chicago .. but Chicago's pathetic Mayor wants all small airplanes banned from flying over the city.  Why?  Terrorism fears.  A small airplane has never been used in a terrorist attack.  Trucks have.  Ban trucks?  No.  Ban small airplanes?  Let's do it.

The question, then, is just how in the hell that rental truck got to the curb at Hartsfield anyway.  How long did it sit there with the driver gone?  How many people would have been killed if it had been full of explosives?  What safeguards were in place to have prevented a truck loaded with explosives to get that close to the airport terminal?

Meanwhile .. inside .. TSA agents were busy making people remove their shoes.

ISLAMIC KILLERS TAKE ANOTHER HOSTAGE

If you watched any news at all yesterday, you no doubt caught the sad spectacle of the latest hostage video from Iraq. Sixty-three year-old Douglas Wood was shown seated between two representatives of the "religion of peace" who were wearing masks and pointing guns at his head.  Wood sat there pleading for his life.   It's worth taking notice of how this tragic situation is going to be handled.

Douglas Wood is an Australian. The government of his home country has already responded to the tape. Their answer? No deal. Australian Prime Minister John Howard had this to say: "Everybody knows the position of the Australian government in relation to hostage demands. We can't alter that position and we won't alter that position. We can't have the foreign policy of this country dictated by terrorists." Right on, mate.

So why won't Howard negotiate? Because he knows that if he does, the Islamic bastards that captured Wood will now have an incentive to capture other Australian citizens. Countries like Italy that pay millions to terrorists to buy the freedom contribute to the problem. They make it a very worthwhile enterprise to take hostages.

And if it's not for the money, then they surely do it for the publicity. Between Al-Jazeera and the networks in this country, the Islamofascist jihadists are guaranteed they are going to be on TV. They look at potential hostages as their meal ticket to fame and fortune. The only thing they got wrong this time is they captured an Australian instead of an Italian.

Sadly, Douglas Wood will probably be executed. He will be killed by his Islamic captors in the name of Allah. And so it goes with the violent and vicious religion of Islam.

IRAN SAYS U.S. NEEDS PUNCH IN MOUTH

An interesting little quote today making the rounds from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He was touring Iran and made the comment, picked up by the BBC, that the United States was arrogant, rude and deserved a punch in the mouth. He also said that the United States had no right to tell his country whether or not they needed nuclear technology.

Really. Perhaps it's time for a change in strategy with the Iranians. We've been sitting back and letting the Euro-Weenies try and take care of this one by negotiating, and it's gotten us exactly nowhere. They fully intend to press on with their quest to acquire the nuclear technology and enrich the uranium they need to make nuclear weapons.

How long will we stand idly by and let it happen? Iran has advocated the destruction of Israel and the United States...what do you suppose they'll do with nukes once they have them? That's right...they'll either use them or sell them.  And don't forget the little "punch in the mouth" line.  Just what do you think this weird-beard meant by this?  Is that a punch in the mouth he wants to deliver? If so, how?  Maybe with a little nuclear device smuggled into New York City?  

It is in the interest of the safety and security of the United States and its citizens that Iran's nuclear capabilities be destroyed.  Now, not later.  The peace-at-any-price crowd in this country has made that task politically difficult, if not impossible.

Time to bomb the reactors. That should change their tune. 

INTEMPERATE THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Who is going to be the first prison guard to get a shot at that randy little Lynndie England when she gets sent off to a military prison?  Do you think they'll draw straws, or will it be some sort of a lottery?  

AND BEFORE WE GET TO THE READING ASSIGNMENTS

I would like to thank Sean Hannity for the extra-clean studios I get to broadcast from this morning at our flagship station, News Talk 750 WSB in Atlanta.  Sean, you see, will be doing his show from these very same studios this afternoon.  His presence has created quite a stir in these parts ... and the cleaning crew was in the studio over the weekend with a vengeance.  We need to get him down here more often.  I can't even find traces of Clark Howard's peanut butter on the computer keyboards.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Today, Neal talks with Don Corace, author of Offshore.

The "Foxization" of American News.  It's a good thing, actually.  

The U.S. soldiers that shot at the car carrying Communist journalist Giuliana Sgrena have been officially exonerated. Also, satellite images show that the car was going 60 miles an hour, not 30 miles an hour as the Italians want to believe.

The Chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is trying to clean up the liberal bias at PBS, and naturally, the New York Times is there to report on the 'chilling effect.'

Jack Kelly says the only thing harder to find in Washington these days than a Democrat with a conscience is a Republican with a spine. Republicans aren't standing up for anything, and they're paying for it.

The despicable Bush-bashing performance of the media at George Bush's press conference last week did not escape the notice of the Media Research Center, who weighs in with a report.  Here's the latest MRC CyberAlert!

When the media or Hollywood covers terrorism, they whitewash over the facts. Diana West has some examples, including the most obvious: how does Al-Jazeera get the tapes from the terrorists?

How much do we know about the people opposing John Bolton? John Leo says some of them are liberal Democrats...of course, you won't hear that from the mainstream media.

There's no love lost between the respective camps of The Poodle and The Hildabeast. Apparently they're already fighting about 2008. Of course, Hillary Clinton never wanted John Kerry to be elected president anyway.

This is rich...Hillary Clinton is actually accusing George Bush of being responsible for North Korea's nuclear program. This from the woman whose husband negotiated a broken treaty with The Gargoyle, allowing him to build nuclear plants. The White House responded accordingly.

Racism is on the verge of extinction, but not to those addicted to the allure of victimhood, writes Steve Chapman. As long as there are race warlords to fan the flames of racism, people will believe it exists.

Unbelievably, none other than the Washington Post is now admitting that the war in Iraq has made the United States a safer place. Perhaps there's hope for the liberal media....probably not.

George Bush is calling the Democrat's bluff on Social Security.

The collapse of the big media.  Poor liberals, they just can't seem to keep their grip on the information infrastructure in the United States. 

Another critical look at what passes for border control along our Arizona border with Mexico.

Morning Sickness: If you think your...equipment...is worth sharing with more ladies than you have time for, maybe it could be immortalized in sex toy form.

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