^_^

dichotomization:

Despite his cutesy nickname there was nothing baby-like about Lester Gillis “Baby face Nelson”, who had a fearsome temper and propensity for violence, resulting in him killing more than a dozen policemen. Born in Chicago, Illinois, on 6 December 1908, he began his criminal career at an early age as a car thief and was arrested aged 13 and sent to a borstal. Two years later he was released on parole, but within five months he was returned on a similar charge. Like many criminals, Nelson was on the short side at 1.63 m (5ft 4in). He was arrested for bank robbery in Chicago on 15 January 1931 and jailed for a year but escaped on 17 February 1932, after overpowering a guard. The following year, with safe-cracking Eddie Bentz, Nelson went to Grand Haven, Michigan on 18 August 1933 and robbed a bank. The robbery was a disaster but most of those involved escaped. In 1934 Nelson joined John Dillinger’s gang. Following Dillinger’s death, Nelson became Public Enemy Number One. Just four months after Dillinger was shot to death, Nelson met his own end. On 27 November 1934 Nelson, his wife Helen Gillis, and John Paul Chase were driving in Barrington outside Chicago when they saw a police car coming towards them. Nelson had a pathological hatred of the police and federal agencies, even going so far as to complete a list of their unmarked car registration numbers. He recognised the car and gave chase, resulting in his car ending up in a ditch. Nelson came out of the ditch firing a Thompson sub-machine gun, fatally wounding Special Agent Herman Hollis, 31, and Inspector Samuel P. Cowley, 35. Nelson was hit 17 times but with the help of his wife and Chase, made a getaway in the FBI car. The next day the FBI found the bodies of their two agents and in a ditch in front of St Peters Catholic Cemetary in Skokie they found the corpse of Baby face Nelson. His wife later said that he had died at precisely 8 p.m. and she had wrapped a blanket around him because “Lester always hated to be cold.” He was 25-years-old.

dichotomization:

In 1979, a 16-year-old high school student opened fire at an elementary school in San Diego, California, killing two and injuring several others. The sniper, Brenda Spencer, was a problem child and he product of a broken home. She lived with her father after her parents’ divorce several years earlier. Spencer was frequently absent from school, abused drugs, and committed petty thefts. She enjoyed watching violent programs on television and shooting birds. She once used a BB gun to shoot out the windows of Cleveland Elementary School, located across the street from her home. For Christmas 1978, Spencer’s father gave her a semi-automatic .22-caliber rifle and about 500 rounds of ammunition.

In early January 1979, apparently preparing for an attack, Spencer moved her weapons to the garage and dug a tunnel as a hideout in her backyard. During the week on January 22, she announced that she planned to “do something big to get on TV.” On Monday morning, January 29, she watched the principal of Cleveland Elementary School approach the school’s gate. As Principal Burton Wragg opened the gate to the waiting school children, Brenda opened fire. She killed Wragg and janior Michael Suchar. One of the first police officers to arrive on the scene, 30-year-old Robert Robb, was wounded in the neck as he helped a victim. Nine children from age six to twelve were wounded during the twenty-minute shooting spree, including two 9-year-olds, Christy Burell and Monica Selvig.

For the next several hours, Spencer hid in her house. Talking with the police and reporters by telephone, she explained, “I just started shooting. That’s it. I just did it for the fun of it. I just don’t like Mondays…I did this because it’s a way to cheer up the day. Nobody likes Mondays.” Six hours after the shooting, Brenda walked out of her house, laid down her rifle, and surrendered to the police. After a change of venue, Spencer was tried in Santa Ana, California, and convicted of two counts of murder and one count of assault. She received two concurrent sentences, a twenty-five-year to life term for murder and a forty-eight-year term for assault with a deadly weapon. Spencer’s Monday morning shooting spree prompred the song “I Don’t Like Mondays,” by the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats.

stfuprolifers:

kor71:

If you think abortions ok, remember what Horton says.

Awkward. Dr. Seuss and his wife were really liberal and pro-choice. They’ve even threatened to sue pro-life organizations for using this quote the wrong way (the way you’re doing it actually). I guess you didn’t already know that Horton Hears a Who is about the American occupation of Japan post-WWII. He even dedicated it to his dear Japanese friend.

Mrs. Geisel (Mrs. Seuss) continued donating to Planned Parenthood and advocating for reproductive health and rights after her husband died.