Daily Commentary – Wednesday, January 22, 2014 – Drew Peterson’s Lawyer Files Murder Conviction Appeal

• Claiming the judge and Drew’s defense attorney both made critical errors leading to Drew’s conviction

Daily Commentary – Wednesday, January 22, 2014 Download

DNA Tests Confirm the Remains Found on Queens side of the East River are that of Missing 14 Year Old Avonte Oquendo

Sad news in the story of missing autistic teen Avonte Oquendo …

New York City medical examiners have confirmed that the remains found in Queens last week along the East River were those of Avonte Oquendo, the 14 year old boy with autism who went missing from his school in October 2013.  After months of searching for Avonte Oquendo, the teenage boy who had autism and who couldn’t speak or care for himself is now tragically over. DNA tests confirmed that Avonte’s remains were found last week in the College Point section of Queens, miles up the East River from where he was last seen, leaving his school in Long Island City.

CNN:

On Tuesday — five days after those body parts and scraps of clothing were found — Vanessa Fontaine learned that DNA tests proved her son’s remains indeed had been found.

Her lawyer said that Fontaine has been stoic, strong, focused and hopeful throughout this ordeal. But after police told her the news on Tuesday, “she finally just broke down … just crying and crying.”

“I kept saying, Vanessa, say it again,” David Perecman said of his muddled phone conversation. To which she replied through the tears, “It’s Avonte, it’s Avonte. (The police) came. It’s Avonte.”

So ended not just her family’s search for the teenager, but that of the United States’ most populated city. Police deployed sniffer dogs, combed surveillance footage and repeatedly canvassed each of New York City’s 468 subway stations because of Avonte’s love of trains.

The family is contemplating that they might sue the Department of Education for their negligence in Avonte’s death. Honestly, I can’t blame them one bit, especially when the 14 year old autistic boy who could not communicate with others was supposed to have been supervised at all times.

“They will go through the stages that you have to go through in order to accept what has happened,” Perecman said. “I’m sure there will be anger.”

Anger, he said, directed at what happened at the school, where a child with severe autism was able to run out the door, as seen on surveillance footage.

“There were so many things that went wrong,” Perecman said. “It befuddles the mind.”

Then, he said, the school’s immediate response delayed the search process.

“I am convinced in my heart of hearts, had a prompt reaction occurred, had some of this cascade of errors not occurred, that the police would have been called, they would have went outside and they would have found Avonte before this happened. He’d be home right now,” Perecman said.

For more updates, read others opinions and to provide your own, go to Scared Monkeys Missing Persons Forum: Avonte Oquendo.

Larry Sabato Says Hillary Clinton is No Slam Dunk in 2016

Larry Sabato of the Crystal Ball says in the Politico that Hillary Clinton is no sure thing in 2016.

How much will it be political precedent and how much will it be America’s strong distaste with liberalism, big government and eight years of a failed Obama presidency and his policies that will make 2016 not be a slam dunk for Hillary Clinton? Then again, how much will it be Hillary’s own doing with her disastrous handling of Benghazi, where four Americans, including Ambassador Stevens died or her own not doing in that what did she ever really do as a Senator or Secretary of State? But as Hillary Clinton says, what difference does it make!!!

Obamacare is a disaster, the economy stinks, job growth is terrible, food stamps are at record levels, federal debt is at all time highs and growing, the Middle East is a powder keg … why would America want 4 more years of the Obama administration?

How much will Benghazi and “What Difference Does It Make” will doom Hillary?

Inevitably, she will consider how much she wants, or is able, to keep going at a killer pace throughout her 70s and, more important, her chances of prevailing in November 2016.

Much of it is out of her hands. Low job approval numbers for President Obama, should they persist, will make it difficult for any Democrat to win, even with the party’s seeming Electoral College edge and growing demographic advantages among minorities and the young. Just ask John McCain how President George W. Bush’s unpopularity affected his 2008 White House bid. (Of course, you can’t rule out the very real chance that the Republicans will rescue the eventual Democratic nominee by putting forward an out-of-the-mainstream nominee.)

The Clintons are nothing if not shrewd, and they’ve lived through the entire era of postwar American politics. So Hillary Clinton would be the last to believe what I have heard with increasing frequency: that, in the end, no one of real heft, even Vice President Joe Biden, will challenge her for the Democratic nomination she nearly won in 2008, and she will steamroll over the minor contenders who do. Most frequently mentioned in the “minor” category are former Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana and Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland. (O’Malley also made a little-noticed appearance at the McAuliffe inauguration.) Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts would be a major opponent should she run, but she insists she will not. When California Gov. Jerry Brown also bowed out, NBC News’s First Read called it “a reminder that Hillary Clinton will probably face little to no serious competition if she runs.”

57 Year Old David Byles of Pinehurst, North Carolina Missing Since 1/20/14 After Cayman Islands Dive at Barracuda Wall off Seven Mile Beach (Update: Classified as Search & Recovery)

57 year old David Byles of  Pinehurst, NC has been missing since Sunday, January 20, 2014 in the Cayman Islands. David Byles went missing during an organized dive at Barracuda Wall off Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach. According to accounts, Byles did surface with his wife from the dive and was in the process of swimming back to the dive boat when he disappeared. The dive company, Sunset Divers, part of the Sunset House diving resort in George Town, reported Byles missing on Sunday morning. Police air and marine units along with volunteers joined in the search for the missing tourist. Search efforts for the missing man have turned up his scuba tank, buoyancy control device and an article of his clothing in the water Monday. The items were located by police and volunteer divers at approximately 10:10 a.m. this morning, around 110 feet off the Barracuda Wall. However, David Byles is still missing.

Rita and Dave Byles

The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service said 57-year-old David Byles of Pinehurst, North Carolina, was last seen Sunday morning during an organized dive at Barracuda Wall off Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach.

Byles had surfaced with his wife after a dive and they were swimming about 100 yards back to the boat when he vanished from view, police said. An immediate search of the area by the boat’s crew failed to find him.

Since then, police divers and various other personnel have conducted marine and air searches. The missing man’s scuba tank, buoyancy control device and an article of his clothing were found in the water Monday, but there was no sign of Byles, authorities said.

UPDATE I: Cayman 27 – Search for missing diver to continue for 3rd day.

Updates, pics and VIDEO can be seen at Cayman 27.

UPDATE II: Search for diver now classed as ‘search and recovery’.

The search for missing diver David Byles continued into its third day and hope is dwindling that Mr. Byles will be found alive. Police have confirmed their efforts have now been classified as a “search and recovery” mission.

“We are now in our third day of searching,” said Inspector Ian Yearwood in a press statement to Cayman 27. “It’s clear to everyone involved that it’s now extremely unlikely that Mr. Byles will be found alive. We have shared our concerns with his wife and we continue to keep her fully updated as to the status of the search and of any developments.”

The search for Mr. Byles continues and Inspector Ian Yearwood is calling on any boat owners or divers who can assist in the search this afternoon to contact him on the following numbers – 649-7803 or 526-3159.

Daily Commentary – Tuesday, January 21, 2014 – Good Guy Award Goes To Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars

• Rick Harrison quietly sent a very special letter to one of his devoted fans, an autistic boy wanting to sell his game Boy

Daily Commentary – Tuesday, January 21, 2014 Download