Your kid turns 18 and he or she is headed to the army or whatever. Time for a free trip. Step by step process would make Abbie Hoffman proud.

Step 1: Sign up for American Airlines (should have done that 18 years ago)

Step 2: Apply for a Citibank-AAdvantage Visa Card here. First year free. Spend $750 and get 25,750 immediate points. Cancel right away.

Step 3: Apply for a fidelity account and fund with $10,000 (can withdraw after 6 months), That gets you 15,000 miles.

Step 4: Now you have 40,000 miles good for a trip anywhere in Europe for the kid.

Option 2: Smaller investment of $2500 gets you 5,000 miles. That puts you 4250 miles short of the 35,000 level free ticket to India (bit of Ashram before Yeshiva?). You will need to scrounge for those missing miles or spend more on Visa.

Disclaimer: This offer is not valid for my kid, who turns 18 this summer.

Social Responsibility Statement: Time to get an absentee ballot for your kid to vote in this years US presidential election. Conventional wisdoms suggests registering in Florida. Elections are always fun there.

• Family Vacation Ideas for Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Cheyenne Wyoming and the Eastern Rockies
• Family Vacation Ideas for Richmond, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, North Carolina's Outer Banks
• Family Vacation Ideas for Philadelphia, Lancaster, the Poconos, Eastern Pennsylvania

18 year old Indigo works as a waitress in a downtown Seattle diner and lives with her mom, brother and sister. She's a free soul who doesn't want to attend college and is happier tooling around in her boyfriend's renovated Mustang, Bob Weaver. Then Indigo receives a $2.5 million tip. Will the money change her?

I was thoroughly charmed by Indigo. The one silly thing was her absolute revulsion at cigarettes, which I thought odd at first, but then turned into a major plot device.

Also this paragraph stuck with me: "He put his arms around me. . .Because that's what people do who love you. They put their arms around you and love you when you're not so lovable. And right there I learn something very simple and fundamental about love. That it is there or it is not there. That some of biggest troubles probably come when we try to convince ourselves it is there when it isn't, or that it isn't there when it is." (pg. 292)

The girl had a concussion, injuries to her left eye left ear, and several bruises.

I was able to find information about the teenagers:

In order from top left (bold indicates the kidnappers):

April Cooper, 14, of Lakeland
Britney Mayes, 17, of Lakeland
Cara Murphy, 16, of Lakeland
Brittini Hardcastle, 17, of Lakeland
Kayla Hassell, 15, of Mulberry
Mercades Nichols, 16, of Lakeland
Zachary Ashley, 17, of Lakeland
Stephen Schumaker, 18, of Lakeland

Here's a clip of the attack (warning, violent content):

And here's a link to the full video of the attack: http://sports.rightpundits.com/?p=606

Here's a video of Victoria's parents' (Talisa and Patrick) response

So, police found the vido and have charged all 8 teenagers with felony battery, false imprisonment, and kidnapping.  Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said that both the video and the attack were "shocking -- I've never seen anything like it... this is outrageous behavior ... It’s absolutely an animalistic attack.  They lured her into the home for express purpose of filming the attack and posting it on the internet."  The fact that they did this just for the video means that I want more than ever for them to get the maximum punishment - they should be put away for life plus 10 years (life for the kidnapping, 5 for the false imprisonment, and 5 for the felony battery).  For those who didn't participate in the kidnapping, I'd charge them with conspiracy to kidnap, a first degree misdemeanor which gives them up to 1 year in prison, so a total of 11 years.  There's no reason that they shouldn't go to jail for the rest of their lives - what they did was dispicable, and they need to pay.

Done Ranting,

Ranting Republican
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