http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/pets/galleries/animal_kingdom_oddities/animal_kingdom_oddities.html

House Democrats pass health-care bill

One Republican votes for plan Senate will act next on legislation

Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 8, 2009

Hours after President Obama exhorted Democratic lawmakers to "answer the call of history," the House hit an unprecedented milestone on the path to health-care reform, approving a trillion-dollar package late Saturday that seeks to overhaul private insurance practices and guarantee comprehensive and affordable coverage to almost every American.

After months of acrimonious partisanship, Democrats closed ranks on a 220-215 vote that included 39 defections, mostly from the party's conservative ranks. But the bill attracted a surprise Republican convert: Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao of Louisiana, who represents the Democratic-leaning district of New Orleans and had been the target of a last-minute White House lobbying campaign. GOP House leaders had predicted their members would unanimously oppose the bill.

Democrats have sought for decades to provide universal health care, but not since the 1965 passage of Medicare and Medicaid has a chamber of Congress approved such a vast expansion of coverage. Action now shifts to the Senate, which could spend the rest of the year debating its version of the health-care overhaul. Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) hopes to bring a measure to the floor before Thanksgiving, but legislation may not reach Obama's desk before the new year.

At the Capitol, Obama urged the few Democrats who were still wavering on Saturday afternoon to put aside their political fears and embrace the bill's ambitious objectives. "Opportunities like this come around maybe once in a generation," he said afterward. "This is our moment to live up to the trust that the American people have placed in us. Even when it's hard. Especially when it's hard. This is our moment to deliver."

The House legislation would for the first time require every individual to obtain insurance, and would require all but the smallest employers to provide coverage to their workers. It would vastly expand Medicaid and create a new marketplace where people could obtain federal subsidies to buy insurance from private companies or from a new government-run insurance plan.

Though some people would receive no benefits -- including about 6 million illegal immigrants, according to congressional estimates -- the bill would virtually close the coverage gap for people who do not have access to health-care coverage through their jobs.

"For generations, the American people have called for affordable, quality health care for their families," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said before the vote. "Today, the call will be answered."

The debate on the House floor extended for about 12 hours and settled into a civil, if predictable, pattern, after a heated start.

Republicans had blasted the 1,990-page bill as an ominous blueprint for a budget-busting government takeover of the private health-care system that would impose unprecedented mandates on individuals and employers, raise an array of taxes and slash projected spending on Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly. At a time of record budget deficits, Republicans argued that the country could ill-afford a new entitlement program that would cost an estimated $1.05 trillion over the next decade.

"Big government doesn't mean better health care," said Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.). "This is not the reform families need. This is all about taking a giant first step toward a single-payer national health-care system. Washington will ultimately decide what doctors you can see, what treatments you deserve . . . and, when you're sick, will you be worth their cost?"

Throughout the debate, Republican after Republican warned that the legislation would rob Americans of their right to make choices about their health care, cost the nation jobs and unfairly financially burden future generations.

Pelosi needed to corral at least 218 of 258 Democrats to push the bill across the finish line. That task appeared to grow easier after party leaders broke a weeks-long impasse over abortion by agreeing to hold a vote on an amendment -- offered by antiabortion Democrats -- that would explicitly bar the public plan from` covering the procedure. The amendment, approved 240 to 194, with 64 Democrats in favor, also would prohibit people who received insurance subsidies from purchasing private plans that covered abortion.

Related Story-- Health Care Plan Adds Billions, in Fees and Taxes

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/health_plan_adds_billions_in_fees_ZquKaRR0Yc1UNWA2oO8yKI

Pictured from left to right, House Majority Whip Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.); Chris Van Hollen of Kensington (D-Md.); Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); House Majority Leader Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.); and Rep. John B. Larson (D-Conn.), hold a press conference following a meeting attended by President Barack Obama on Capitol Hill. (Nikki Kahn - The Washington Post)

 President Barack Obama made an appearance to meet with the House Democratic Caucus on Capitol Hill ahead of the health-care vote. (Nikki Kahn - The Washington Post)

Pictured from left to right, House Majority Whip Rep. James E. Clyburn, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, President Obama, House Majority Leader Rep. Steny H. Hoyer chat briefly outside the Caucus Room in Cannon Office Building on Capitol Hill following a meeting. (Nikki Kahn - The Washington Post)

Last Edited: Today, 7:42 am

Students Accused Of Totaling Coach's Car

Police Say Several Students Jumped On Car

POSTED: 4:24 pm EST November 6, 2009
UPDATED: 7:06 pm EST November 6, 2009

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. -- A group of middle school students is accused of vandalizing the car of an Anne Arundel County high school football coach, and surveillance video appeared to catch them in the act.

The incident happened late last week while the vehicle was parked on campus at Old Mill Middle-High School.

Police said at about 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 29, five students from the school decided to pounce on a 2000 Honda Civic, which belonged to the high school's head football coach, Damian Ferragamo.

"I don't know them. They didn't know me. They didn't know whose car it was. It was just kind of a senseless type of act," Ferragamo told 11 News.

The coach said he didn't find out about it until it was time for him to go home. He took pictures of the huge dents and broken windshield.

"(The glass) had been shattered, and as I looked a little bit closer, I saw that the hood of my car and the roof of my car had been severely dented in," Ferragamo said.

He said he got more bad news when he reported the incident to his insurance company.

The car got totaled. They said it wasn't worth what the damages were, so they went ahead and totaled our car, which they give you the book value of your car, but it's really not enough to get a suitable replacement for your transportation," the coach said.

School officials said they're working with police to investigate the vandalism and said the students caught on tape are receiving appropriate disciplinary action.

But that currently does little to help Ferragamo, who is trying to figure out how'll get back and forth to campus.

"It's definitely disappointing when kids make bad decisions. Everybody has been young and made bad decisions. It's disappointing, especially something so random and in broad daylight," he said.

Police are still investigating. There is no word if any of the students will be charged.  The incident happened late last week while the vehicle was parked on campus at Old Mill Middle-High School.

Police said at about 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 29, five students from the school decided to pounce on a 2000 Honda Civic, which belonged to the high school's head football coach, Damian Ferragamo.

"I don't know them. They didn't know me. They didn't know whose car it was. It was just kind of a senseless type of act," Ferragamo told 11 News.

The coach said he didn't find out about it until it was time for him to go home. He took pictures of the huge dents and broken windshield.

"(The glass) had been shattered, and as I looked a little bit closer, I saw that the hood of my car and the roof of my car had been severely dented in," Ferragamo said.

He said he got more bad news when he reported the incident to his insurance company.

"The car got totaled. They said it wasn't worth what the damages were, so they went ahead and totaled our car, which they give you the book value of your car, but it's really not enough to get a suitable replacement for your transportation," the coach said.

School officials said they're working with police to investigate the vandalism and said the students caught on tape are receiving appropriate disciplinary action.

But that currently does little to help Ferragamo, who is trying to figure out how'll get back and forth to campus.

"It's definitely disappointing when kids make bad decisions. Everybody has been young and made bad decisions. It's disappointing, especially something so random and in broad daylight," he said.

Police are still investigating. There is no word if any of the students will be charged.

LINK TO VIDEO IMAGES:

http://www.wbaltv.com/slideshow/news/21544731/detail.html

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/21544064/detail.html

Bloodless President Barack Obama makes Americans wistful for George W Bush

Barack Obama's reaction to bad news is to play it so cool that Americans yearn for a bit more drama - and some even for his predecessor, writes Toby Harnden in Washington.

Toby Harnden's American Way
Published: 5:57PM GMT 07 Nov 2009

Barack Obama has spent more than two months considering a troop increase but do we know how he really feels about the Afghan war? Photo: GETTY

During the election campaign, Barack Obama's cool detachment was a winning quality, the "No Drama Obama" a welcome contrast with the "Mr Angry" John McCain, never mind the hot-headed "I'm the decider" President George W Bush.

A year into his presidency, however, Mr Obama seems a curiously bloodless president. If he experiences passion, he seldom shows it. It is often anyone's guess as to whether an event or issue truly moves him.

He has spent more than two months considering a troop increase but do we know how he really feels about the Afghan war?

In a sign that the Obama honeymoon truly is over, I began to hear this week the first stirrings of a wistfulness about Mr Bush. "I never thought I'd hear myself say it," one Democrat told me. "But Obama makes you feel that at least with Bush you knew where he was on something."

When Mr Bush's Republicans were defeated in the 2006 mid-term elections, it was the President himself who stepped up and declared that his party had received "a thumpin'". The Democratic defeats on Tuesday were not on anything like the same scale but Mr Obama acted as if nothing at all had happened.

Mr Obama had campaigned for Jon Corzine, New Jersey's Democratic governor, five times, twice just last Sunday. But when Mr Corzine lost by four points in a state Mr Obama won by 15 last year - a 19-point swing to Republicans - White House aides just shrugged.

In Virginia, which Mr Obama won by six points last year, prompting Democrats to declare an historic political realignment in the state, the Democratic candidate went down by 17 points in the biggest landslide since 1961 - a 23-point swing to the Grand Old Party.

It took Senator Mark Warner of Virginia to admit that his party "got walloped". For three days, Mr Obama maintained a studied silence about the results while his aides blamed them on local factors that had nothing to do with the President. And to think that it was Mr Bush who was always accused of being "in denial".

More serious perhaps was Mr Obama's strange disconnectedness over the Fort Hood massacre of 13 soldiers by an Army major and devout Muslim who opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, had praised suicide bombing and shouted "Allahu Akbar" as he opened fire.

Maybe Mr Obama had been reading the American press, much of which somehow contrived to present the atrocity as a result of combat stress due to soldiers going on repeated war deployments (though Major Nadal Hasan had not been on any) and therefore, no doubt, Mr Bush's fault.

When the television networks cut to the President, viewers listened to him spend more than two surreal minutes talking to a gathering of Native Americans about their "extraordinary" and "extremely productive" conference, pausing to give a cheery "shout out" to a man named Dr Joe Medicine Crow. Only then did he briefly and mechanically address what had happened in Texas.

On Friday, when most of the basic facts were available, Mr Obama tried again. It was scarcely any better. He began by offering "an update on the tragedy that took place" - as if it was an earthquake and not a terrorist attack from an enemy within - and ended with a promise for more "updates in the coming days and weeks".

Completely missing was the eloquence that Mr Obama employs when talking about himself. Absent too was any sense that the President empathised with the families and comrades of those murdered.

It was a reminder that for the past 16 years Americans have had two Presidents who would often extemporise and express emotion. President Bill Clinton could certainly "feel your pain" while Mr Bush sometimes struggled to hold back tears. Mr Obama is more like President George Bush Snr, who famously communicated his concern for people by blurting out: "Message - I care."

The White House argues that Mr Obama was not on the ballot last week and there is therefore no need to fret. The problem with this complacency is that voters were angry about the state of the economy, which Mr Obama can't keep blaming on his predecessor. With unemployment now above 10 per cent, Mr Obama needs to show Americans that he can relate to what they're going through, and take responsibility.

It could do him good to show he has a bit of fire in his belly. Perhaps he might make a decision or two based on gut instinct and deep conviction. In other words, maybe he should try being a bit more like Mr Bush.

Last Edited: Yesterday, 8:41 pm

Sex-toy study at Duke raises some eyebrows

A spokesman for Duke said the sex-toy party project went through the peer review process. Vetter says he plans to discuss the topic at Sunday mass.

ORIGINAL STORY

Fri, Nov 06, 2009 03:22 PM

Ad seeking co-eds for sex-toy study roils Duke (study's full)

Nov 6, 2009 8:36 pm US/Pacific

Accused E. Bay Car Thief Steals Car To Go To Court

 CBS 5 CrimeWatch

Solano County Justice Center in Vallejo.

 A 24-year-old Oakland man is under arrest after authorities say he stole a car to make a court appearance on an auto theft charge.

California Highway Patrol investigator Chris Linehan said he arrested Samuel Botchvaroff Tuesday as he sat inside a stolen 2000 Range Rover at the Vallejo courthouse.  Botchvaroff had just left his arraignment on auto theft charges stemming from an Oct. 31 arrest.

Linehan said the Range Rover's LoJack system helped him locate the vehicle, which had been stolen from Oakland earlier Tuesday morning.

Authorities say Botchvaroff told officers his car had been impounded, and he had no other way to get to his arraignment.

He was booked into Solano County Jail on suspicion of auto theft and possession of stolen property.

LINK TO PHOTO AND VIDEO:

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=57720@kpix.dayport.com

Thank the Lord you didn't get this MARTA bus driver

Mashaun D. Simon

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

LeRoy Matthews, a bus operator for the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, has more time to talk with God.

That's because Matthews, who has been with MARTA for six years, was suspended for five days after a passenger complained the driver would not allow him and others to leave the bus before leading them in prayer.

Matthews behavior violated MARTA's policy, said Lyle V. Harris, MARTA spokesman.

The incident took place Tuesday evening, Nov. 3 around 7:30 on the Route 125 Avondale/Northlake.

In the complaint, the passenger told MARTA officials the bus was traveling northbound when it stopped at the corner of Northlake Parkway and Lavista Road.

As the passenger, whose name was not released, approached the front of the bus, Matthews stood from his seat and asked everyone to hold hands for a brief word of prayer.

The prayer lasted around four to five minutes.

What they prayed for or about is unclear, said Harris.

It is also unclear whether this incident has ever occured before.

Fla. cops: Wife faked own abduction to scam hubby

AP – Quinn Gray is seen in this undated photo provided by the St. John's Sheriff's office Thursday Oct. 29, …

TAMARA LUSH

Associated Press Writer

Tamara Lush

Associated Press Writer

November 6, 2009 

6:45 PM

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – A wealthy health care executive came home one night in September to find a terrifying note from his wife, Quinn Gray: The 37-year-old housewife and mother of two had been abducted from her posh Florida beach community.

"There are three men holding me right now and they want $50,000 cash," Gray wrote. "Do not do anything stupid. NO COPS!"

Authorities say the 25-year-old mechanic charged with trying to extort thousands from Gray's husband wasn't her captor — but her accomplice and lover. Her husband, however, has stuck by his wife's side.

Gray said she went along with her captor's demands, eventually having audiotaped sex with him. Gray says she wasn't scheming, but went insane and started to believe the kidnapper's claims that her husband wanted her dead.

"I wish I knew how to write a screenplay, because if I did, I'd make some money off this story," said St. John's County Sheriff David Shoar.

The made-for-TV intrigue has everyone from TMZ.com to Oprah Winfrey's producers nosing around this exclusive community to seek salacious details of a pretty blonde's downfall.

Gray's Facebook page shows photos of her husband and two young daughters. Her interests were fairly typical: She liked the TV show "Lost," biking and rapper Flo Rida ("When I'm really silly," she wrote). She drove a Mercedes wagon and read books like Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now."

The ordeal began the night of Sept. 4, when Gray's husband, 38-year-old Reid Gray, discovered his wife's note at their $4 million seaside mansion.

Reid Gray called the St. John's County Sheriff's Office, touching off a multi-agency manhunt that included the FBI. The sheriff's office would eventually spend $90,000 on the investigation.

The next day, as sheriff's officials set up a command center for the investigation, Reid Gray received the first of at least six calls from his wife. According to a report, Quinn Gray demanded her husband drop the $50,000 at a Chik-Fil-A restaurant; when he drove to the area, Quinn called again and said he had "screwed up" because police were spotted nearby.

On Sept. 6, Quinn Gray's mother dropped $50,000 at a beach restaurant; a group of college kids picked up the money and called police, frantic that they were in the middle of a "dope deal."

On Sept. 7, the case took an odd turn: an agitated Quinn Gray walked up to deputies at a local mall. She was taken to the FBI office in Jacksonville, where she told agents that her kidnapper worked for a loan shark who wanted her husband to pay up.

Detective Kevin Kerr and others were skeptical, noting Gray seemed to be making up the story as she went along.

During another interview, Quinn Gray changed her story. She said she had been sexually assaulted and that "I was crazy then, I was just doing what I was told to do."

She did give police one telling detail: Her abductor's name was Jasmin, and he drove a white Volkswagen Jetta. She also directed investigators to the warehouse where she was held.

Detectives found Jasmin Osmanovic, driving out of the warehouse in his Jetta. He eventually wrote his version of events in an affidavit.

"I met Quinn Gray about a month and a half ago. We met at a gas station," wrote the young mechanic. He described going to her house and listening to her talk about her marital problems and her issues with drinking — she had nearly split up with Reid Gray and had gone to rehab at a tony Minnesota clinic. Her husband had affairs, she said, and she wondered if he wanted her dead.

On Labor Day weekend, Osmanovic said, the two spent time together — but he didn't know right away that she was plotting the kidnapping. He left her alone several times in a hotel room they shared — she could have left anytime, he said.

Osmanovic touched on one piece of evidence: an audiotape he and Quinn Gray made that weekend. Osmanovic's live-in girlfriend found it and gave it to officers. The recording captured the sounds of Gray and Osmanovic having sex, plotting the kidnapping and talking about mundane things, like how they needed to eat more salads.

Sheriff Shoar said Osmanovic felt that Gray was acting "hinky" and covertly made the recording.

"He is not a dumb guy. He is a very smart guy," Shoar said. "He wanted some proof and reassurance in case she tried to hang him out to dry."

Osmanovic was charged with extortion and is being held at the St. John's County Jail. Gray also was charged with extortion and is being treated at a psychiatric facility.

Osmanovic's lawyers won't comment. Neither will Gray's lawyers, citing a pending gag order in the case. Earlier in the week, however, the lawyers went on national TV to talk about Gray's long history of mental illness and how she eventually identified with the kidnapper.

"Not one e-mail, not one text message, not one cell phone record — there is nothing that supports (authorities') contention that it's a faked kidnapping," said lawyer Mark Miller on NBC's "Today" show. About the audiotape, he said that it is "an audio recording of a woman who has been kidnapped, abducted and being raped."

Interestingly, Gray's husband — the owner of a home health care company who detailed the couple's long, painful history of marital infidelity during hours of police interviews — is standing by his wife. Against the advice of friends and family, he is not seeking a divorce.

"I love my family," Reid Gray wrote in a statement to the media. "And will do whatever I can to make sure that Quinn receives all of the help and support that she needs."

LINK TO VIDEO SLIDE SHOW AND INTERVIEW:

http://www.news4jax.com/news/21533584/detail.html

Suspected burglar texts newspaper own photo

A wanted man taunted the authorities by sending in a picture of himself posing by a police van.

Harriet Alexander
2:54PM GMT 06 Nov 2009

Matthew Maynard contacted his local paper to complain about the mugshot they used of him Photo: ATHENA

Matthew Maynard, 23, texted the picture to a local newspaper from his mobile phone, commenting that he didn't like the photo issued by the police.

The suspected criminal is being hunted following a burglary in Swansea in September.

Mr Maynard was among eight people who were pictured in local media alongside a request for information from the public.

Four were subsequently apprehended, but the rest – including Mr Maynard – remain at large.

Police declined to comment on the provocative picture, taken on Mr Maynard's mobile phone and texted to the newspaper offices, but said that their recent drive to catch criminals was working.

Acting Chief Inspector Nigel Whitehouse said the public had made a very important contribution to solving a number of recent crimes.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Swansea for the information they have provided, which, without any doubt, was instrumental in enabling us to effect a high number of arrests."

SKorean woman passes driver's exam on 950th try

A woman in South Korea who tried to pass the written exam for a driver's license with near-daily attempts since April 2005 has finally succeeded on her 950th time. The aspiring driver spent more than 5 million won ($4,200) in application fees, but until now had failed to score the minimum 60 out of a possible 100 points needed to get behind the wheel for a driving test.

Cha Sa-soon, 68, finally passed the written exam with a score of 60 on Wednesday, said Choi Young-chul, a police official at the drivers' license agency in Jeonju, 130 miles (210 kilometers) south of Seoul.

Police said Cha took the test hundreds of times, but had no specific total. Local media said she took the test 950 times.

Now she must pass a driving test before getting her license, Choi said.

Repeated calls to Cha seeking comment went unanswered. She told the Korea Times newspaper she needed the license for her vegetable-selling business.

http://www.wbaltv.com/video/21538126/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/02/the-15-stupidest-products_n_342316.html

http://www.wbaltv.com/video/21530739/

Last Edited: November 6, 2009, 5:38 am

Woman Calls 911, Says Boyfriend Won't Marry Her

Same Person Called 911 Saying She Couldn't Find Car

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Clarksville police said they arrested a woman on Wednesday morning after she repeatedly made non-emergency calls to the city's 911 system.

Hee Orama, 34, was arrested after police said she recently made frequent calls to 911 complaining about a man lying to her about marrying her.

Police said they responded to two calls from Orama and explained that this was not an emergency situation and to stop calling.

Orama then called again and was cited by police and told she would be arrested if she kept calling them with non-emergencies.

Police said the woman then called a 911 dispatcher a few minutes later but would not say why she called. Police then arrested Orama and took her to the Montgomery County Jail.

Orama's bond was set at $250. 

Police said Orama's calls cost city workers many hours addressing the situation. 911 supervisor Julie Vogle said they receive non-emergency calls frequently, which often forces two or three officers to respond.

"If the officers are running emergency traffic, that's putting several lives in danger, including the citizens," said Vogle.

Police said they also arrested Orama last week for repeatedly calling 911 because she couldn't find her car.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.wsmv.com/video/21525028/

Last Edited: November 5, 2009, 5:56 pm

Are lap dances an effective therapy for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or drug addiction? It doesn't seem like a question that should require a serious answer -- but a state investigation of Oregon's Mount Bachelor Academy (MBA) has substantiated allegations made by students and staff that such "therapy" was part of the school's "emotional growth" curriculum and forced an emergency shutdown of the campus.

Just this June, the Supreme Court had decided in favor of a couple who sued for payment of MBA's tuition to treat their son's ADHD and marijuana problem. The Court determined that parents of disabled children do have the right to seek such taxpayer support from a school district, even if they haven't tried public special education first.

While the decision didn't specify whether MBA itself was appropriate, some districts across the country are already reimbursing parents for its current $76,000 annual tuition, despite decades of allegations of similarly inappropriate and unproven practices. (Just one example is.

These abusive practices aren't isolated. MBA is part of the largest chain of "troubled teen" programs in the industry, Aspen Education, serving hundreds of kids. Right now, another Aspen program in Oregon -- best known for being featured in the reality TV series "Brat Camp" -- is under criminal investigation.

That investigation is related to the August death of a 16-year-old boy, which the sheriff's deputy in charge of the case has called a "homicide." As in several earlier deaths in such programs, the boy was made to hike in intense heat and is thought to have died of heat stroke after staff ignored his complaints. The state made Aspen shutter the program, known as Sagewalk, in September.

But look what's going on, even when these programs don't kill kids. On Monday, Oregon's Department of Human Services released a scathing report on Mount Bachelor, saying that its "emotional growth" curriculum is "harmful and damaging" and its "methods of emotional, behavioral and mental health intervention and daily interaction with students perpetuate an environment that poses a pervasive immediate threat which places all children at risk of harm."

The state ordered the school to shut down immediately and demanded numerous disciplinary, educational and staffing changes within 90 days or its license would be revoked.

The report confirmed eight allegations of abuse involving five students, but said that those students were actually "exemplars" whose experience is "substantially consistent with the experience of all children enrolled in the program." It specifically held Executive Director Sharon Bitz to account, saying that she "either knew of the abusive practices of the agency or should have known what was happening under her authority."

Incredibly, despite that $6,400 monthly tuition and advertising claims that MBA is appropriate for teens with conditions ranging from depression, ADHD and addiction to bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorde, the investigation found that "MBA has only one staff member who is an Oregon licensed mental health professional, however, that staff member reported that he does not meet with every student."

Not surprisingly, Bitz attacked the report in a statement released to the press by Aspen's parent company CRC Health. She said, "We vigorously disagree with the state's findings. This surprising action, following seven months of cooperative work by Mount Bachelor with the state since the allegations surfaced, is not only erroneous but also creates an unnecessary burden of distress and disruption for our students and their families. As a result, we are quickly and aggressively pursuing legal options."

The investigators interviewed 65 witnesses over the course of the seven month investigation, including students, staff and the ex-employee whistleblower who first made public the allegations. They determined that MBA violated at least eleven Oregon licensing rules and was "punitive, humiliating, degrading and traumatizing."

According to their report, the school's Lifesteps seminars and other tactics involved "sexualized role play in front of staff and students," and required "students to reenact past physical abuse in front of staff and peers." Allegations of sleep deprivation were also substantiated.

Students who spoke with me for a Time Magazine online story in April -- which helped spur the investigation -- were stunned by the announcement. "I'm so happy now I can't even explain," said Jane* (a pseudonym).

Before being sent to MBA, Jane had been raped. At one of the Lifesteps seminars, the 18-year-old was forced to dress as a "French maid" and perform lap dances while Kelis' sexually suggestive song "Milkshake" and similar music was played. "I was freaked out and traumatized and I couldn't do anything about it," she says.

Her friend Adam -- who asked that only his first name be used -- said he witnessed at least four girls and one boy who had identified himself as bisexual being made to do this "exercise." He said that when the girls performed the lap dance on him, "They were just crying." The bisexual boy had to give lap dances to both males and females.

Amber Ozier, now 24, attended MBA in 2002 and 2003. At the school, she was made to repeatedly re-enact her 10-year-old sister's accidental drowning death, which occurred at Amber's 12th birthday party.

"I feel like bricks have been lifted off me, like other kids won't have to go through the things I went though," Ozier says, "I'm glad they can't hurt any more kids or mentally torture them. That's what I feel like they were doing and I'm glad I'm not being called a liar anymore because the things I said were true."

Melissa Maisa attended MBA from 1992-1994. When I spoke to her for Time, she described having been made to do a bizarre and obscene ritual, for which she had to lie on the floor "in the sluttiest way possible" in front of male staff members and students. Through numerous repetitions, she had to put one foot on a guy's knee and say, "This foot is Christmas." Then, she'd place the other foot, saying "This foot is New Year's. Would you like to meet me between the holidays?"

Maisa said she encouraged the state investigator who interviewed her to get into the positions that she had been made to take. "It's one thing to hear the stories, but another thing entirely to put yourself in that position mentally and physically, to think about being a teenage girl far from friends and family, feeling like no one loves you and then you have to act out no one loving you."

Maisa, who had organized other former students online and urged them to share their stories with investigators added, "Everyone has their jaw on the floor right now. As a group, we're so used to being the bad kids that we can't believe that anyone finally took us seriously."

But the state indeed substantiated allegations that teens were denied necessary access to bathrooms and found that they were sometimes punished by being sent to camp alone on an island in "inclement weather," or by "strenuous" work projects. Alternatively, some were not permitted to "talk, touch or look at others and face the wall during meal time" for a week or longer.

Communication with parents was censored and restricted -- and those who tried to report abuse were immediately punished or cut off from further communication. Teens were also denied legally required access to education during punishments.

During the course of the investigation, the school was aware that the Lifesteps program was under particular scrutiny. Nonetheless, according to the report after the state rejected a proposed revised program called "Transitions" because it "too closely mirrored the prohibited Lifesteps program. MBA proceeded to offer the Transitions program knowing that such choice could result in further investigation."

Failure to report a rape disclosed by a student to child welfare authorities and police as required by law and regulatory violations involving mismanagement or denial of access to medications were also found.

Given the massive number of expensive changes -- such as hiring qualified staff -- that the state requires in 90 days, it may be difficult for MBA to comply successfully in time to retain its license.

Could this be the beginning of the end for the billion dollar troubled teen industry? It's already facing severe economic challenges because of the credit crisis -- parents had paid to send their kids by mortgaging their houses to pay the over-inflated tuition.

Lawsuits could well follow the MBA shutdown and the Sagewalk death -- and school systems are likely to start looking more closely at what they are getting for the hundreds of millions spent nationally to send disabled students to these often-unregulated and rarely scrutinized facilities.

"I feel great, I'm shocked," says Susan Dowren, the whistle-blower, who kept pushing investigators to look more closely. She adds, "There were more employees who wanted to speak out but felt that they couldn't jeopardize their jobs and income. I really think others wanted to, but you can't let that stand in your way, I just wanted everybody to tell the truth."

Whether that truth leads to larger and lasting changes and prompts more humane and effective treatment of teens is now up to you.

Mount Bachelor Academy

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