By Judge Jeanine Pirro, LKL Blog Contributor

The recent shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, the bodies unearthed at Anthony Sowell's home in Cleveland, Ohio, and the kidnapping and rape of Jaycee Lee Dugard by Phillip Garrido in California, beg the question: Could these crimes have been prevented?

While on the surface these crimes may not have much in common, they all have paper trails that tell me they never should have happened.

For me, the Phillip Garrido and Anthony Sowell cases make compelling arguments for civil confinement – that is, the hospitalization of violent sex offenders in secure facilities to get them "help" and prevent them from preying on additional innocent victims.  As registered sex offenders, both Garrido and Sewell were required to report their addresses.  Garrido in particular was subject to regular unannounced visits by parole officers. No search warrant required.

An investigation into whether the system failed in the Garrido case came back with a resounding yes.  The Inspector General of California found that there were numerous opportunities to find the child victim and that there were at least 11 parole violations that could have put this violent sexual predator back behind bars.  That was a no-brainer.

Garrido lived openly with young children, parole officers had an obligation to check his living arrangements and neighbors called the inept police and told them he was a sex offender living with children. I said months ago that the parole officer and the cop who got the call (and then claimed he didn't know Garrido was a sex offender) should be fired.

Anthony Sowell, yet another criminal "registered sex offender”, was free to roam and prey on his next victims. Although 10 bodies and one skull have so far been found in his house and on his property, he is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty.

My question: Why was this violent sex offender who was arrested and tried for choking and raping his pregnant victim free to access others?  Was he not violent enough to civilly confine in a secure mental health facility to prevent him from reoffending?  What genius decided he was at little risk to reoffend? Why did the cops and those who "monitor" sex offenders not investigate complaints from neighbors who called police to say a naked woman fell out of his second floor window?  What about the complaints of neighbors who complained of the stench?  What amateur cop doesn't know the difference between the smell of a sausage factory and rotting human flesh emanating from one specific location?  Could it be that the Cleveland police paid little attention to low income, high-risk victims from high crime areas?  Why did the police laugh off a daughter’s complaint that her mom was missing?

And then there is the alleged Fort Hood killer Major Nidal Malik Hasan. This guy is a shrink who is employed by our government to counsel military personnel in crisis situations?

This is a man who allegedly wrote on a website that suicide bombers should be revered. A man who was trying to get out of deployment and who was transferred from Walter Reed Army Base with poor performance grades! 

The details are as of yet sketchy, but six months ago, according to media reports, the FBI had an eye on Hasan because of Internet postings attributed to him. One blog entry equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades. I don't much care that he might have been "stressed" and could care less that he gave his frozen broccoli to his neighbor.

In a "civilized" society we need to protect the victims and weed out those who have shown they disregard the sanctity of children and innocent lives. It is also time for us to demand accountability from those in government whether they be police officers, parole officers or the military personnel.

No one is ENTITLED to his or her job.  Once they prove they are incompetent or incapable of doing their job and someone suffers grave consequences, like Jaycee Lee Dugard, or the 10 or so women who were allegedly strangled and murdered at Anthony Sowell's home, or the 13 who've lost their lives at Fort Hood, those who were in a position to detect or monitor these criminals need to be fired.  No desk job, no suspension-FIRED!!

It is time to stop excusing criminals who choose to victimize innocents. They are not insane.  And if they are, then get them away from the rest of us.  And I don't want to hear about Hasan's stress. I don't want to hear about his religious beliefs, either. It is time to stop being politically correct and start being morally right.

Jeanine Pirro is host of "Judge Pirro" and former District Attorney and County Court Judge of Westchester County, New York. Find out when"Judge Pirro" airs in your local market: www.judgejp.com.

By Alan Duke
CNN

Los Angeles, California (CNN) - Michael Jackson's mother dropped her challenge of the two men named as executors in her son's will, but her sudden reversal caught her husband by surprise Tuesday and led to a bitter fight in court.

In the end, the judge approved John Branca and John McClain as executors to run the pop star's estate and he ruled that Michael Jackson's father had no right to challenge the decision.

Joe Jackson, however, will have his day in court in December to argue that he should get a monthly allowance from his son's huge estate.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff also unsealed court documents that revealed the family spent $1.1 million on Michael Jackson's funeral in August, using money from his estate.

Katherine Jackson's change of heart came three weeks after she hired attorney Adam Streisand to replace the lawyers who were leading her four-month-long challenge of Branca and McClain.

(READ MORE)

Tonight: David Letterman's Alleged Extortionist in Court!

Now, his attorney goes head-to-head with Letterman’s.  Why the man accused of blackmailing the late night talk show host wants the charges dropped.

Plus, former beauty queen Carrie Prejean! Why she says she's been 'Palinized' by the media!

Also, the attorney for Major Nidal Malik Hasan gives Larry the latest.

Plus, we want to hear from you:

Do you think Carrie Prejean has been treated fairly by the media and public?

Editor's Note: Army Maj. Nidal M. Hasan's lawyer joins Larry tonight to discuss the latest in the Fort Hood investigation.

By Carrie Johnson and Spencer S. Hsu via Washington Post

As the nation mourned the 13 people shot dead last week at Fort Hood, Tex., finger-pointing in Washington intensified Tuesday about whether officials at several agencies had failed to coordinate as they tracked the suspect's activities or to react to possible warning signs in the months before the attack.

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama attended a somber memorial service at the sprawling Army post, where he spoke about each of those killed.

"Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched," the president said, adding, "Neither this country, nor the values that we were founded upon, could exist without men and women like these 13 Americans."

Near the base, investigators continued searching for clues to the attack, with blue-gloved FBI agents sifting through garbage outside the Islamic Community Center of Greater Killeen, where Army Maj. Nidal M. Hasan worshiped before allegedly firing more than 100 rounds last week in what authorities call the largest attack at a military base in the United States.

In Washington, lawmakers and counterterrorism experts debated whether officials bungled the intelligence analysis or played down the threat that Hasan may have posed.

The concerns resonated in part because of similar accusations that, in the months leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, strikes, officials had missed opportunities and neglected to share information, contributing to their failure to detect or prevent the attack. Reforms in the eight years since have focused on improving communication between agencies and making intelligence capabilities more nimble.

(READ MORE)

Editor's Note: Carrie Prejean is a guest on Larry King Live tonight!

By Elizabeth Snead via Los Angeles Times

Carrie Prejean stopped by "The View" on Tuesday to explain why she sold a tape of herself masturbating and  to go into more depth on her new book: "Still Standing." 

Prejean explained that the solo sex tape she made at at age 17 was the "biggest mistake" of her life.

She offered this advice to other young girls thinking of following in her handprints. 

"In my book, I talk about how young women all the time are doing this and nothing is private any more - nothing is private. And you know when you're young and you think: I'll never be famous, I'll never be a celebrity - think you will."

 Prejean then praised her personal decision to go public about the self-pleasuring video. "It's embarrassing even talking about this right now," said the former topless model/Fox News poster child. "I've been on national TV discussing the worst mistake of my life. I mean, how many people are comfortable doing that?"

When Barbara Walters reminded her that she also had monetary reasons -  "But you did it also because you have a book out" - Prejean admitted that was true but then got back on topic with claims of religious discrimination for her gay-marriage views.

What do you think of Carrie Prejean now? Has your opinion of this young woman changed since the sex-tape news? Can we believe anything she says?

Via UsWeekly.com

After a seven-year rift, Jon Voight tells the new issue of Us Weekly (on newsstands now) that he and Angelina Jolie have reconciled.

"We're in touch, but not regularly," Voight, 70, confirms to Us Weekly. "We love each other and that's the most important thing."

Jolie, 34, stopped speaking to him in 2001 after a teary Voight appeared on Access Hollywood and pleaded for her to seek help for her "serious mental problems."

But in February, "they met face-to-face" and have been talking ever since, a family friend tells the new Us Weekly.

"Angie made the initial contact," says the pal. "Brad [Pitt] has been supportive – a key factor in her reaching out."

NOTE: Al Gore will be on LKL for the hour Thursday.  What do you want to ask him?

By Holman Jenkins
WSJ.com

Last spring Tennessee Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn asked Al Gore during a House hearing if his investments in green energy meant he would benefit personally from cap and trade.

"If you believe that the reason I have been working on this issue for 30 years is because of greed, you don't know me," Mr. Gore responded (and, yes, according to two reporters present, he sighed).

Mr. Gore is quite right that his arguments should be judged on their merits, not on his investments. He's wrong to think his investments are irrelevant, and, even more, that sincerity is dispositive of anything. Sincerity is no substitute for disinterestedness.

Here are a couple questions: When so much of his position and prestige are invested in a predicted climate crisis, is Mr. Gore likely to be open to contrary evidence? Is he likely to be particularly fastidious about whether proposed steps will actually have an effect on global warming if they also happen to benefit his investments?

Ms. Blackburn's challenge was in a sense late. Mr. Gore long ago jumped over to the side where salesmanship, by whatever means, was the trumping priority. As far back as 1989, he insisted there was "no dispute worthy of recognition" about the danger of manmade climate change. By now, he titularly heads a vast establishment with a stake in one side of the argument.

(READ MORE)

by David Nakamura via The Atlantic

For people 40 and older: 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women

-----------------------------–

In Japan, being fat remains noteworthy, something that makes you stand out in a shameful way in a conformist society. Even now, despite government statistics and anecdotal evidence that Japanese people are getting heavier, I can go days without seeing a single fat person in Tokyo.

As I write today in Globalpost, the Japanese government is not content that the country is among the slimmest in the world. Last year, lawmakers established a national limit on waistlines for people 40 and older: 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women. The program, which aims to cut down on metabolic syndrome, a leading indicator for heart disease and diabetes, has been controversial and critics say it misses the mark scientifically.

Regardless of how one feels about legislating waistlines, living in Japan for an American is a wakeup call when it comes to body image and eating discipline. In the same way that living in Hiroshima after 9/11 provided me a different perspective about American military power, so did it teach me a valuable lesson in the way the Japanese saw America's obesity epidemic.

(Read More)

By Paul Sullivan Chicago Tribune

Sammy Sosa said he's using a "bleaching cream" to soften his skin and is not trying to change his pigmentation.

"I'm not a racist," he told ESPN Deportes.

Sosa, in his first public remarks since the famous photos became public, said he's not trying to look like Michael Jackson:

"What happened was that I had been using the cream for a long time and that, combined with the bright TV lights, made my face look whiter than it really is. I don't think I look like Michael Jackson," he said to ESPN Deportes.

(Read More)

via Los Angeles Times LA Now blog

Michael Jackson’s funeral at Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale cost more than $1 million, including $35,000 for the pop star’s burial garments, according to court documents unsealed today.

Jackson was interred amid much media hype at the cemetery's Great Mausoleum in September. The pop singer's remains were placed in a crypt in the Holly Terrace section of the mausoleum, a massive building that is the final resting place for stars from film's golden age, including Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard and Clark Gable.

According to court documents reviewed by The Times, the funeral cost $1.09 million. Most of that money went to Forest Lawn for various costs. Besides the cost of Jackson’s garments, the court documents said flowers for the burial cost $16,000.

A judge approved the cost of the burial in September, but the records were not unsealed until today.

(Read More)