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As storytelling goes, it is perfect. It is great fun to try and understand the criminal nomad life of fugitive Tom Phillips. They are speaking English! There is enough of a history and picture–video–to reasonably understand what is going on although much is shielded in family court. Life in this part of New Zealand is the wild card that sets it apart from, for instance, the Owl Bar killings in Montana. Mental health is always a common denominator.

This is the part for which I have found nothing by claiming to be knowledgeable sitting in Colorado on a computer. Catherine Phillips, I learned from local stations like Stuff and NZHerald, had ‘law enforcement issues’ also since or prior. The children lived with Tom Phillips and were homeschooled. Things were already brewing and he was born and raised, the father, and strongly independent. Not that it matters much now, we don’t know how things started.

What we do know, if one looks, is the anthropology or culture. A forest within an island: it is an isolated, us against the world place and people. As gorgeous and as unspoiled (as we write in the U.S., not unspoilt) as can be, it is not thriving. New Zealand as a whole is only 5.3 million people and it is shrinking annually at 124,500 residents who appear to be citizens; in other words, they are not migrants or refugees. The sea is rising, jobs are diminishing, and it is expensive.

It is not about the natives or beauty or history, it is about the now.

Again, we don’t know how or why it started. We can glean it started over the kids and as a result of the marriage. The Phillips family owns 551 hectars (1,362 acres) of “paddock.” The area known as Western Waikato has a dense forest that is 400 sq kilometers or 155 square miles (approximately 12×12 miles). With the abandoned ute/Toyota Hilux on the beach, the bank robbery, and the other sightings (‘here. you dropped some money’), the police were after them. Four people including three young and likely stationary children! They charged him with “wasting police resources.”

Is Marokopa an idyllic place to live or even retire to? It seems like a contentious even hostile place. And it is getting worse.

My pre-education includes Martin Clunes’ Islands of Britain and this look at life in the Hallig Islands. I confess I have never been to New Zealand or Australia.

UPDATE: Finish reading the Wiki! Catherine Phillips has two older daughters from a previous relationship. Jubilee Dawson and Storm.

It is a real problem: virtually every news outlet has the same thing. No wonder these people turn to Reddit. Geez, what a life.

Is it worth paying attention to a man like this? The poor girl is dead. Yes, it is worth it. Mental health awareness is serious business.

Short of a fact-checked Dateline-like program there is nowhere to go for credible hows and whys, at least right now. Sure, there will be an autopsy and maybe even a trial; we will find out the facts of the murder. I believe it is second degree, so for now we do not know the how, but that will come out. Google News, Yahoo News, Daily Mail, all the networks plus CNN will have it. Maybe, if it is gory or weird enough, it will be on 48 Hours in a few months.

All we can do is either follow it continuously (worse yet, go on Reddit) or make up our own minds right now.

He doesn’t look surprised in his mug shot, or like he had a lot of other options. I looked it up, coffee is actually grown in the Gambela region of Ethiopia. He knew about coffee and mining. The mother who has not come forward had custody. His bio on the coffee site was weird. The girl didn’t look especially happy in the picture either.

Apparently he has enormous legal and debt issues. He has a public defender. The evidence will no doubt point to this: no one else could have committed the crime(s).

And that’s the thing. He could have and should have had other options, people, and places. Forty-five years old and there should have been someone.

It will continue to turn up in the news. I’m curious if my perspective will change.

Where did I read, his website or social media described opulence and cars. He rented and subleased a property in an upscale area of Montreal. That may be exaggerated.

There are others like him but James Patterson is one of the best at what he does. These people are usually not likeable. For instance, Nancy Grace is experienced and almost always right, but she is odious. They are not in it for the benefit of mankind or social science. Patterson, I’ll just say when you spend that much time on a subject you know what you are talking about.

Sometimes a distinguishing quality is daringness. Vicky Ward goes back to Epstein; she is good.

It has been mentioned before, but what is revealed is Kohberger was after the one young woman. You may think, they were just a bunch of spoiled college kids on vacation in Idaho. They were rich, with money for food deliveries and parties at the food truck. This victim was the first killed when the knife sheath was dropped. There is a difference between coming and going–a knife that big is hard to carry. She was a college student who worked as a waitress and he probably saw her and (felt he) met her there.

Maybe he wanted to just talk to her, or molest her, or just kill her. She was sleeping in the same bed as her roommate.

Kohberger was 28 at the time of his arrest. We know he had “social problems” at Washington State with students and faculty/colleagues. Nothing really sticks out, but there were indications of “isolation” before that.

What is revealed is a psychopath; not a sociopath, a psychopath. Kohberger was in criminal justice studies in order to analyze himself. You could say he succeeded. He was kicked-out and he killed.

Michael and Maryanne (sp?), how are they involved. They are normal nice people. There was a thread on Reddit, “this has got to stop, blaming and criticizing the parents!”

Autism is prenatal.

Kohberger’s behaviors are “highly consistent” with autism but “without explanation others may misinterpret and misidentify Mr. Kohberger’s behaviors and cast them in a more sinister light,” the documents argue. link

I’m not going to repeat their names, the sisters.

Then there is the police chief who cites “social skills.”

Wow. Mental health awareness.

He was not a brother in an idealized or even a normal way for a long time, dating back conveniently to the year 2000. That is the year I will use as a starting place even though the cracks and signs were evident before that. That year there is a fact I can cite. I gave his family a state of the art, circa 2000 cellphone with a special friends and family price plan. That is a figurative stake in the ground.

Writers remember. They like to learn. It always gets better, more insightful and closer to the truth the second, third, or more time around. Now as Barry Morphew is arrested again all the circumstances become evident. The legal trail from dismissal to retribution show the true plot, characters, and setting but they are complex and ephemeral. The story is now clear. The lawyers will still do their jobs but the story will not change.

Linda Stanley was right but also wrong to the level of disbarment. Her’s was quite a fall, from elected district attorney to kicked-out of her profession. But she solved the crime. Everything coming from Morphew was a lie or a threat. He is zero on the character scale and likely that will not change. His family was essential; it was the only thing propping him up.

Linda Stanley Disbarred

KRDO13 Investigates reached out to Linda Stanley following this ruling and she hung up on us.

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Thankfully the U.S. is an amazing country and eventually he will die.

And he will be known as the worst president in the history of the world. Like Hitler. In three years, people who cannot afford it will be livid. I’m happy I can afford to just watch. He is a moron; he looks dumber every day, if that is possible. Even the billionaires are losing money. The road forward is imaginary.

Sure the Democrats blew it. But anyone would have been better. So everyone should have voted wiser. If you want the reasons, read Mary Trump.

The ridiculous deals and negotiations.

Looks up people bombing Tesla dealers… He is already looking older and even before the election I predicted he would go downhill very fast.

Thank goodness we will overcome it.

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Eddy Gomez has only been doing it for a year, he told me. I think he may be in store for a surprise.

I’m tempted to call it the biggest scam I have been a victim of. But that is sensationalism. The facts:

1. (e) Either knowingly or recklessly makes a false representation as to the characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits, alterations, or quantities of goods, food, services, or property or a false representation as to the sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection of a person therewith;” Colo. Rev. Stat. § 6-1-105

2. (a) Misrepresentations and false advertising of insurance policies: Making, issuing, circulating, or causing to be made, issued, or circulated, any estimate, circular, statement, sales presentation, omission, or comparison which: (I) Misrepresents the benefits, advantages, conditions, or terms of any insurance policy; or

(IX) Misrepresentation shall not be construed where a written comparison of policies is made factually disclosing relevant features and benefits for which the policy is issued and by which an informed decision can be made; Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-1-128 – fraudulent insurance acts

3. (XIV) Making or permitting any unfair discrimination between individuals or risks of the same class and of essentially the same hazard by refusing to insure, refusing to renew, canceling, or limiting the amount of insurance coverage on a property and casualty risk solely because of the geographic location of the risk, unless the action is the result of the application of sound underwriting and actuarial principles related to actual or reasonably anticipated loss experience; Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-3-1104

Whenever the commissioner has reason to believe that any person has been engaged or is engaging in this state in any unfair method of competition or any unfair or deceptive act or practice, whether defined or reasonably implied in this part 11, or has violated any other provision of this title or any rule or lawful order of the commissioner and that a proceeding by the commissioner in respect thereto would be to the interest of the public, the commissioner shall proceed as provided in article 4 of title 24, C.R.S. Any final action by the commissioner pursuant to this section shall be subject to judicial review by the court of appeals pursuant to section 24-4-106 (11), C.R.S. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-3-1107

4. (c) Defamation: Making, publishing, disseminating, or circulating, directly or indirectly, or aiding, abetting, or encouraging the making, publishing, disseminating, or circulating of any oral or written statement or any pamphlet, circular, article, or literature which is false, or maliciously critical, or derogatory to the financial condition of any person, and which is calculated to injure such person;(d) Boycott, coercion, and intimidation: Entering into any agreement to commit, or by any concerted action committing, any act of boycott, coercion, or intimidation resulting in or tending to result in unreasonable restraint of, or monopoly in, the business of insurance; Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-1-128 – fraudulent insurance acts

5. Section 18-4-504 – Third degree criminal trespass(1) A person commits the crime of third degree criminal trespass if such person unlawfully enters or remains in or upon premises of another.(2) Third degree criminal trespass is a petty offense, but: (a) Repealed.(b) It is a class 5 felony if the person trespasses on premises classified as agricultural land with the intent to commit a felony thereon; except that it is a class 6 felony if the agricultural land did not have a fence securing the perimeter.

Eavesdropping

How’s that for a descriptive, thoughtful post title. It is the result of about three hours sleep and a 5 AM start. I haven’t even had a chance to write my weekly post on Mgoblogging blasting coach Sherrone Moore.

I agree with this about the stock market and Trump. Nothing goes up forever and it is time to manage greed.

It has been a rough three years for those of us who were counting on that constant 10% a year as income. My main accounts spanning 30 years is up 10.3% at the moment. It was over 11; about 2 years ago before the start of the current recuperation, it was below 10. That is the risk in investing in stocks, especially high-risk ones like small caps, technology, and international. Some of my long-time well-performing funds are still down over the past 3 years.

Now a few of my better performing funds–blue chip and communications and technology, T. Rowe Price) are up over the past three years; Capital Appreciation was up most of the time. The S&P is up 10.3%/year compounded over the past 3 years, which is average to modest. However, that same S&P is up 32.9% over the past year; a couple of my funds are up near 50% in the past year, a rise that is unsustainable. Trump is not going to move it forward in any appreciable amount.

Despite the lack of growth and even losses in certain categories, while they are still the best investment bets for the near term, they are not going to propel a major bull market on their own. And some of the major large-caps are up massive amounts and are at unrealistic highs.

Nothing goes up forever, even among the downtrodden.

I have been selling for a while, investing in bonds whose future looks bright, and balancing toward more stable investments like Capital Appreciation and value funds, and cash, which is still earning 4.5%.

This gets me to the professed wisdom and advice portion of New Post. When you look at what is promoted as 5-year growth that is compounded annual average return. It factors out fluctuation and growth stocks, in whole and in part, go up, and then down, and sometimes up again. Over the long term there is no better return. But quite possibly it is best to look at a chart of annual calendar year returns; some go up and down and others are still with risk fairly steady. That steady return and wealth building is arguably better in a life-living situation: if you want to use it you have to have some ability to predict or control it.

Me? I learned I have been investing in percentage statistics rather than focusing a particular asset or fund on growth. Now that I want to control and spend it I cannot do that, even though it has grown about as well as I could have expected.