TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Author: Trench Reynolds

  • Charges against Osantowski stand

    Charges against Osantowski stand

    Andrew Osantowski

    Terrorism charge sticks against Macomb teen:

    Andrew Osantowski will stand trial for the charges against him, including making a threat of terrorism. For those of you who may not remember who Andrew Osantowski is…

    Osantowski was arrested Sept. 16 after Idaho teen Celia McGinty became concerned upon reading his apparent plans in an Internet chat room for what he deemed a “rampage” at the Clinton Township public school. The girl told her father, a police officer, who in turn notified Clinton Township police. They then secured a search warrant that uncovered a cache of firearms at Osantowski’s home.

    Macomb County Circuit Judge Matthew Switalski quashed the motion to have the terrorism charges dropped. Defense attorney/comedian Brian Legghio tried to get the charges dismissed, stating the threats were protected under the First Amendment. The comedian himself had this to say…

    Defense attorney Brian Legghio called Switalski’s ruling Tuesday “a great disappointment” and said it runs contrary to the facts of the case and the way the judicial system interprets the First Amendment. He also said he is consulting with the boy’s family but wants to appeal the ruling prior to Osantowski’s trial date next week.

    “We feel the judge is wrong in his interpretation of the facts of the case and is buying the police logic of stringing together two ideas by inference to fit this charge,” he said. “When you criminalize any speech normally protected by the First Amendment, it has to be a true and unequivocal threat. You can’t criminalize the speech by reading into it what you think it means.”

    Isn’t the first thing they teach you in lawyerin’ school is about yelling “fire” in a crowded theater?

    If convicted on all charges, Osantowski could be put away for 22 years. The trial is set to take place next week.

  • The Pro-Ana Cult

    The Pro-Ana Cult

    Cult-Like Lure of ‘Ana’ Attracts Anorexics:

    This is sort of a follow-up to the entry I did about the scourge that are pro-anorexia websites.

    It’s a really good article that shows the cult-like zealotry of the pro-ana movement. I mention it because the author of the article, Martha Irvine, contacted me when she was researching for this article.

    She wanted to contact one of the pro-ana commenters from the original entry. I gave her the e-mail address she requested, but whether or not it was a legitimate one remains to be seen.

    Patting myself on the back aside, this is an article that people need to see. The fact that the article states that 40% of teens with eating disorders have been to these pro-ana sites. That’s a scary statistic indeed.

  • 5/26/05: From The Mail Sack

    5/26/05: From The Mail Sack

    Let’s get caught up with my fan mail, shall we?

    The first one is from my entry on the now-defunct Panzerfaust Records trying to recruit school kids…

    Deutschlund Oberalist Says:

    :mrgreen:Let us not forget that more silently the Muslims are penetrating our society.

    Monday May 16, 2005 @ 2:08 pm

    I love first timers. First of all, the name you used to leave your comment is spelled incorrectly. Secondly, not all Muslims are terrorists, you racist prick. And lastly, your IP address traced back to the City of Houston. I hope you’re an employee there because I sent them a nice e-mail regarding your internet practices. Have a nice 3-day weekend. I hope it’s longer than that for you.

    This next one is from the 2/24/05 Mail Sack…

    arf Says:

    yea eric and dylan are heroes to me so what!!!!!! they killed 13 people who cares if they were

    unarmed. i am sick and tired of undeserving people walking on this fuckin shithole of a planet.

    Columbine was a point in time to be rememberd as when two people took a stand for what they belive was there goal in life to take down as many worthless fucks as they culd!

    i wish i was there to have seen it. and if the so called “cowards” are burning in hell i will be very happy to se them when i get there!!!!!!!

    Saturday May 21, 2005 @ 7:25 am

    If you were there to have seen it, you’d probably have been killed. Do you think they would have cared about you? I doubt it. I hope you get to meet them too.

    Same mutant, different entry.

    arf Says:

    yes i want to shake there hands i want to pat them on the back and tell them what a great job they did.

    in response to earlier posts yes i am “psyco” and fucking proud to be! worthless motherfuckers will fall when the day is over!

    every1 is going to die you,me EVERYBODY!!!!!! so get over it. you talk about “god” you have no idea… there is no “god” all there is is mankind and it has no right to be here on this fucking planet. so enjoy the rest of your time on this earth because when its over your your gonna burn in hell just like i am and maybe then i will get to meet eric and dylan who really are “GODS”

    Saturday May 21, 2005 @ 7:41 am

    I’m just shaking my head at this one. Remember, people, this could be your kid.

    And it just wouldn’t be a Mail Sack without one from the Eric Harris journal…

    christina Says:

    To FUX:

    if you think so strongly about that then why dont you fucking back up your theory of them being cowards? it takes balls to do something like that (not that you would know what it’s like to have balls or guts of any type). Even if you dont like what they did they are still revolutionaries, infamous ones, but revolutionaries none the less.

    Sunday May 22, 2005 @ 3:26 pm

    It’s not a theory, it’s a fact that they were cowards. Shooting random and unarmed people, then killing yourself to avoid any consequences is cowardly. There’s no debate about it. Revolutionaries? What are they revolting against? The spoiled white suburban lifestyle? Please. Cowardly, delusional, psychopaths. Nothing more.

  • The Secret Service Proves My Point

    The Secret Service Proves My Point

    Feds help schools identify dangerous students:

    This is an article about how the Secret Service tries to identify students who are potential school shooters.

    I noticed that nowhere in the article does it state that the Secret Service is trying to identify bullies. What’s my point? My point is, like I’ve said before, that with each school plot that is uncovered the focus becomes less and less about bullying and more about threats of violence against schools.

    Do I support bullying? Of course not. Like I’ve said before, I was bullied in school, but I got over it. Armed retaliation is not a logical response. But don’t believe me. Listen to this kid who got busted for it…

    Now in prison, the boy said he is in more pain now than ever. “You have to go day by day, remembering what you did,” he said.

    Think. Is it really worth it? When you get arrested and land in jail, you’ll find out a whole new definition of bullying.

  • The Myth Spreads Like Cancer

    The Myth Spreads Like Cancer

    Power and control drive school bullies:

    This is a long-winded article about bullying that brings nothing new to the table. Let me sum it up for you…bullying is and has always been a problem, teachers and students do nothing about it, and here are some tips to prevent it that don’t work in the real world. It’s the usual stuff in these anti-bullying articles.

    For once, I’d like to see some real information in these articles, like telling parents that their kid may be a bully. But as we all know, it’s not about personal responsibility anymore. And speaking of which, I have a bone to pick with a few words in this article. Mainly…

    One of those kids has been in police custody since September. Andrew Osantowski, 17, who is expected to stand trial June 7 in Macomb County, is accused of creating a hit list and plotting to blow up Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton Township. Schoolmates told the Free Press at the time of his arrest that he was the victim of near-constant bullying.

    He’s not alone. From Red Lake, Minn., to Columbine High in Colorado, bullying is partly blamed for deep-seated problems that end in tragedy.

    And the myth perpetuates once more. What makes it worse is that when it’s printed in a “legitimate” media outlet, people take it to heart as fact.

    In the case of Andrew Osantowski, I only saw him mention bullying once in the chat transcript, but never said if it was him being bullied. Also, on his websites, he never talked about bullying. He spoke mostly of his past criminal exploits and his fascination with Nazism. And if you’re telling people at school that you are a Nazi, then you’re inviting trouble on to yourself.

    In the case of Jeff Weise, he was the bully rather than the bullied. According to reports, he bullied kids who listened to rap music, which is ironic considering, he listened to rap himself.

    As far as I can tell in the FBI report, Eric Harris’ bullying consisted of being made fun of in gym class on two separate occasions and Dylan Klebold bullied the mentally handicapped.

    I know this asking a little too much, but journalists, please do a little more research before listing myth and urban legend as fact. When you print these myths as fact, it lends the would-be school shooter legitimacy to their violent plans for vengeance.

  • A Questionable Comic Indeed

    A Questionable Comic Indeed

    A few months ago I told you about my favorite comic book hero, The Question.

    At the time, I lamented the fact that The Question went from a man who swore never to kill to a sociopathic killing machine.

    This past Saturday, I picked up the final issue in the limited six-issue run of the series. I was more than disappointed. Now he’s a magical sociopathic killing machine.

    In the last frame of issue #5, he’s in a port-o-john at a construction site, surrounded by gun-toting evildoers. The evildoers want to make faceless Swiss cheese out of him and shoot up the port-o-john. Of course, when they open the door, The Question isn’t in there.

    Did he pull some kind of ninja-like maneuver to evade the evildoers’ bullets? Hell no. He just casually strolled out undetected by said evildoers. So he either now has the ability to turn invisible or he has the power to cloud men’s minds. Kind of like…oh I don’t know…THE SHADOW!!!

    Then, to make matters worse, while the gun-toting evildoers were trying to figure out where he went he was whispering in their ears telling them what to do, then they would do it. So now is he not only ripping off The Shadow, he’s also learned in the ways of The Force. With no explanation about how he came to have these powers.

    It would be like reading Batman and all of a sudden, for no reason, he can turn into an actual bat. Throughout the series, they hinted that he had some kind of Shamanistic abilities, which I can kind of forgive, but to have full-blown powers just ruins the character.

    It’s like Superman said before throwing The Question out of Metropolis, “You have the stink of magic on you”.

  • A message from Kyle Hulbert

    A message from Kyle Hulbert

    About a month ago, I re-told you the story of Kyle Hulbert. If you want the whole story, you can go here, here, and here.

    Long story short, Kyle was not in his right mind when he took part in a murder, and the mastermind behind it received a lighter sentence than Kyle. Kyle puts it better in his own words.

    Anyway, Kyle wanted to correspond with me through regular mail. Unfortunately, for privacy reasons, I don’t correspond with anyone via the mail, nothing against Kyle. Today, I received a message from him through a friend of his…

    Trench,

    Greetings; I understand you desire not to correspond via regular mail all too well, and I respect it. I just wish to extend my thanks to you for the “follow up” you posted on your site. I’m sure it will be of some help and I can use all that I can get. Again, thank you, and when the day comes (not if) that I am again roaming the Night, your site will be one I plan to frequent. Intelligence is rare in this world and must be appreciated. I appreciate yours, and I appreciate your help.

    Salud,

    Kyle Hulbert

    Like I said before, I think at the time Kyle was just an instrument in the murder, like a gun. It was Clara Jane Schwartz that pulled the trigger.

    And also, like I said before, Kyle freely admits to the killing and believes that he does deserve punishment. He just believes that the punishment he received was not equitable in relation to the sentence of Clara Schwartz, who would have gained the most from the murder, and I agree.

    You know I’m not the type that wants the system to coddle criminals, but if I believe that a sentence was unjust then maybe there’s some validity to the claim. And again, like I’ve said before, don’t believe me, see it Kyle’s own words.

  • Alejandro Avila

    Alejandro Avila

    I dare…nay…I defy one person to tell me that this scumbag doesn’t absolutely deserve the death penalty. Alejandro Avila was convicted of kidnapping, raping, and murdering Samantha Runnion…

    Some details from the case…

    Samantha was abducted, kicking and screaming, from outside her home in Stanton on July 15, 2002. Her nude body was found the following day in mountains some 50 miles away, left on the ground as if it had been posed.

    Samantha’s DNA was found on the inside of the door of Avila’s car. That evidence came from a small amount of clear liquid that the prosecution said was consistent with tears or mucous.

    Avila, of Lake Elsinore, had been acquitted of molesting two girls in 2001 in neighboring Riverside County, and authorities said they believe he killed Samantha to avoid another such trial.

    Try and tell me that this assclown doesn’t deserve to be removed from society in the most vicious and excruciating way possible.

    I defy you.

  • Dawn Anna

    Dawn Anna

    Dawn Anna

    Bully breakdown:

    Dawn Anna Townsend is the mother of Lauren Townsend, who was killed in the Columbine massacre. Recently, she spoke at a Pennsylvania high school, and she had some interesting things to say…

    “They hated everybody,” Townsend said about the gunmen who killed her daughter. “They hated her (Lauren Townsend) because she breathed and that she was in their way.”

    Townsend said one of the inaccurate reports that came out of the Columbine massacre was that the two murderers were retaliating against athletes who picked on them.

    “They (the killers) were the bullies,” Townsend said.

    Emphasis mine.

    And yet 6 years later, people are still holding on to that myth.

    She also had a lot of great things to say about bullying. The sad part is that I’m sure it fell on deaf ears.

    I remember when I was in school that every time we had some kind of speaker come in to talk to us about some problem, we spent the rest of the day making fun of the presentation. I hope today’s students aren’t like that, but I know that some things never change.

    Not to mention the fact that the reality is there always have been bullies and there always will be. That’s just an unfortunate fact of life. Therefore, it’s up to the schools to realistically do something about bullying. And the parents…

    Townsend also speaks with parents. She reminds parents that their children don’t need them to be their best friends, they need them to be parents.

    “When your child becomes older, then you become best friends,” she said, urging parents, teachers, and especially students, that ignoring suspicious activity in people could have dire consequences.

    “The warning signs are a road map,” she said.

    Emphasis mine.

    It’s just too bad that a lot of people won’t listen to a woman who is saying all the right things. The right things that used to be known as common sense.

  • Another Red Lake Victim

    Another Red Lake Victim

    Wounded Student’s Mother Shows Signs Of Recovery:

    I guess we can officially say the Red Lake shootings have claimed another victim.

    I told you about Jeff May here and how he was shot in the face by Jeff Weise after stabbing Weise with a pencil while trying to defend two girls. After he was shot, Jeff May suffered a stroke. His mother, Jodi May, also suffered a stroke on April 30th. Family members attribute it to the stress of the unimaginable situation that she and her family are going through.

    It’s been a week since Jodi’s surgery, and her family has seen what they believe to be signs that she will recover. Doctors have removed the tube that was draining fluid from her head.

    “She gives us the thumbs up or down when we ask her questions,” Trisha said, the same communication Jeff used during the earliest stages of his recovery.

    “She opens her eyes,” Shane added. “She squeezes our hands when we ask her to.”

    No one can say for sure whether she understands everything they say. But they believe.

    Please keep the May family in your thoughts and prayers.