Post Election Results: To Friend or Defriend?

Another Presidential debacle (race) has come and gone. I am proud to say, I did go to the polls and cast my vote. Unfortunately, there was little to sway my vote in the way of choosing the “best” candidate. Based on the pre-election campaign advertisement and media coverage, we were left with not much more than smear campaign tactics and rhetoric.

I was amazed at the numbers of people who publically displayed their grievances and persuasion of political party on Facebook and other forums. To be honest it was embarrassing and appalling. Name calling, bias, and threats have no place in our constitution and should never play a role in a political campaign or an election.

Our government has been created on principles of freedom to choose. The bedrock of our country is the willingness to accept one another in spite of difference. I witnessed disgruntled business owners, upset their candidate was not elected into office, disgracing our nation by flying an American flag at half staff upside down. If they had half a clue they would realize by doing so, through their ignorance and intolerance they are indicating to other countries, to nations worldwide, that the United States has been defeated and is surrendering its soil to all nations worldwide, and we are, at war and defeated. Talk about treason!

In addition, I had many friends defend their right not to vote by attacking those who vote. Listen, if you choose not to exercise your constitutional right to vote, so be it, but don’t condemn those who choose to be American. The argument that you don’t want to be responsible for putting the wrong person in office is in the least the weakest argument you could make. If both candidates are so “wrong” and you are so right, why are you not pro-active and on the ballot. I’ll tell you why, because you are weak, you are looking for someone to blame for the “wrong”, and you are the first to complain (and the loudest). You’re despicable!

There were many friends, or so-called friends, who actually argued so ferociously they defriended one another over political points of view. I began to wonder if political points of view or religious points of view were something people considered when they became friends. Are differences not tolerated? Perhaps these so-called friends offered little in the way of friendship and more in the way of hindrance. Are we not judged by our appearances, our circle of friends? If I choose to hang with a band of automatic weapon wielding drug lords or a group of PhD’s, by association and appearance I am perceived on my level of association with the people I hang with. As far as I am concerned, you can keep your bigotry and racism, your superficial fake friendship and I assure you, I will lose no sleep if you defriend me!

If one person in a friendship can walk away from the relationship based on a difference of opinion over political likeness, it was a shallow friendship to begin with. Every person has a constitutional and moral right to have an opinion, even if that opinion differentiates from mine, and yes that includes the bigot and racist. I don’t have to like it, I don’t have to agree, and I can always walk away.

So I ask, why is it so important people control other people’s opinions? I can offer my opinion and if it is more sensible and intelligent then you have the alternative to accept or disregard, but not to force your opinion as the supreme authoritative final word. I get to make the choice! And yes, you get to make the choice.

To be American is to embrace change, difference and the freedom to choose. To be American is to do whatever it takes to elevate your country and its policy makers to new heights by holding them accountable and exercising your constitutional right to vote. To be American is to love this great country we call America.

If you are so inclined to be disgruntled with your government to committing treason, opposed to allowing individuality through difference of opinion, perhaps the country you desire to reside awaits on some third-world continent where you are welcome to hate America and live in the stone-age in a society full of bigotry and bias. However, I would warn you to educate yourself on the other country’s laws. Most other countries will not allow such behavior — they erase it!

Love America!

Learn More About Elections: http://brian-bigelow.blogspot.com/2012/11/elections.html

*          *          *

If you enjoy View From My Loft join Author Dane Ladwig on View From My Loft radio live at

Blog Talk Radio:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/welcome-to-view-from-my-loft

Visit Dane Ladwig’s blog’s:

The Infamous Diabolic Dr. H. H. Holmes:

http://holmesmurdercastle.wordpress.com/

The Realm of the Supernatural and the Paranormal:                                                                
http://supernaturalandparanormal.wordpress.com/

Visit and “Like” Dane Ladwig’s Facebook fan page:                                                                                          
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDaneAllenLadwig

As always, Dane Ladwig is just an email away: authordaneallenladwig@gmail.com

*          *          *

Recap: H. H. Holmes ~ Dedication Vigil ~ Devil in the White City Tour

Jeff Mudgett showing transition photography at the Portage Theater (a photograph of H. H. Holmes super-imposed over a composite sketch released by Scotland Yard of Jack the Ripper by first-hand accounts – photo super-imposed by John Stephenson)

This past weekend was a fun fact-filled historic and monumental event on a number of levels!

On Friday, the annual Chicago Ghost Conference began setting the stage at the Portage Theater on Chicago’s northwest side. Vendors and paranormal celebrities set up tables and rehearsed scripts anticipating an eager public.

Although Saturday’s weather stifled the would-be fans of the hereafter from venturing out, those who did make the journey were indeed met with a treat. Jeff Mudgett, author of Bloodstains, (pic above) with the assistance of para-photographer/videographer John Stephenson, presented a unique perspective on the silver screen of H. H. Holmes transitioning to the composite sketch of Jack the Ripper compiled by Scotland Yard. I must admit, to say the least, it was impressive.

Ursula Bielski sharing her childhood memories and her tales of haunting’s on the stage at the Portage Theater (pic-Ursula’s childhood home where mysterious footprints were seen embedded in the stairwell carpeting)

Following the revelation introduced by Jeff and John, Ursula Bielski of Chicago Hauntings Ghost Tours shared a very insightful historic account of Chicago’s most haunted sites, and she enthralled the audience with her very own personal childhood history of what her first experience with the deceased was like as a child (you’ll have to buy my book to read all about it – and believe me it is well worth every cent). Ursula is spellbinding!

On Sunday, Ursula Bielski had closed out the ceremonies in her delicate elegant style with a Devil in the White City tour. Jeff Mudgett, Jeff’s Executive Assistant Susan Sherman, his best friend Actor extraordinaire Kim Estes (Criminal Minds, Dexter, House, Higher Education, The Closer, The Fix, and many more, Kim will be starring in the upcoming film Crossroad), Ursula Bielski, myself, tour guide (historian and author) Adam Selzer, and 35 more people headed out on a Devil in the White City Chicago Hauntings Ghost Tour, and we were in for a wonderfully enriching experience.

Jeff Mudgett, Ursula Bielski and tour guide Adam Selzer ~ Chicago Haunting’s Ghost Tours ~ Devil in the White City Tour

As we embarked the bus, Adam Selzer, a walking encyclopedia of historic information, immediately captivated the minds and the attention of the guests. Adam seems to know more about Chicago’s dark past then any library could hold. Somehow Adam’s knowledge seems out of time, as if it is a first-hand account, which makes this tour the best I had ever attended.

And as for Adam’s warm smile and charismatic persona, he makes you feel as though you are merely a cousin dropping by for a Thanksgiving feast. It is apparent to see why Ursula and Adam make such a stellar tour guide team.

On the tour, our first stop was the H. H. Holmes murder Castle site at 63rd street and Wallace on Chicago’s south side in the Englewood neighborhood. Along the way, Adam and Jeff Mudgett, H. H. Holmes great-great grandson, offered a condensed lesson on the history of Dr. Holmes and the fiend’s evil deeds at the Holmes murder castle.

At the site where it is conjectured by some, over 200 victims lost their lives to the diabolic deeds of the demented Dr. H. H. Holmes, a long overdue prayer vigil and consecration vigil was witnessed by a small crowd who gathered at the tree, where it is supposed the bodies of Holmes’ victim would have slid down a secret greased chamber to the basement of the murder castle (based on archived maps and drawings), and this is the spot where they may be locked in an eternal battle of the hereafter.

H. H. Holmes Murder Castle site 63rd & Wallace on Chicago’s south side ~ prayer vigil and consecration in memory of the victims.

As a Chaplain and a member of the clergy, Jeff Mudgett asked me and I was given the great honor of anointing and consecrate the murder castle grounds. After a few moments of silence in honor of the victims, I stated the following:

                        “Father in Heaven, we have gathered on these grounds to pay homage to those victims… who at the hands of an evil diabolic creation lost their very lives here… on these unholy grounds. We stand united as one and plead for their eternal release from any and all control the evil one may have over them even in their deaths. As we consider the horrors they endured… and the dark black cloud, which has enshrouded this place and the neighborhood of Englewood for the past 124 years… Father God we ask You to anoint this ground and we consecrate this place and the victims of the horrible crimes associated with it… in Your Holy name. May all that come of 63rd and Wallace… and the darkness of this place glorify You and Your cause. May You bring peace to the victims, their surviving family members and the members of the Englewood neighborhood. May all associated with the evilness of 63rd and Wallace… glorify Your name. And may the victims finally be at rest and find peace and be forevermore be released from their unholy state… and join with You in the Heavens. We unite and pray these things in Jesus Holy name. Amen.”

Stated by Jeff Mudgett, “As far as we can tell, this is the very first public vigil ever held on the grounds of the murder castle and I am relieved it has finally happened. I can’t tell you what a burden it is carrying with me the knowledge that my ancestor killed those people, they deserved better, they deserve this!” Jeff intends to erect a monument at the site in honor of the victims. He has expressed his wishes are to exclude the name of his great-great grandfather from the monument as it would disgrace the victims. “The monument will have only the known victims names and a memorial to the unknown victims,” according to Jeff.

As we concluded the vigil, Damian Plaza, an Englewood resident shared a statement, barely able to get the choked up words out between tears;

                        “I have been living in Englewood and working next door to the Post Office (murder castle site) for many years. It is nice to see there are people finally recognizing that Englewood is more than crime and oppression. It’s not a slum and it’s things like this [the vigil and monument] that can and will turn peoples impression of Englewood around. I want to thank you all for doing this and caring about my neighborhood and my home.”

Attendee’s of the H. H. Holmes prayer vigil.

As we left the vigil and Englewood, we drove past the Museum of Science and Industry, where it is said, according to Adam Selzer, the ghost of Holmes has been noticed on the steps of the museum and walking the streets of the old Victorian era town exhibit at the museum. Unfortunately, a Holmes sighting was not reported by any of the tour guests.

Then we headed for Japanese Zen Garden at the Chicago Botanical Gardens, a spectacular soul-enriching garden where tour guide Adam Selzer said, “This is where we can get rid of any ‘bad’ that may have followed us from the murder castle.” I’m not sure of its power to rid of “bad”, but it was a magnificent site.

We then headed for the glass-bending factory once owned by Holmes where Adam Selzer, through extensive research, believes H. H. Holmes had dumped many victims’ bodies. The site located near Fullerton and Elston on Chicago’s north side was intriguing, but I didn’t “feel it”. I took several pictures, no anomalies. However, I did allow my digital recorder to record the entire time we were at the site and I have yet to analyze the session. Thus, in my mind, pending EVP analysis, the search for the glass-bending factory continues.

This concluded our Devil in the White City tour. My hat’s off to Ursula Bielski and Adam Selzer for presenting a thought provoking educational and fun tour. There were other highlights of the weekend as well; on Saturday evening, a group of a dozen or so of my peers including, Jeff Mudgett, Kim Estes, “Cpr” Matt, Traci Ann, Susan Sherman, and others decided to take in a late dinner at Sabatino’s Restaurant on Chicago’s northwest side. Despite waiting an hour and a half for soup and having a tray of beverages spilled on me, soaking me in alcohol and sticky soda, from a server in a hurry to end her shift, the restaurant owner, Enzo, made good and we all had fun and made the best of it.

My good friend Jeff Mudgett and I

I was also able to connect with a dear friend I had not seen in 13 years, Karl Kochman. Karl is a great guy and when we noticed one another, we embraced and shared war stories and our lives tales, the condensed version of course, and to tell the truth it was as if we just saw one another yesterday. It was a great feeling. It was equally great to meet people at the conference and the tour whom I met on Facebook and I can finally place a profile picture with an actual physical person. I met new friends as well, and I look forward to solidifying those friendships.

All in all – it was a fantabulous weekend!

*          *          *

If you enjoy View From My Loft join Author Dane Ladwig on View From My Loft radio live at

Blog Talk Radio:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/welcome-to-view-from-my-loft

Visit Dane Ladwig’s blog’s:

The Infamous Diabolic Dr. H. H. Holmes:

http://holmesmurdercastle.wordpress.com/

The Realm of the Supernatural and the Paranormal

http://supernaturalandparanormal.wordpress.com/

Visit and “Like” Dane Ladwig’s Facebook fan page:

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDaneAllenLadwig

As always, Dane Ladwig is just an email away: authordaneallenladwig@gmail.com

*          *          *

Visit Jeff Mudgett’s website where you can get a glimpse ofBloodstains, and read about the exciting new book Jeff is working on at: 
http://www.bloodstainsthebook.com/

Follow The Mudge Report where Jeff Mudgett hosts some of the best talent and discussion in the paranormal community and discusses a myriad of other topics:  
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-mudge-report

*          *          *

The Justice Cafe or the Unethical Oppression Cafe ~ A Battered and Murdered Family Members Semi-Nude Photo is Paraded and Displayed ~

~ A Battered and Murdered Family Members Semi-Nude Photo is Paraded and Displayed ~

Here’s the scenario; your daughter, mother or sister is found, by her ex-husband, in the serene surroundings of the one place she retreats to for a few moments of privacy — the all too comforting whirlpool bath where she has sought solitude and revitalization of life — later you are notified she has met with her demise. Initial coroner’s report: accidental death. It just doesn’t add up! Why?

There was no water in the tub, her hair was dry, and to top it off her purse where she keeps all her most valuable possessions was found in the car — in the garage. Her marriage of twenty-one years ended in a bitter divorce battle. Her ex-husband, a Police Sergeant, made numerous threats against her life and even went as far as battering her.

After her husband remarried a woman thirty years younger than he, following a period of shacking up in the ex-wife’s basement with his new found mistress with their joint children sleeping just one floor above, his mistress, turned Barbie doll wife, was presumed to have perished after months of searching for any signs leading to her existence. The cop was now being looked at, but this time around, in a very different light, not as a grieving victim, but as a killer.

Upon exhumation of his third wife, yes the woman found in the bathtub was wife number three, and the woman who went missing was wife number four, his third wife’s death was now reexamined and her death reclassified as a homicide. Wives number one and two admitted to his brutality and his illicit wayward ways with the women, and soon after marrying him both marriages ended in quick uncontested divorce’s.

This is less about the case, and more about the injustice of a blog site, ironically, going by the name “Justice Cafe”.  Justice Cafe has dedicated its objective to reporting the alleged “facts” in the case of the State of Illinois vs. Drew Peterson. Peterson is the Bowlingbrook, Illinois Police Sergeant who stands on trial for the crime of murdering his third wife Kathleen Savio. The problem; they illegally posted a semi-nude court evidence photo to their website (reported to the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office on 8/29/2012) and other bloggers have nabbed the photo and are posting it over the internet.

The fact I have a bias, as my wife is related to Kathleen (first cousin’s), I have decided not to use this as a forum to express my opinion, or to debate on the case. I would like you, as readers, to consider one thing, and one thing only… The Justice Cafe, a blog that preaches civil justice and morality, somehow got their hands on a court document, a semi-nude crime-scene photo of a deceased woman, which was/is a court photo and evidence. Soon the photo became the hot topic on Google, well, that was until my friends on Facebook banded together and had Google remove the photo. The Justice Cafe, I THINK NOT, it’s more like the “Unethical Cafe”!

After the States Attorney’s Office who is prosecuting the case was made aware the leaked photo it was immediately removed from the Google internet image search engine. However, as I stated, a number of bloggers grabbed the photo and it spread like Poison Ivy. After attempting to convince each blogger regarding the legal infractions they were committing in posting the court evidence document, and asking them to remove the image on behalf of still grieving families, they insensitively neglected my demands. Again, it is back to the States Attorney’s Office with a complaint and list of sites who are displaying the photo of a semi-nude recently departed loved one over the internet for the entire world and every deviate to gawk over.

Wrong is wrong! What of the dignity for the deceased? Would you want a semi-nude photo of you as a deceased person floating over the internet? I think not! What this world and the internet is coming to is nothing short of frightening. To publically humiliate a battered women who was being oppressed by a man and now is facing oppression by society and the people she was to trust in life, is outright unspeakable and inhumane. Subjecting anyone to internet bullying by bloggers who post such nightmarish filth to attract readers should not be tolerated. Leave the nightmares to Hollywood producers!

I am posting each site I found, and continue to find, in an effort to cease all such molestation of human rights. Perhaps if enough people band together and complain to the site administers or to their neighbors, something will finally be done to protect people’s internet rights. Remember, this could very well happen to you one day, don’t be the one who said, “I should have…,” be the one who says, “I have rights!”

The below links are the sites persecuting my wife and her family with posting semi-nude photos of their deceased loved one, please take a moment to stand up for all American’s rights and let them know you don’t tolerate such crimes against humanity…

Crime File News –

http://www.crimefilenews.com/2012/08/drew-petersons-late-wife-kathleen-savio.html

Crime Ticker – -

http://www.crimeticker.com/2012/07/31/drew-peterson-trial-day-1-opening-arguments-and-first-witness/

Justice Cafe

http://petersonstory.wordpress.com/

Scribd –

*             *             *

Facebook Friends, To Add or Not to Add: The Dilemma

Remember the days before Facebook? I do. I remember the days before MySpace. It seems nowadays, Facebook is in every nook and cranny of life. Myself, I visit my page many times daily, checking the status of friends, updating my status, trying to maintain a connection to the cyber community I have so carefully constructed to fit my needs.

My page once geared toward my personal life, took a turn a few years back and transformed into a social network for my academic endeavors. My college pals became the mainstay of my page. Now that my life has changed chapters again, my page has taken another form. I am now “plugging in” as an author and freelance writer. Sure, I still have my family and some of my closest college pals as “Friends”, but my focus switched. My “posts” are now centered on my career choice.

For me, as an author and a writer that means I somewhat have to be aware of what I post; it reflects on the things I write, and me. Use poor grammar or bad punctuation, which I admit is my Achilles heel, and sure enough someone will say something to the effect, “Hey, I thought you were a writer. What gives?” I’ll suppress the embarrassment and move past the moment, as I am sure there will be more mistakes made in the future – I am not perfect.

In addition to my personal Facebook page, I maintain a Facebook Fan page
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDaneAllenLadwig
. Many times, I wonder why I began a Fan Page, but I suppose it is because I am an author and I do publish my work that I felt the need to offer a Fan Page. I am content with my blog,
http://daneladwig.wordpress.com/
it is reaching over fifty countries, and over a thousand views a month, but I wish to expand its limitations.

Now comes the hard part – the work. I loathe adding friends on my Facebook page just to add them. To me, unless you know the person they are not a friend, they are a faceless name hiding behind a cyber identity they created. How could someone even know with absolute truth if the person on the other end of the profile actually exists? They can’t! So, if I wish to build a fan base for my book(s) I am forced to create an account solely for the purpose of fake relationships – friendships that never were, and I am fairly certain will never be.

I know people who pride themselves on how many Facebook friends they have, “I have 1868 friends”, “That’s nothing dude. I have 17,682 friends”. When asked how many they have ever met in the flesh, it usually comes out to about 150-200. So, who is kidding who, and why? Why the façade? I have befriended a few well-known authors with best-sellers. They have several thousand followers. They never update their status, I wonder if they even visit their page. Just because you are on Johnny Depp’s friends list, does not qualify you as a “friend”. Try hitting him up in a chat and see if he will help you out when your car breaks down on the interstate, or if he will sit with you all night long while your child’s fever breaks, those are friends.

How this loose concept of friends began is deceiving and it troubles me. It will not be long until we consider all of humanity our “friends”. It’s nice to be liked and even nicer if it’s genuine. Manufactured “likes” are synthetic – they are a product of a deeper issue, a possible issue within ones character makeup.

Have you ever wondered, while desperately petitioning for friends that the person you are befriended on Facebook may be contemplating the murder of his or her family, or even worse, they may have already committed the act? A quick Google search will reveal startling results of individuals who used Facebook to murder victims on their alleged “friends” list,
http://rawjustice.com/2010/12/13/15-people-who-used-facebook-to-commit-crimes/
.  The words “chose wisely” come to mind. But then again, if you are hiding behind anonymity, perhaps you feel you are “safe”. Think again. Just yesterday, I booted up my computer and my neighbor’s secured connection was unsecure. I notified her. It seems a hacker had no problem getting into her system.

Nevertheless, my over awareness and hypersensitivity to this issue continues. I vow to find a solution. Sometimes, I believe I have been gifted, or cursed, with too much moral composition; if I were a bit less attentive to the implications of all matters concerning life, it may be possible my life would be less complicated and I might be bit happier? Then again…

This has been a…View From My Loft