The Healthcare Mash

From ReasonTV via HotAir, here's a bit of Halloween humor, The Healthcare Mash:

Tuesday Links

Some stories from today's news:

From Newsbusters, Ronan Farrow of MSNBC says that the public "craves" the "style of honesty" represented by the Clintons.  I guess that lying to a Grand Jury under oath is OK with Mr. Farrow.  Oh well, what difference does it make?  (via Breitbart's Big Hollywood)

From CBS News, Bob Schieffer, the host of Face the Nation, has won the Walter Cronkite Award.

From Life News, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has struck down a law limiting the use of a "dangerous" abortion drug.

From the Catholic News Agency, Mother Antonia Brenner, known as the "prison angel" for her decades-long prison ministry in Tijuana, Mexico, died earlier this month at age 86.

From Techspot, William C. Lowe, who led the project to create the first IBM PC, died earlier this month at age 72.

From the Mail Online, the man accused of killing the son of NFL player Adrian Petersen is free on bond.

From Politico, Senator Dick Durban (D-IL) calls for "stand your ground" laws to be "carefully reconsidered", in his opening remarks before a hearing about such laws.  Testifying at the hearing was Trayvon Martin's mother, even though Martin's death and George Zimmerman's trial defense did not involve any "stand your ground" laws.  (via Breitbart's Big Government)

From Gallup World, the Portuguese have become more disapproving of their leaders.

From Israel National News, a joint project between Hebrew University's center for Computational Geography, and the Center for Educational Technology has resulted in the first ever Hebrew language digital atlas.

Also from Israel National News, Muslim Brotherhood protesters have attempted to use "puppy bombs" at a demonstration in Tahrir Square.  (via Atlas Shrugs)

From The Telegraph, Great Britain will become the first non-Muslim country to have a sharia bond.

From Yahoo News, millions are losing their health plans because of Obamacare.  They actually ask, "Did president mislead?"

For that matter, The Daily Caller calls Obamacare "a lie from day one."

And from the past debates on Obamacare, a 2009 Republican Weekly Address by Congressman Tom Price (R-GA), which appears to include a few prescient remarks.  Brought to the attention of the Twitterverse by Leslie Carbone.  Go here if the video doesn't play.

A Bit Of History On "Citizens Of The World"

Every once in a while, we hear someone talk about being a "citizen of the world", including a certain recent presidential candidate.  I had thought that this term was a relatively recent creation, perhaps a by-product of the establishment of various international organizations, such as NATO or the UN.  However, while studying James Madison's notes on the Convention of 1787, a.k.a. the Constitutional Convention, I read this particular note, recorded by Madison on August 9th, referring to some statements made by delegate Gouverneur Morris from Pennsylvania about "citizens of the world", where he felt uncomfortable about letting them into the federal government.  If nothing else, this would show that the term has been around for a while. In this note, the pronoun "he" refers to Mr. Morris.

As to those philosophical gentlemen, those Citizens of the World as they call themselves, He owned he did not wish to see any of them in our public Councils. He would not trust them. The men who can shake off their attachments to their own Country can never love any other. These attachments are the wholesome prejudices which uphold all Governments, Admit a Frenchman into your Senate, and he will study to increase the commerce of France: an Englishman, [FN26] he will feel an equal biass in favor of that of England. It has been said that The Legislatures will not chuse foreigners, at least improper ones. There was no knowing what Legislatures would do. Some appointments made by them, proved that every thing ought to be apprehended from the cabals practised on such occasions. He mentioned the case of a foreigner who left this State in disgrace, and worked himself into an appointment from another to Congress.

According to FN26 (footnote 26), the word "and" was inserted into the transcript.

Somali Pirates Repelled By....Britney Spears?

Well, not literally Britney in person, but recordings of her music.  According to merchant navy Second Officer Rachel Owens, who regularly guides tankers through the waters off eastern Africa, "As soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney, they move on as quickly as they can."  Because music is illegal in some parts of the world, and because the pirates hate Western culture, the effectiveness of this tactic is not surprising.  But as Steven Jones, of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry surmises,  "I’d imagine using Justin Bieber would be against the Geneva Convention."  Perhaps Lady Gaga or Miley Cyrus might also be useful.

Read the story at Metro News.

PC Hits Halloween

Two items, the first of which comes via Reading The Score:

At various American universities, college students have been told to avoid certain types of costumes for this coming Halloween, such as "cowboys", "Indians", "anything involving a sombrero", "white trash", "geisha", "squaw", "ghetto" or "hillbilly", for the reason that these and others might (gasp!) offend somebody.  When I was a college student, some of my male friends dressed up in female garb, and vice versa.  The whole cross-dressed bunch of them then ate dinner together at campus dining hall.  I guess that such a stunt today would be banned for fear of offending transvestites.  Meanwhile, I dressed up as a punk rocker, with the help of a gal who gave me paper clip for my ear.  This, of course, was much less painful than using a safety pin, as real punk rockers used to do back then.  In any event, read the story at The Telegraph.

Meanwhile, dancer and singer Julianne Hough caused an internet "uproar" and later apologized for her choice of Halloween costume.  She and a bunch of friends attended a party dressed as characters from the TV show Orange Is The New Black, with herself as Crazy Eyes, who is played by a black actress.  (Oops, did I just offend someone by using the suffix "-ess"?)  In doing so, Hough darkened her face and tied her hair in knots, just like the character.  In my opinion, she didn't look like a black woman, but like a white woman who has spent too much time in the tanning booth.  The one time I darkened my skin for Halloween was part of a coal miner costume.  The dark makeup was intended to imitate coal dust, not melanin.  But now, perhaps even a coal-faced miner might offend somebody.  Read the story at the New York Daily News and judge for yourself.

How Badly Will Obamacare [Bleep] You?

What are we in for with Obamacare?  The Market Ticker decided to find out the facts and figures, and they're not pretty.  For example:

First, if you're "27", the average premium is $266.20/month or $3,194.40 per year.  How many 27 year olds have an extra $3,200 to spend on this?  Remember, this is the price that virtually every uninsured 27 year old must be willing -- and able -- to cough up in order to prevent the model this system is predicated on from collapsing.

If those 27 year olds don't show up, and they won't, then the system collapses instantly.  If they do show up because the government threatens them with fines the economy collapses as $3,200 a year exceeds the average 27 year old's disposable personal income after mandatory expenses (e.g. food, shelter, etc.) Remember, there are always exceptions but these premiums are averages and over large pools of people the statistical averages are what matters -- not the ends of the barbell.

All emphases in the above quote are in the original.  Read the entire story.

Gov't Beneficiaries Outnumber Full-Time Workers

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of people receiving at least one means-tested government benefit has exceeded the number of people working full-time.  In the fourth quarter of 2011, there were 108,592,000 government beneficiaries and 101,716,000 year-round full-time workers.  The latter number would exclude seasonal jobholders, regardless of their work schedules, as well as part-time workers.  Considering that this was in 2011, the numbers today are bound to be even worse - unless you think that more recipients than full-timers is a good thing.

Read the story at CNS News.

Wojtek The Soldier Bear

This is a bit of World War II history that I ran across earlier today.  At the onset of the war, the Soviet Union was allied to Nazi Germany, and in concert therewith, invaded Poland.  In doing so, the Soviets captured Polish soldiers and shipped them off to POW camps in areas such as Siberia.  After the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, the latter's leadership had a change of heart and allowed the Poles to fight against the former.  The Polish soldiers were sent to Iran, where they organized themselves into the Polish Second Army Corps, with the intention of meeting the British in Mandatory Palestine, and then assisting them in the invasion of Italy.

While travelling through Iran, one unit of the Polish troops encountered a young boy who was carrying a small malnourished bear cub, bought the cub from the boy, nursed it back to health, and named it Wojtek.  Eventually, Wojtek (pronounced "VOY-tek") became the unit's unofficial mascot, learned how to smoke and drink beer, and stayed with the Polish army throughout the rest of the war, first in Palestine and then in Italy.  Afterwards, with Poland under Soviet occupation and on its way to becoming a satellite of the USSR, Wojtek and some of his human comrades were reassigned to Scotland, where he lived out his years in the Edinburgh Zoo.

The above is the abridged version.  Read the full story at Badass Of The Week.  The life of Wojtek is also recounted in this YouTube video:

Capitol Dome To Get Repairs

If you've been to Washington, D.C. during the past two years, you might have noticed that the Washington Monument was covered by scaffolding, needed to support workers repairing the damage that resulted from the 2011 earthquake.  Starting next month, on the other end of the Mall, another prominent structure will start undergoing repairs and will eventually receive a scaffold covering.  The dome of the U.S. Capitol, which is made mostly of cast iron, and has been experiencing a significant amount of deterioration, will undergo a "multi-year project" of repair work, initially estimated to cost about $59 million.

Read the story at the Washington Post.

Monday News & Links

Once again, back to the old routine.  Here's a bit of what's been going on for the last day or so:

From the Los Angeles Times, a student at Sparks (Nevada) Middle School fatally shot a teacher and wounded two other students, before apparently killing himself.

From The Sleuth Journal, a mugger in DC chooses the wrong victim, one of a select group of people who are allowed to be armed within the city.

From The Daily Caller, two armed crooks try to rob a pizza place, unaware of the policeman who just happens to be nearby.   (Warning: Graphic video footage)

From Forbes, Nokia's stock price tops $7.

From the Mail Online, something that even a critic of President Obama such as myself can applaud him for.

From Life News, a man fights to save his baby from an abortion after seeing pro-lifers at a clinic.

From the New York Times, contractors trying to fix the Obamacare website see "weeks of work" ahead of them.  (via Breitbart's The Conversation)  The Onion, however, reports that a new version is available on floppy disks.

The Blaze points out a bunch of things more popular than Obamacare (which isn't saying much).

From CNET, the number of laser pointer attacks on airplanes has increased 11-fold since 2005.

In World Net Daily, Phyllis Schlafly writes about how Common Core is affecting school curricula.

From Page Six, singer and model Rihanna tried to have an impromptu photo shoot in a mosque, and was kicked out.

From the New York Post, the FBI investigated PETA during the 1990s for a suspected plot to carry out an anthrax attack.

From Newsmax, the Tea Party movement gets some good vibes from a prominent Republican - one that you don't want to go hunting with.

And from Weird Asia News, engineers in Japan have replicated a human vocal cord.

Was Obama The First "Birther"?

Via Political Pistachio:

Wayne Allyn Root graduated from Columbia University in 1983, the same year as a transfer from Occidental College named Barack Obama.  His take on the president's background is very different than that of the "birthers".  According to Root, instead of being a foreigner passing himself off as an American, Obama was an American trying to pass himself off as a foreigner.  In doing so, Obama himself would be the first "birther". This could help explain something I came across a while back, a biographical blurb released by his literary agent that included the phrase "born in Kenya".  Here's the video from Mr. Root:

Upon Reconsideration, "Jesus" To Be Permitted In Cemetery

After some public pressure, the city of Sterling, Colorado has allowed the family of a recently deceased wife of a preacher to place the name "Jesus" on her marker, within an ichthys, the fish-shaped symbol used by early Christians.  The director of the cemetery, which is owned by the city, reversed his previous decision, in which he had said that the name "night offend people".  His earlier attitude is bit hard to understand, considering that the cemetery also has tombstones with Bible verses or angels on them.  Come to think of it, aren't there Bible verses that mention Jesus Himself?

The cemetery's director has raised an interesting question.  What if a Hispanic man named Jesus (pronounced "hay-soos") were to die, and his family wanted to bury him in Sterling Cemetery?  Would the man's own name be allowed on his tombstone?

Read the story at Fox News.

Tom Foley 1929-2013

Former Speaker of the House Tom Foley (D-Wash) died earlier today at his home in Washington D.C., at the age of 84, of complications from a stroke he had suffered last December.  He served as Speaker from 1989, after his predecessor Jim Wright resigned while facing ethics charges, until January 1995, after losing his seat in the election of 1994, when the Republicans took over Congress.  Before becoming Speaker, Foley had served as Majority Whip, Majority Leader and Chairman of the Agriculture Committee.  After leaving Congress, he was appointed Ambassador to Japan by President Bill Clinton.  Foley was the first Speaker from west of the Rocky Mountains, and the first sitting Speaker to be unseated since the Civil War.

Read more at CNN, USA Today, the Washington Post, Fox News, NBC News and CBS News.

Booker Has Strong Lead In Special Senate Election

Politico has reported on the special election in New Jersey for the Senate seat formerly occupied by the late Frank Lautenberg, showing Democrat Cory Booker having a substantial lead over Republican Steve Lonegan.  With just under 76% of the vote being reported, Booker has 55.3% to Lonegan's 43.6%.  Other candidates have combined to take about 1% of the vote.  Read the full story, which is subject to update as the votes continue to be counted.

In other news, a budget deal worked out earlier today (but not yet passed as of this posting), which would end the current federal shut-down, includes a one-time payment to Senator Lautenberg's widow, amounting to a Senator's yearly salary.  This provision has drawn some scrutiny because of Lautenberg's considerable wealth.  Read that story at USA Today.

UPDATE:  It's been called.  Booker 54.9%, Lonegan 44.0%, other candidates about 1%.  Say "hi" to our newest Senator, Cory Booker (D-NJ).

Some Obamacare Stories

By now, we all know that the Obamacare website has been a massive failure.  How bad was it?  Complete Pulse gives us the numbers for the first week.

The Corner at National Review Online reports the number from Alaska - a big fat zero.

According to Politico, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) and some GOP House leaders have proposed cutting health subsidies to congressional and senior executive branch officials, which Barry has threatened to veto.

And from the Washington Examiner, the House GOP wants to force Congress and the White House into Obamacare.

Confirmed: VT And UT To Play Football At BMS

It's official.  Virginia Tech and Tennessee have indeed made plans to play football at the Bristol Motor Speedway in 2016, in what will be called the Battle at Bristol.  Each school will reportedly get a payout of at least $4 million for the game.  Both head coaches have been involved with racing at BMS, Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech as a green flagwaver and Butch Jones of Tennessee as a grand marshal.  Virginia Tech and Tennessee faced each other in the 1994 Gator Bowl and the 2009 Chik-Fil-A Bowl, but have not played during the regular season since 1937.

Read more at the Daily Press, the Roanoke Times and Hokiesports.

The Battle at Bristol already has its own website, including this video:

Music Break - Yet More Old Favorites

Some are well-known, others are not, but these are a few more of my favorite songs.  Some I enjoyed just after they came out, and others I learned about much later.

During the late 1970's, Brownsville Station recorded an eponymous album, for which the trio of longtime members Cub Koda (guitar/harmonica/vocals), Mike Lutz (bass/vocals) and Henry Weck (drums) added a fourth member Bruce "Beezer" Nazarian (guitars/vocals), who sang the lead on Hot Spit.

Remember Obama's C-Span Promise?

Remember during the 2008 presidential campaign, when Senator Obama (D-IL) promised that the planning of his healthcare reform would done on C-Span?  So did the Republican Study Committee, who put together this video.  Would that President Obama were as reasonable as candidate Obama seemed to be.  But then, what candidates say and what elected officials are two different things, and have been so since long before this guy came along.

Brought to my attention on Twitter by Yankeemom.  (I would link her blog, but its url doesn't seem to work right now.)

Veterans Remove Barrycades From DC Monuments

Early this morning, veterans protesting the placement of barricades (now called "barrycades" in honor, so to speak, of the president) at various memorials in Washington D.C. took the barrycades for a walk and placed then near the White House.

Pics and videos may be found at Breitbart's Big Government and Michelle Malkin's Twichy.

UPDATE:  There's more pics at Weasel Zippers.
UPDATE #2:  From The York Dispatch, another group of veterans marches on Gettysburg.

Bison Protests Government Shutdown

Shamelessly pilfered from The Political Jungle:

Somewhere in Wyoming, possibly in or around Yellowstone Park, a bison didn't like having a barricade placed on a local road, so he took matters into his own hands, er, hooves.

Adrian Peterson's Son Dies After Alleged Beating

The 2-year-old son of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was allegedly beaten earlier today and was listed as being in critical condition, but was later confirmed dead by Sioux Falls, SD police.  Joseph Robert Patterson, who was dating the boy's mother, has been charged with aggravated assault and aggravated battery on an infant, with other charges pending.  Petersen has stated that he will play this coming Sunday.

It is difficult for me to even imagine what Adrian Petersen is going through right now, even though I have recently lost a family member.  Losing your own child is often said to be "the worst pain".  Read more at CBS Sports and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

Abortion Funding In The Fine Print?

According to a report by CBN News, Obamacare health insurance exchanges will be required to charge their clients a fee that will go to fund abortions for those who want them, and that this fee is for the most part hidden from the clients, or "buried in the fine print".

For the longest time, abortion rights supporters have told pro-lifers that it's OK to believe what we want, just don't go "imposing" it on others whose views are different.  Yet, at least some of them seem to have no problem forcing pro-lifers to pay for abortions, even when abortions are against our religion, such coercion apparently being part of Obamacare.  Telling someone that something is not their business, but demanding that they pay for it is about as disgustingly hypocritical as a person can get.  People like that are not pro-choice, as they claim, but are nothing more than pro-abortion.

But enough about my opinion on this matter.  Read the full story.

NCAA Football At A Racetrack?

According to various media outlets, Virginia Tech and the University of Tennessee have agreed to play a football game at the Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS), which is located in northeastern Tennessee about half way between the two schools, in 2016.  Rumors of such plans have been around for years, but this is the first time that the media have said anything.  The two schools, however, have not yet confirmed the story, so for the time being, keep some sodium chloride handy.  Hosting a football game will require that BMS remove some buildings from their infield and construct an artificial surface football field.

If this game is played, it could set an NCAA attendance record, due to the speedway's seating capacity of around 160,000.  It would not, however, be the first football game at BMS.  During the NFL preseason of 1961, the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins played there.  Over the years, Virginia Tech and Tennessee have faced each other in eight football games, with Tennessee winning five of them.  The last two have been bowl games, with Tennessee winning the 1994 Gator Bowl, led by a young quarterback named Peyton Manning, and Virginia Tech winning the 2009 Chik-Fil-A Bowl.  In an interesting historical coincidence, Virginia Tech's kicker in 1994 and their starting tailback in 2009 were both named Ryan Williams.

Read more at TechSideline, Gobbler Country and the Roanoke Times.

Why Did The Obamacare Website Fail?

Writing in The Verge, Adrianne Jeffries gives us her take on the problems Americans are having trying to sign up online for health insurance on the federal government's website, and why, in her opinion, its launch was "doomed to fail".  An excerpt:

Developing a site that communicates with multiple government agencies and state-based sites isn’t easy.  Healthcare.gov was also built on a tight deadline.  But for an administration that seemed to have a deep understanding of the internet, the site was shockingly bad.

How could the Obama administration, the brains behind the most sophisticated online political campaign ever, be responsible for something so bone-headed?

Read the entire story.

Monday Links

Back to the old routine.  It's Monday, so let's see what's going on out there.

From the Washington Examiner, some information on Great Britain's health care system.

From Fox News, a man returns a picture he stole of a woman he went out dancing with - after 70 years.

From Life Site News, American tax dollars are helping to fund a population control effort in Bangla Desh.

From CBS News, three soldiers have been arrested in the stabbing death of fellow soldier Tevin Geike.

From Mashable, the Nobel Prize in Medicine has been awarded to three scientists who discovered how cells transport molecules to their correct location.

From CBS New York, the New York Giants have become so bad that a strip club banned their televised games.  (Has anyone else noticed that when Eli Manning sucks, he really sucks?)

From Catholic News Agency, the Church is commemorating the 750th anniversary of the Orvieto (Italy) miracle, which actually happened in Bolsena, but was reported by the priest who witnessed it to Pope Urban VI, who was staying in Orvieto at the time.  Full disclosure:  I stayed in Orvieto in 2004.

From NBC Chicago, three people have been arrested after a dismembered body had been discovered in a plastic bag in a Chicago back yard.

From the Mail Online, Elizabeth Smart describes the kidnapping ordeal she went through over ten years ago.

From Breitbart's Big Peace, the Obama administration has ordered military commissaries to shut down.

From CNET, Samsung faces a ban on sales of some its older items.

From Personhood USA, the four differences between you and your fetus.

From American Thinker, supporters of Obama and Obamacare experience sticker shock.

And from WBTW, after an outcry, the Obama administration has reinstated the Amber Alert website.  (via Breitbart's Big Government)

Mount Rushmore Viewing Areas Blocked Off

Via The Free Patriot:

The memorial at Mount Rushmore has been closed, which has understandably resulted from the current federal government shut-down.  What is harder to understand is why several parking and viewing areas along roads near (but outside) the memorial have been blocked off with traffic cones by the National Park Service.  The entrance to Mount Rushmore is located on SD state highway 242, begging the question of how a federal agency had the authority to block off parking areas of a state road, unless the areas are within the boundary of the memorial itself.  U.S. highway 16 passes about a mile to the east of Mount Rushmore, but U.S. highways, while numbered according to a national grid, are maintained by state and local governments.

One of the viewing areas, a few hundred yards west of the main entrance along SD 242, provides a view of George Washington in profile.  Two years ago, I briefly stopped there after visiting the memorial, and got a side shot of our first president's stone likeness.  Unfortunately, my camera had some major technical difficulties, resulting in poor picture quality.  But if you're curious, click on the fold to see it.

Read the story at the Sioux Falls Business Journal.

Troubled Health Care Site Built By Canadian Tech Firm

The website on which Americans are supposed to enroll in Obamacare, but which has had numerous technical difficulties, was built by CGI Federal, a subsidiary of CGI Group, based in Montreal, Canada.  CGI Federal has offices in Fairfax, Virginia.  The acronym "CGI" stands for "Conseillers en Gestion et Informatique", which according to the Washington Examiner "roughly translates" as "Information Systems and Management Consultants".  The Examiner further states that CGI "is deeply embedded in Canada’s single-payer system."  Since Obamacare is thought of by some as intended to be a stepping-stone to a single-payer system, perhaps the Obama administration sought an IT firm with that sort of experience.  But then, I thought that multinational corporations were allegedly the darlings of the right, not the left.

Read the full story.

Connecticut Woman Causes Traffic Incident In Washington, D.C.

This afternoon in Washington, DC, a woman tried to ram a White House barricade with her car, led police on a chase toward the Capitol where they later surrounded her, caused the Capitol to go into lock-down mode, rammed a police vehicle, and was eventually shot dead by the police.  One policeman was injured, apparently when his car was rammed.  The woman was later identified as Miriam Carey, a dental hygienist who lived in Connecticut, and was licensed to practice both there and in New York.  A young girl, aged 2 or 3 years, was found inside the woman's car, and taken to a hospital.

The above is the short version of what I think happened today.  The New York Post has some of the details here and here.  The New Haven Register also has a report.

The Government Shutdown And Other Stories

Today, due to the lack of a budget agreement between the House and Senate, the federal government has gone into shutdown mode, which means that agencies, depending on the state of their own funding, will have to let "nonessential" personnel stay home from work.  I guess those cowboy poets that Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) is so concerned about will have to finance their own creative efforts.

From the Washington Post, the Senate has rejected the third bill passed by the House that would have kept the federal government running, in return for delaying the enforcement of the "individual mandate" portion of Obamacare and a few other proposed items.

From Yahoo, the shutdown chokes Washington, DC.

From USA Today, 66 questions and answers about the shutdown.

CNN only gives us 20 such questions and answers.

NBC News asks, what would a government shutdown look like?

Quartz asks, who will notice a government shutdown?

From Newsmax, former Congressman Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich) accuses President Obama of using the shutdown to cover up his own failures.

From the Los Angeles Times, visitors to the World War II Memorial were not deterred by barricades.  Putting up such barricades would appear to be nonsensical, since the Memorial is open-air and requires no one to admit visitors.  It would seem that paying the federal employees to put up the barricades would cost more than leaving the place open.

....and in other news:

From Breitbart's Big Journalism, the Obamacare insurance exchanges that were supposed to be launched today have experienced massive failures nationwide.  (Lots of links there)

From the Washington Free Beacon, comedian Robert Schneider is leaving the Democratic party and endorsing a Republican for governor of California.

From Life News, the Obama administration may face a lawsuit over the funding of abortions for Congress than their staff.

From The D.C. Clothesline, the Hahn family, owners of Conestoga Wood Specialties, have petitioned the Supreme Court in a challenge to Obamacare's contraceptive coverage mandate.

From World Net Daily, a gang of black bikers in New York follow and attack the Asian driver of an SUV.

And from the "stupid man" department, woman with cell phone 1 - would-be thief 0.