Ashley Smith: An ordinary woman with extraordinary courage...

ATLANTA - Ashley Smith, the woman held hostage in her apartment by the suspect in Atlanta’s courthouse slayings, said Monday she hopes Brian Nichols realizes he did the right thing by not killing her and instead surrendering without a fight.

“I hope that he’s sitting in jail right now, thinking that he did the right thing and that he knows he did the right thing," Smith said on NBC's "Today" show.

Smith, 26, added that Nichols "finally let me leave when I told him I needed to" go see her 5-year-old daughter, Paige, who was at a church function.

Nichols apparently was touched by that mother-daughter connection. "I just told him that she didn't have a daddy anymore and if he killed me she wouldn't have a mommy either. I saw her face in my head almost the entire time," she told NBC. Smith's husband was killed in a stabbing four years ago.

"It calmed him down a little," Smith added, noting that when she finally opened her door to leave, Nichols asked, "Will you tell Paige hello for me?"

Discussing God
Smith told a news conference on Sunday that when Nichols let her go he said he wanted to stay at her apartment for a few more days.

During the ordeal, Smith said she gently talked to Nichols, turning from hostage to confidant as they discussed God, family, pancakes and the massive manhunt going on outside her apartment.

“I believe God brought him to my door,” Smith said just hours after her 911 call ended a manhunt for Nichols, who is accused of killing four people and wounding a fifth.

 Brian Nichols

He felt 'already dead'
Over the course of the night, Nichols untied Smith, and some of the fear lessened as they talked. Nichols told Smith he felt like “he was already dead,” but Smith urged him to consider the fact that he was still alive a “miracle.”

“You’re here in my apartment for some reason,” she told him, saying he might be destined to be caught and to spread the word of God to fellow prisoners. She told him his escape from authorities had been a “miracle.”

Smith later called 911 after she was freed, and police soon surrounded her suburban apartment complex. Nichols gave up peacefully, waving a white towel in surrender.

“I honestly think when I looked at him that he didn’t want to do it anymore,” Smith said. If he did not give up, she told him, “Lots more people are probably going get hurt and you’re probably going to die.”

'Best-case scenario'
Police said they were impressed by the way Smith handled herself.

“She acted very cool and levelheaded. We don’t normally see that in our profession,” said Gwinnett County Police Officer Darren Moloney. “It was an absolutely best-case scenario that happened, a complete opposite of what you expected to happen. We were prepared for the worst and got the best.”

The crime spree began when Nichols allegedly overpowered a courthouse deputy escorting him to his rape trial Friday and took the deputy’s gun, then killed the presiding judge and court reporter. He also is accused of killing a deputy who tried to stop him outside the courthouse and a federal agent during his flight from authorities.

Smith said her ordeal began around 2 a.m. Saturday morning with Nichols sticking a gun in her side in the parking lot of her apartment when she returned from a store.

He tied her up and told her to sit in the bathroom while he took a shower. “He said, ‘I’m not going to hurt you if you just do what I say,”’ she said. He told her: “I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anybody else.”

He wanted 'normalness'
Choking back tears, she said she told Nichols that her husband died four years ago and if he hurt her, her little girl wouldn’t have a mother or father. Smith’s attorney, Josh Archer, said her husband died in her arms after being stabbed.

The two talked about the Bible and she handed him photos of her family. When morning came, Nichols was “overwhelmed” when Smith made him pancakes with real butter, she said. He told her he “just wanted some normalness to his life,” she said.

Nichols at one point called her "an angel sent from God," Smith said.

The two watched television news reports about the slayings and the manhunt. “I cannot believe that’s me on there,” Smith quoted Nichols as saying.

Escape 'was preventable'
Nichols could appear in federal court as early as Monday to face a charge of possession of a firearm by a person under indictment, the charge authorities are using to keep Nichols in custody while they sort out charging in the slayings, said U.S. Attorney David Nahmias.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office hopes to formally charge Nichols with the new crimes within 30 days, spokesman Erik Friedly said Sunday. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard still would like to resolve Nichols’ interrupted rape retrial.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday that a courthouse surveillance camera recorded Nichols’ initial surprise attack on Deputy Cynthia Hall but that no one in the control center noticed the assault.

“It’s not just horrible, it was preventable,” Senior Superior Court Judge Philip Etheridge told the newspaper.

Video captures attack
A video camera, which is supposed to be monitored by two guards in a command post, shows Nichols and the deputy arriving in the holding area between two courtrooms, according to a law enforcement official who saw the tape. The video shows Hall guiding Nichols, whose hands are still handcuffed behind his back, into one of two open cells.

Hall releases one cuff and turns Nichols around to unhook the remaining cuff. But the muscular, 33-year-old Nichols then lunges at Hall, knocking the petite, 51-year-old grandmother backward into another cell. Both disappear from camera view. Two to three minutes later, Nichols emerges from the cell, holding Hall’s gun belt and police radio. He picks up her keys from the floor and locks her in the cell.

A few minutes later, he emerges in civilian clothes. He locks the door behind him and calmly walks out of the holding area, carrying the gun belt, according to the official who saw the tape.

Judge Etheridge said Hall should not have been alone with Nichols, a former college linebacker who had been found with two sharpened door hinges in his socks earlier in the week.

Hall remained in critical condition Sunday, Grady Memorial Hospital officials said. Killed were Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Brandau, Sgt. Hoyt Teasley and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent David Wilhelm.

© 2005 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7157845/

(Note: I highly encourage you to read the transcript of Smith's account of the whole ordeal. It's truly amazing.)

My commentary...

What amazing courage and faith this woman has.

I can not fathom what it must be like to witness your spouse being stabbed to death, then to see them die in your arms as Ashley did four years ago.

I furthermore can not understand what it must be like to have a known-murderer come into your apartment and threaten your life knowing that if you were to die your 5-year-old daughter would be an orphan.

Lastly, it's amazing that someone would have such strength and courage to talk their way out of danger and live to tell the world about it.

This story is captivating. It's all over the news here in America and around the world, and everyone wants to know, "how did she do it?"

Her aunt says it wasn't her, it was God working through her.

(From CNN): Smith said she asked Nichols if she could read. She retrieved a Bible and a copy of "The Purpose-Driven Life."   She said he asked her to repeat a paragraph "about what you thought your purpose in life was -- what talents were you given."

You see, Ashley was given a choice in her life. When her husband died, she could have blamed herself and been depressed for years to come. However, she decided to press onward, against tragedy and put her faith into something greater than herself. She probably began reading the Bible for comfort and solace during that great time of fear and uncertainty - just like she did last week, while facing death.

Ashley looked fear right in the face and in the most direct, yet politest way possible said, "This is God's will, I will trust in Him, and I will be victorious". Sure enough, her faith paid off and she lived to tell about it. 

Everyone wants to know why they are here and why they were created and Ashley was no different. She probably prayed night after night, asking God to show her a purpose, a reason for living.

Well this past week, in the most mysterious way possible, it appears that God has answered her prayer. Now the whole world knows who Ashley Smith is, her amazing story, and about her amazing faith in God, who kept His promise: "I will never leave you, nor forsake you."

Just another example of triumph in the midst of a horrendous tragedy.

My prayers go out to the friends and families of the victims in last week's shootings. May God bring them strength during this time of great trial.

Related links...

March 11: Two Dead, Four Injured, In Shooting At Atlanta Courthouse...

March 12: US Customs Agent Found Dead in Atlanta...

March 12: Atlanta Courtroom Shooting Suspect Captured, Being Held by FBI...

March 14: Ga. Courthouse Reopens Amid Tight Security...

Other news...

"We're not leavin' until you are..."

Thousands March Against Syria in Beirut...

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators chanted "Freedom, sovereignty, independence," and waved a sea of Lebanese flags in Beirut on Monday, the biggest anti-Syrian protest yet in the opposition's duel of street rallies with supporters of the Damascus-backed government.

Crowds of Druse, Christians and Sunni Muslims flooded Martyrs' Square and spilled over into nearby streets — responding to an opposition call to turn out for the removal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

"We are coming to liberate our country. We are coming to demand the truth," said Fatma Trad, a veiled Sunni Muslim woman who traveled from the remote region of Dinniyeh in northern Lebanon to take part.

The assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri exactly one month ago sparked the series of protests against Syria, the dominant power in Lebanon.

The throngs fell silent at 12:55 p.m. — the exact time Hariri was killed four weeks ago by a huge bomb in Beirut. The silence was broken only by church bells tolling and the flutter of flags.

.....

Protesters chanted "Truth, freedom, national unity!" or "We want only the Lebanese army in Lebanon!"

"Syria out, no half measures," read a banner, borrowing from President Bush's description of Damascus' gradual withdrawal from this country of 3.5 million.

Related: 30 percent of Syrian forces withdraw from Lebanon...

Study Shows U.S. Election Coverage Harder on Bush...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. media coverage of last year's election was three times more likely to be negative toward President Bush than Democratic challenger John Kerry, according to a study released Monday.

The annual report by a press watchdog that is affiliated with Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism said that 36 percent of stories about Bush were negative compared to 12 percent about Kerry, a Massachusetts senator.

Only 20 percent were positive toward Bush compared to 30 percent of stories about Kerry that were positive, according to the report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

The study looked at 16 newspapers of varying size across the country, four nightly newscasts, three network morning news shows, nine cable programs and nine Web sites through the course of 2004.

Examining the public perception that coverage of the war in Iraq was decidedly negative, it found evidence did not support that conclusion. The majority of stories had no decided tone, 25 percent were negative and 20 percent were positive, it said.

The three network nightly newscasts and public broadcaster PBS tended to be more negative than positive, while Fox News was twice as likely to be positive as negative. Read more...

Various other news...

China Authorizes Use of Force Against Taiwan...

WASH POST Editor to CHINA DAILY: 'I don't think U.S. should be the leader of the world'...

Former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume says he will run for the U.S. Senate in 2006...

Judge Says Calif. Can't Ban Gay Marriage...

Government Report on U.S. Aviation Warns of Security Holes...

London: 'Beheading' horror in street...

Finally, the picture of the day...

Fri Mar 11,12:06 AM ET
In the seats at right, Stratosphere spokesman Mike Gilmartin (L) and a reporter take a spin on 'Insanity,' a new thrill ride, over 900-feet above the Las Vegas Strip at the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 10, 2005. REUTERS/Sam Morris/Las Vegas Sun

Have a great day,

-Justin

(Note: Be sure to check out www.hundredpercenter.com, where my article on Dan Rather is currently being linked. Also, this is a long post, but there are some lighthearted items at the bottom, check it out!)

As a student at a four-day-week college, Thursdays are always good days. However, the best Thursdays are days like today (the official beginning of spring break) and final exam days (the official end of the semester).

So here's to a week of cruising around, soaking up the sun, and hanging out on the beach.

(Translation: "So here's to a week of work, driving to work, sitting inside at work, and hanging out at work.")

I'll begin today's post with some local stories (one which is now receiving national attention) about road rage...

The first incident occurred on Sunday (from the Tampa Tribune):

On Sunday, a Wesley Chapel man was shot and killed while driving on Interstate 75 just east of Tampa. Investigators think the bullet came from a large-caliber handgun fired from a moving vehicle.

Investigators are still trying to figure this one out. It happened along I-75 near the I-4 junction, a route I occasionally take to get to school.

The second incident occurred on Monday:

About 4:50 p.m. Monday, a 22- year-old Zephyrhills woman reported that one of her Ford Escape's windows was shattered as she drove south on Morris Bridge Road, passing a northbound white car. The woman said she saw the other driver holding a gun, but Pasco County sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said there is ``no clear evidence of a bullet'' hitting the woman's window. ``There are some scratches on the side of her vehicle that indicate something was thrown.''

Investigators are trying to determine what motivated Sunday's and Monday's incidents. They do not think these incidents are related.

The final and perhaps most bizarre incident happened on Tuesday in downtown Tampa...(from the St. Pete Times):

Politics has always been divisive, splitting families and turning friend against friend.

This week, though, a Tampa woman learned that simple Bush-Cheney bumper sticker can bring trouble, if not danger, from a total stranger.

Police say Michelle Fernandez, 35, was chased for miles Tuesday by an irate 31-year-old Tampa man who cursed at her as he held up an anti-Bush sign and tried to run her off the road.

His sign, about the size of a business letter, read:

Never Forget Bush's Illegal Oil War Murdered Thousands in Iraq.

"I guess this was a disgruntled Democrat," Tampa Police spokesman Joe Durkin said. "Maybe he has that sign with him so he's prepared any time he comes up against a Republican." Read more here...

This story is also being reported nationwide.

Video of the story from Tampa Bay's 10 News...

I have to admit it's kind of crazy that all of these unexplainable acts of "rage" have all occurred within the last week. Yet I wouldn't go as far as to answer "yes" to the Tribune's question "are Tampa Bay area roads more dangerous than they used to be?"

I tend to agree with Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter when she says ``I don't think it's any more dangerous than it has been''.

So don't worry all of you Florida-bound spring-breakers. Our roads are safe, our beaches are clean, and our theme parks are expensive. So spend a lot of money and drive up the economy, we need it.

Other Americans face an even greater road threat...in Iraq...

Caption (from estripes.com): Army Staff Sgt. Vernon Smith, left, of Tallahassee, Fla., an explosive ordnance disposal team member from the 766th Ordnance Company, is helped into a protective suit by Pfc. Wade Harrington, of Steinhatcher, Fla., after a roadside bomb was found in northern Baghdad on Monday.

Finding the bomb before it finds you...

A group of engineers and armor soldiers patrolling near Camp Taji, Iraq, on Monday proved how valuable a keen eye and healthy skepticism can be. Insurgents wanted the soldiers to find only one roadside bomb, but instead they found three planted in a deadly pattern.

Apparently, one of the devices was a decoy, designed to lure the 1st Armored Division soldiers into setting up a cordon of the area, which might have positioned them directly between the other two bombs, said Capt. Greg Spencer, 31, of Scottsville, Ky., commander of Company A, 1st Battalion, 13th Armor Regiment.

.....

In the past week, the 1-13 Armor Regiment, boosted by members of the 70th Engineer Battalion, have uncovered six roadside bombs and been hit by two. No soldiers have been hurt. The group is responsible for securing the road outside Taji — a primary supply route between Baghdad and Mosul — and protecting the convoys that use it, Spencer said. They took over that chore about 10 days ago following the departure of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Task Force.

.....

Explosive ordnance disposal soldiers maneuvered a small, wheeled robot down to the palm log and blew it up at about 1:30 p.m. Thirty minutes later, the second roadside bomb went off.

Army officials speculated it was radio-controlled, targeting the EOD team approaching the first bomb. Immediately after the second blast, armored Humvees and tanks rolled into the area, searching for other logs and anyone who might have triggered the second blast. An Iraqi man, standing about 500 yards from the first explosion, suffered a minor cut to his leg from a piece of shrapnel. He was treated at the scene by an Army medic.

May God bless these brave soldiers and all of our troops facing danger everyday while we, back here at home, enjoy the freedom they provide.

Other news...

Bush stumps for oil drilling in Alaskan wildlife refuge...

President Bush said Wednesday that the answer to high gasoline and oil prices was a long-range energy plan that includes drilling in an Arctic wildlife refuge.

Bush gave his energy pitch in Ohio, where consumers have been battling high winter heating bills and gasoline prices exceeding $2 a gallon.

"Higher prices at the gas pump and rising home heating bills and the possibilities of blackouts are legitimate concerns for all Americans," Bush told a crowd of supporters inside the Franklin County Veterans Memorial here.

Ohio was at the center of a massive power blackout nearly two years ago, but broadly supported proposals to increase power grid reliability have been tangled up in the debate on wider energy legislation in Congress.

I know, I know, the idea of drilling in ANWR probably puts Bush into the  "evil conservative"  stereotype, but there are some interesting things to consider.

First of all, I don't totally like the idea of "drilling-up" or destroying the environment. Yet, with gas about to jump to over $2 a gallon and the ever increasing demand to "stop our dependence on foreign oil" we must consider our options here at home.

Some may argue that we should discover alternative energy sources, and I agree. However, in the meantime, we should consider other options such as the Gulf of Mexico or a place like ANWR.

Secondly, even if an alternate source of energy is found, we'll still need oil in our textile factories and for a number of other uses.

So in summary, I don't think we should destroy the environment, but I do think there has got to be some places that are rich in oil here at home that can allow us to end our dependence on foreign oil while we search for an alternative.

Hillary news...

Clinton Seeks Ratings on Children's Media...

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday sharply criticized the sex and violence in video games and other entertainment directed at children, calling the prevalence of such images an epidemic.

Mrs. Clinton, a Democrat from New York, also called on industry leaders to create a uniform ratings system that would warn parents about sex and violence in video games, television and other forms of entertainment that children might be exposed to. By contrast, parents now look to a patchwork of ratings systems that differ from one sector of the industry to another.

At a forum held by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Mrs. Clinton cited studies indicating that children who are exposed to graphic images of violence display more aggressive behavior.

Related: Hil gets an odd pal (Sen. Santorum) in battle vs. sex TV...

Let's say Hillary is being genuine here, not trying to move to the center, and not trying to set herself up for an '08 run, OK I can give her that. But what about all those years of public attention? Why wait until now to be so outspoken on "moral issues"? 

Just something interesting to think about.

Related: Bill Clinton's 'Love Fest' With Bush Seen As Possibly Boosting Spouse...

Finally, ridiculousness...

Woman To Stage Topless Protest In Daytona -- Again...

A woman fighting the city of Daytona Beach over her right to protest topless plans to bare her breasts in public this weekend.

An attorney for Elizabeth Book and a city attorney signed an agreement last month allowing her to be topless at a rally on the last day of Bike Week. She must use a flatbed truck covered with a six-foot tarp to shield unwilling passers-by from seeing her and other topless female protesters.

"We consider it a tremendous victory for the First Amendment," said Larry Walters, Book's attorney.

.....

Book, who is in her early 40s, has said it is unfair that only men are allowed to go topless in public places and that women are fined for flashing their breasts at events like Bike Week, the annual gathering of hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts.

(My immediate reaction to this story...)

Umm...yeah, sorry to leave you on that note.  Let me find something a bit more pleasant...here ya' go...

This should take your mind off the gross 40-year-old woman.

It's a lil' ole' puppy.

"I'm gon' be a quarterback!"

Til' next time, (Which reminds me...will, someone help me come up with a "cool" closing like Dan Rather had?)

-Justin

p.s. Here's a short essay by your's truly on baseball.

 

I was only 6 or 7-years-old during the first Gulf War. I remember seeing the images of tracer bullets flying through the night sky on one of the three major networks, wondering what the next day might hold for me and other Americans, only 11 to 12 years older, fighting for our freedom.

Rather, and other nightly news anchors, brought a little piece of mind during those tumultuous times and during other times of trial.

I may have been young, but I vividly remember such events as the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, the Oklahoma City Bombing, and the unforgettable attacks of 9/11.

During such times, I was unaware of such things as "bias" and Internet news. I looked to the networks for some assurance, and at the time, they delivered.

Dan Rather was a good journalist. He covered the JFK assassination, the memorable 1968 Democratic National Convention (where he was punched in the stomach), and a time where broadcasting was never more important - 9/11. I remember Rather's appearance on one of the late night shows shortly after 9/11. He teared up and seemed genuinely dismayed. He spoke in a solemn tone that was reflective of most of the country at that time. I have an appreciation of who Rather was during these times.

However, there are other parts of his "legacy", that are as equally memorable.

There were the harmless, light-hearted aspects of Rather, such as his trademark red suspenders and his witty comments, better known as "Ratherisms". (An example of a "Ratherism": "We said earlier in the evening at one point that Governor Bush would probably be as mad as a rained-on rooster.")

Then there were much more disconcerting times during Rather's career, shared by he and others in network news.

It was a time when talk radio, and conservatism as a whole, was on the rise. It was the 1980's and conservative talk radio pioneers such as Rush Limbaugh, were beginning to offer an alternative to the monopoly of outlets in network news media. Shows such as Limbaugh's allowed for competition and protest aimed at the "mainstream" media, with the hopes of keeping it in check.

The networks no longer could freely get away with incidents, such as "The Wall Within" (a report by Rather). Network news had met it's match, and at the same time, began it's decline.

Then came this new concept called "the Internet". For many years, network news stations neglected to embrace the idea of news on the web. While in the meantime, Matt Drudge, a self-described "loner", toyed with the idea of posting gossip online that he'd heard while working at a CBS gift shop. He worked his way up slowly but surely. First it was announcements about TV shows, then it turned into politics. Eventually, Drudge's idea caught on as his online following increased dramatically.

Drudge's big break came on January 17, 1998 when he reported that Newsweek was nixing a story about President Clinton having an affair. Overnight, Drudge became a household name and internet news was never the same.

Since that day, almost every news network has a website. News is now available at the click of a button, with fresh, off-the-wire reports. Americans and anyone else with a modem (or wireless card), no longer have to wait for the newspaper or the nightly news, they can receive their news anywhere within the reach of a phone jack (or wireless router), immediately.

The phenomenon of "blogging" has expedited the decline of network news. Today, there is a "blog" for just about anything. Watchdog groups keep networks, politicians, and others in power in check.

One major example of the power of "bloggers" came just last year during a story put on by CBS just weeks before the election. CBS reported that they had obtained documents indicating that President Bush did not complete his commitments while serving in the Texas Air National Guard. As the story unfolded, it appeared that the documents were fabricated and CBS indicated that they would launch an investigation.

It turned out in the investigation that producer Mary Mapes began speaking with a journalist in Texas who attempted to help her dig up dirt on Bush by seeking information that could "possibly change the momentum of an election".

Rather attempted to vindicate himself from the flap, yet it has become a controversy that follows him to this day.

Rather, like many of his peers, was a man who exhibited amazing journalistic talent in his early years. Yet he, and others like him, will most likely be remembered for inaccurate works such as "The Wall Within", the Bush Guard story, and for participating in the ever-increasing, increasingly-apparent media bias. Finally, he will be remembered for stepping down during a time when network news was practically out the door with him.

Yes, the era of dominance is all but over for the major news networks. Things have not and will never be the same since the inception of talk radio and "blogging". Yet all is not lost for network news. Now they are held accountable by a group that was intended to be in power all along - the people.

So, here's to a happy retirement for Dan Rather and the monopoly that once was, the "mainstream" media.

Courage.

-Justin