Susan Powell Buried in Mine? Susan Powell: Mommy is Looking for Crystals in a Cave?

Susan Powell was reported missing by her husband, Josh Powell, on December 7th, 2009. She has not been seen since. Her hubby Joshua Powell hasn't feigned much interest in his missing wife, and police say he is the only person of interest in the case of this missing mother of two small boys. Just minutes ago, Geraldo was on. Attorney Kimberly Guilfoyle was sitting-in for the outrageous Rivera while he is in Afghanistan embedded with our troops. Kimberly mentioned that Susan Powell may have been buried in a mine shaft, and at at some point, one of the little boys told someone that Mommy was searching for crystals in a cave. Updates when available.

Susan Powell

Now, I was only half listening. I could have gotten it wrong. I'm not finding news stories to back this up, but that's not too unusual if this is breaking.

Ms. Powell, 28, was a Wells Fargo stockbroker. She was reported missing after not showing up at work and her children were not dropped off at day care. Her car, purse and cell phone were all found in the couple's West Valley City, Utah home. Josh, 34, said he took his two small sons camping in a desert covered in snow and below-freezing temperatures. He said he last saw his wife at 12:30 a.m. that morning.

Josh Powell

Family and friends say Susan would not have walked out and left her children. Josh has not been involved in searches for his wife and in January he packed his things and moved to Washington state.

Family and friends of missing Utah mother Susan Powell's family say they are floored that her husband is packing up the family's belonging and preparing to move out state while ducking questions from police and the public....

We'd like to see him here helping out with Susan's search," Joshual Powell's brother-in-law, Kirk Graves, said, "But he's not."

Kirk Graves is married to Josh's sister, Jennifer.

Josh Powell rented a car the day after his wife disappeared, while police had his minivan in their custody. He allegedly put "hundreds of miles on it," but refuses to say where he went and...the Duces Wild Strip club say he was in the club on the very day Susan vanished:

A bartender, a bounce, and a club regular all say they saw him that day. He arrived on the afternoon of December 7 and was acting like and a**hole, complaining loudly about the bad day he was having. "He was belligerent to the other patrons and the girls at the bar," a worker told ABC-4. "He just kept saying over and over, "I've had a really bad day' and I've got a story to tell," but refused to elaborate.

Some of Susan's friends say she was planning to leave her husband. She reportedly set up her own bank account and prepared a will. After "fasting and praying," Susan decided to stay, and friends thought the marriage had improved.

Since this blog is basically a political blog, it is interesting to note that Joshua Powell's brother, Michael Powell was a national delegate for Barack Obama, and Michael ran on the Democrat ticket for a seat in the Washington State House of Representatives in fall 2009 and lost.

Powell's father, Steven Powell, lives just outside of Puyallup, Washington in a gated community. Susan's parents also live in Puyallup.

So about the mine story and the crystals and the children, there is a lot of talk around the Internet - just chat, about the mines in the area. What grabbed me tonight was hearing Guilfoyle say one of the children said mommy was searching for crystals. I'll update when information is available. Read about the desolate campground Powell says he took his children to on the frigidly-cold morning that Susan Powell disappeared.

Muslim Beheadings Explained Video: Beheading Uppity Women

This video from Holger Awakens and Rage Boy. Thank you Holger!

Global Jihad Explains Beheadings of Uppity Women (video)

David Paterson Aide Accused of Violent Assault: Paterson Aide David W. Johnson Suspended No Pay

An aide to New York Governor David Paterson is accused of violently assaulting an unnamed woman. Last Fall, the woman went to court to get a protective order against the aide, David W. Johnson. Since that time, the victim has had to walk a minefield to bring attention to her case. Has the influence of a Governor's office abused the civil rights of a victim of assault? One thing is not in doubt: it took 4 months to investigate Johnson and suspend his pay until the inquiry is complete.

The alleged assault is not the only thing raising eyebrows around the Governor's office.  "Current and former senior aides," have expressed concern about the influence Johnson has on the governor, but no specifics were given.

David Johnson, 37, has been with Paterson in several positions, beginning as an intern when Paterson was a state legislator. He has served as a driver, a "protector," and a scheduler.

In recent months, however, Mr. Johnson’s ascent has been striking: he is now one of the most senior people in the governor’s administration, paid $132,000. He is described as Mr. Paterson’s closest confidant, a man with a designated room for his overnight stays in the Executive Mansion, and a broadening role in areas like campaign strategy, government initiatives and the management of the governor’s staff.  

Recent investigations show that Johnson has been arrested twice on felony drug charges as a teenager, and at least one misdemeanor assault arrest sometime in the 1990's.

Johnson and the victim were apparently living together along with her 13-year-old son when the assault happened in their apartment:

The alleged assault happened shortly before 8 p.m. on Halloween on the apartment she had shared with Mr. Johnson and her 13-year-old son for about four years, according to police records.

She told the police that Mr. Johnson, who is 6-foot-7, had choked her, stripped her of much of her clothing, smashed her against a mirrored dresser and taken two telephones from her to prevent her from calling for help, according to police records.  

The victim has received protective orders against Johnson twice. She fears retaliation, and has asked that her name not be released. A protective order in New York State do not take effect until the person has been served. Apparently, Johnson was able to evade receiving the documents, or perhaps there was little effort to find him. It's unclear. She also told the court on several occasions that the State Police were harrassing her.

 In the ensuing months, she returned to court twice to press her case, complaining that the State Police had been harassing her to drop it. The State Police, which had no jurisdiction in the matter, confirmed that the woman was visited by a member of the governor’s personal security detail.

Then, just before she was due to return to court to seek a final protective order, the woman got a phone call from the governor, according to her lawyer. She failed to appear for her next hearing on Feb. 8, and as a result her case was dismissed.  

Many details of the governor’s role in this episode are unclear, but the accounts presented in court and police records and interviews with the woman’s lawyer and others portray a brutal encounter, a frightened woman and an effort to make a potential political embarrassment go away.   

Johnson has had three other known "altercations with women." Two led to calls to police. One of them required "the intervention" of David Paterson's chief of staff." That's of no consequences, however, according to Paterson whose office said "there had never been a judicial finding," against Johnson. When Paterson was a state senator, a witness said Johnson "punched a girlfriend" outside of Paterson's Harlem office. Johnson denied the report.

Paterson has asked that Attorney General Cuomo investigate his office and it's handling of the matter. David W. Johnson has been suspended without pay.

Here's how it works when you are connected to the office of the New York State Governor - the victim is given "options."

The State Police superintendent, Harry J. Corbitt, said he was told of the episode within 24 hours after it occurred. He confirmed that a state police officer had met with the woman, even though the episode occurred in the jurisdiction of the New York Police Department. He said the visit was made only to tell the woman of her options, including seeking counseling. 

...we never pressured her not to press charges,” said Mr. Corbitt, whom the governor appointed. “We just gave her options.”   

This article has more about the visit from the State Police and you can hear Corbitt spinning. We'll see what AG Cuomo's office says about David Johnson. It only took 4 months to get the investigation going and his pay suspended.

Saudi Slapping Women Around: Muslim Spousal Abuse

Oh the controversy! Is it okay to slap your wife's face if she overspends, or is it not? Is Muslim spousal abuse reasonable? Can punishing your wife be considered "spousal abuse?" This question has Saudi Arabia pondering. These were the topics of a recent Saudi "Domestic Violence" seminar.

Spousal Abuse

Reportedly, women in the seminar audience were shocked that the subject of slapping a wife was brought up for discussion. This leaves me wondering just what the women thought they would talk about or learn in a "domestic abuse" seminar. Maybe the women thought the seminar purely preventative. Maybe they would receive recipe ideas so that their man would not whack them for inadequate cooking skills, a bottle of Clorox to clean better, or maybe instruction on how to raise their man-child to be like his father...maybe never, never ask the kid to take out the trash, or make the bed, or treat his sister with respect? According to this CNN interview, the country needs Saudi King Abdullah to come out against slapping wives, which will signal to Saudi judges to cut-out the support for domestic violence. So far, this King, characterized as a "reformer" in the video, has not weighed-in. While not mentioned in the interview, I'll point out that murdering your daughter for fraternizing with a man the dad doesn't like, is also not considered domestic violence or abuse, but a justifiable honor killing.

Muslim Woman - Honor Killing (Photo)

In the West, we seem to offer no relief or voice to the abuse of Muslim women. Psychology professor Phyllis Chesler in her book, The Death of Feminism, says there is an "unwillingness to take on Islamic sexism because of "an...American-blaming position." Feminists have embraced "an anti-Americanism that is toxic, heartless, mindless and suicidal." Philosopher Martha Nussbaum wrote the following in the New Republic in 1999:

Too many fashionable gender theorists, she said, have lost their dedication to the public good. Their "hip quietism...collaboreates with evil.

Nussbaum was accused of "flag waving" and being on a "civilizing mission." In this article written by Christina Hoff Sommers appearing in The Weekly Standard on May 21, 2007, Hoff points out that the name calling: flag waver and civilizing, ignores Nussbaum's "core point:"

Two few feminist theorists are showing concern for the millions of women trapped in blatantly misogynist cultures outside the United States."

In November 2007, we learned of a British schoolteacher in the Sudan sentenced to a Sudanese jail for "allowing" a 7-year-old male student to name his teddy bear "Muhammad." In Saudia Arabia, a woman out with a man who was not a male relative was gang-raped. The rape was upheld as justified because the woman defied Sharia Law. She was punished with prison time and over 200 lashes. She will be shunned by family and friends for the rest of her life. Atlas Shrugs shows what 50 lashes does to a woman and suggests we think about the devastation of 200 lashes. On both incidents, American feminists refused to say anything. Radio talk show host and self-described "progressive feminist, Tammy Bruce, explained the silence this way:

...God forbid we should be reminded that there is a disturbed enemy [Islamic terrorists] out there worth fighting, and God forbid that for one moment we should suggest that the United States might not be the heinous imperialist the Left casts us to be.

The truth is, those of us who are appalled at the treatment of female Muslims, no matter where they live on the face of the earth, the reality is, we can do nothing to shield them from spousal abuse, but that does not excuse silence and an absence of outrage. While we are trying to make the world sit up and pay attention, the only solution for these women is to leave Islam and get to a non-Islamic country. Islam is the tormentor in the guise of a Muslim man. It is a very, very simple thing to understand, although most are unwilling to let their minds go to that enlightened place.

Saudi Slapping Women Around Okay (Video)