[StBernard] TRUE 923: Tot Tats | Uniformly Stupid | Savannah | Advice? Sure.

[Westley Annis]

SINCE 1994 and reaching at least 42,639 subscribers, this is the 923rd
  weekly issue of Randy Cassingham's...

THIS is TRUE: 19 February        Copyright 2012 http://www.thisistrue.com
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I'D RATHER SUPPORT A CHARITY FOR MENTAL FITNESS: Peter Stevens was
  sitting in his car in Cambridge, England, when a thief opened his back
  door, grabbed his laptop computer, and ran. Stevens chased after him;
  despite the thief's youth and head start, the 45-year-old Stevens
  caught up with him after just 225m. The lad was too pooped to stop
  Stevens from taking his computer back. "I was appalled by how unfit
  this guy was," Stevens said. "I thought it would take a lot longer to
  catch up with him." Because "it was such a lousy performance on the
  thief's part and it made me worried about the fitness of youngsters,"
  Stevens made a donation the next day to a charity that promotes
  physical fitness. (RC/Cambridge News) ...Because next time, he wants a
  challenge.

REALLY CAUSED A FLAP: Bird watchers in New Zealand were excited to spot a
  new species of bird in Dannevirke. The new species looked like a
  typical harrier hawk, but with bright red feathers. "Various people got
  involved, like experts who thought maybe it was a new strain or a new
  type of bird or whatever," said a spokesman for the local SPCA, "but
  then feathers were being found and it was obvious somebody was actually
  painting these hawks." Investigation tracked the spray-painting to
  Grant Michael Teahan, 39, a dairy farmer, who was trapping the birds,
  spray-painting them, and then letting them go again. Teahan was
  convicted of two counts of ill-treating an animal; he was fined
  NZ$5,000 (US$4,180), and he may have to pay as much as NZ$15,000 to
  cover the cost of the investigation and trial. (RC/Manawatu Standard)
  ...But what about the new species of fish spotted in local reservoirs 
  -- red herrings?

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TATS FOR TOTS: After Malik Napier, 12, of Acworth, Ga., was hit by a car
  and killed, his brother, Gaquan, 10, made a request. "My son came to me
  and said, 'Mom, I want to get a tattoo with Malik on it, rest in
  peace'," said his mother, Chuntera. "It made me feel good to know that
  he wanted his brother on him." So, Chuntera took Gaquan to get a tattoo
  with his brother's name and basketball jersey number. But Georgia law
  prohibits tattoos on anyone under 18, and when school authorities
  spotted the artwork, they called the police and Chuntera was arrested.
  Police are also trying to locate the artist who gave Gaquan the tattoo,
  but say Chuntera is refusing to cooperate. "What do I say to a child
  who wants to remember his brother?" she says. "It's not like he was
  asking me, 'Can I get Sponge Bob?'" But Acworth Chief of Police Michael
  Wilkie disagrees. "The tragedy of this is that the child's tattoos are
  some sort of memorial to a sibling who was lost in a car accident a few
  years ago," he said. "It may be that professional or religious
  counseling for their/her grief would be more helpful than anything."
  (MS/ABC-TV) ...And here we thought "the tragedy" was the kid being
  killed by a car.

THE MOST FUN YOU CAN HAVE IN UNIFORM: Pinal County, Ariz., Sheriff Paul
  Babeu, 43, has resigned as the Arizona campaign co-chair for Republican
  presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, even though Babeu says it's
  "completely false" that he threatened his now ex-boyfriend with
  deportation if he revealed their sexual affair. Babeu now acknowledges
  he is gay -- "In America, we celebrate our differences. That's what
  makes America exceptional," he says -- but insists neither he nor his
  lawyer threatened his ex-lover, known only as a Mexican named "Jose",
  who was a campaign volunteer for Babeu's own political ambitions. Babeu
  is running for Congress as a hard-line border security Republican.
  (RC/Arizona Republic) ...Finally, a clear explanation of what
  Republicans mean when they demand a "hard line" on illegal immigrants.

FOX IN THE HEN HOUSE: "Alaska Wildlife Chief Charged with Illegal
  Hunting, Resigns" -- Anchorage Daily News headline

THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS: MS-Mike Straw, RC-Randy Cassingham

DID YOU FIND an error? See http://www.thisistrue.com/errata.html

I HAVE A SPECIAL "GIFT" for you: see below. But before that....

SAVANNAH UPDATE: I'm heading to Savannah this weekend, and what a great
  place to have a Reader Gathering. We'll have a table THIS MONDAY --
  February 27 -- starting at about 5:30 at Kevin Barry's Irish Pub, 117 W
  River St. I'm not sure who all the special guests will be, but it will
  for sure include my wife, Kit, as well as tech guru Leo Notenboom of
  http://Ask-Leo.com and maybe others. Come by for a free Get Out of Hell
  Free card and some fun conversation.

AS REQUESTED, I've put last week's story about the prisoner-made
  alterations of the Vermont State Police seal, illustrated with photos
  so you can see the alterations clearly. There's an update, too: the
  investigation has been completed. http://www.ThisIsTrue.com/d-c7

THE FINAL TWO stories this week -- the zero tolerance for the kid who got
  a tattoo and the Arizona sheriff -- are bringing a lot of comments (and
  I had more to say about both too!), so I've put the stories and more on
  my blog: http://ThisIsTrue.com/d-c8

I'M CERTAINLY NOT SURPRISED. I talked two years ago about an American war
  hero -- a Medal of Honor recipient -- whose good name was being dragged
  through the mud for really ugly reasons. I refer to Ed Freeman, a
  Vietnam war chopper pilot who risked everything to save the lives of 14
  fellow servicemen. Well, the pattern continues: his name is STILL being
  used to promote racism. The full-of-B.S. meme is going around AGAIN,
  and you need to know where to send people when they send it to you.
  http://ThisIsTrue.com/d-c8 has the story, and an update. *sigh*

                                  o o o

OK, NOW TO THE GIFT. A friend who is a career military man is retiring
  soon. He's still pretty young, so he asked for some advice on what to
  do next; he sees that I'm pretty successful, and he wants to be
  successful too, in the next phase of his life.

  His question was: how does he figure out what's really right for him,
  for what he wants to do next? After all, I had an abrupt career change,
  from the government sector to publishing. My reply was fairly detailed.
  After sending it to my friend, I also sent it to the smaller of my two
  Mastermind groups, asking for their feedback. Some of their responses:
  "Wow!", "INNOVATIVE", "Thought provoking indeed!", "LOVED the article,
  literally devoured the whole thing! (Okay, not quite literally, but you
  know what I mean)", "What a great job Randy has done at capturing and
  articulating all of this", and "This is HUGE gift." I thought I'd share
  that gift with you, too.

  The group gave some great feedback, asking me to expand on some things
  which might not have been explained adequately, and there were several
  questions. All of that went into fleshing out an essay I've titled
  Planning for the Rest of Your Life, which is now posted on my blog:
  http://www.thisistrue.com/d-ce

  It's solid career (and life!) advice that will work for anyone.

  By the way: the friend who asked about this the same guy who asked for
  advice about becoming a writer. My answer to that is in the essay,
  There's No Such Thing as Writer's Block, which you might remember.
  That's linked from the new page.

                                  o o o

SEVEN *MORE* STORIES: "Terrorist" found in Florida, but.... OK, what the
  cops said about a robbery suspect they chased down is just, well,
  BIZARRE! The most aggressive door-to-door salesman EVER is arrested;
  you won't believe his sales pitch! State legislator proposes legalizing
  marijuana -- so the state can sell it. Police ask man about his beaten
  wife; he didn't do it, he insists -- a ghost did! Woman busted for
  drunk driving says she couldn't do balance-related field sobriety tests
  -- "not with her big boobies." Cop saves young boy's life ...and is
  then hung out to dry by his department. You can still read all of these
  stories: just ask for your upgrade to start with the 19 February issue.
  http://thisistrue.com/upgrade.html

THE LATEST POSTING TO JUMBO JOKE: But You, Dear Reader, Are Blameless!
  (Or, "how America works lately.") http://www.JumboJoke.com

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TEN YEARS AGO IN TRUE: Sometimes, childhood taunts come true in
  unexpected ways: http://www.thisistrue.com/8050

  And don't forget http://i.thisistrue.com for a new story every day on
  your Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, or other web-enabled phone!

THIS WEEK'S HONORARY UNSUBSCRIBE goes to William Lamers, who made dying a
  LOT easier on us all (including those left grieving). For his story see
  http://www.HonoraryUnsubscribe.com/william_lamers_jr.html

YOU CAN REALLY HELP TRUE: Send this issue (in its entirety, please) to a
  friend with your personal recommendation. A friend told YOU about this
  newsletter, right? Pass the favor on! Thanks.

I'M LITERALLY GIVING AWAY the secret to my business success in a free
  home-study e-mail course: http://ThisIsTrue.com/d-mastermind

TIRED OF BEING TOLD WHERE TO GO? "Get Out of Hell Free" with our popular
  and (in?)famous cards, created in response to a reader telling Randy he
  was doomed. http://www.GOOHF.com

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