Rhea Mercier Waples (1918-2017) Warren High School class of 1936

Source:  Warren Times Observer

1936 Dragon yearbook

Rhea's high-school activities:

Latin Club (1, 2); Girls' Club (2); Dramatic Club ( 2, 3, 4).

1967 Warren City Directory

• Waples Joan r316 Pennsylvania av E apt C
• Waples John G (Rhea M) drftsmn Pittsburgh Des Moines h316 Pennsylvania av E apt C
• Waples Patricia pro Bell Tel r316 Pennsylvania av E apt C 

1983 Warren City Directory

• Bratz Wallace S & Patricia A; mfg supvr Rexnord Coupling Div h49 Shulman St
• Waples John G & Rhea M;  h316 Pennsylvania av E apt C

Rhea peaked at #387 in 1901 then bounced along a downward path until 1959.  After 3 scattered appearances, she is now attempting a comeback, although at this point it's too early to tell if she'll end up going anywhere.

Source:  Social Security Administration

Lock them up again: Leah Vukmir wants to spend millions more on incarceration

Source:  Prison Policy Initiative (and below); QuickFacts

Wisconsin Senate signs off on crime bill that could increase taxpayer costs by $57 million.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/7/2017)

Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield) — a lead sponsor of the measure and one of two Republicans challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin — said she was tired of seeing offenders on probation committing new felonies. 

"I can't tolerate that statistic," she said. 

But Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) said the state needed to address the root causes of crime, such as the trauma experienced by the city's young people. She said the bills were an expensive and outdated "pipeline to prison" that wouldn't make the public safer in the end.

Related reading:
Why we need to reject 'tough on crime' rhetoric.  (America, 9/8/2016)

“Tough on crime” rhetoric became prominent in the 1960s, exploited by politicians and cheered by voters, often with thinly veiled racial or other social slurs. Along with the war on drugs, it resulted in mandatory sentencing, zero tolerance and “three strikes” policies that swelled the prison population. At the same time court systems were swamped with cases, increasing the incentive for plea bargains and with that the disproportionate power of prosecutors. Budgets were exhausted by the cost of incarceration, often leading to cuts in programs for the rehabilitation and education of prisoners.

UPDATE. Verily, verily I say unto you, this guy is really and truly a desperate publicity hound

Reported in Men and women can't be pals, suburban pastor says.  (Chicago Tribune, 3/4/2017)


Original 11/7/2017 post, "Is this guy for real?  (Or is he just a publicity hound?)", starts here.

Photo credit:  River of Life Lutheran Church

When The Saints Of First Baptist Church Were Murdered, God Was Answering Their Prayers.  (The Federalist, 11/6/2017)

Fiene claims to be the creator of a boring, unfunny, self-indulgent series of videos called "Lutheran Satire".