The Wrong Stuff - Pt. 1 by JonnyQuest

JONNYQUEST'S BLOG

JonnyQuest

The Wrong Stuff - Pt. 1
Monday, September 10, 2007

It never fails. Something in the news catches my attention and I start a blog and get 80% done. Then I get held up by work, want of computer access or whatever else, and by the time I finish it’s barely newsworthy anymore. Since the story first broke in February and just resurfaced in August, I’m hoping that enough interest is still out there for my readers to care. If not, move along.
All typeface in White indicates actual news media text, although not necessarily from the same source in any given “quote”. Text in Gold are my comments and such.

That’s what we want to believe; it’s what we remember.

The times they are different now.

The story
Navy Captain and Former NASA Astronaut Lisa Nowak, was arrested in February after confronting Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, the girlfriend of an astronaut Nowak had been seeing romantically, Bill Oefelein. Nowak allegedly stalked Shipman at the Orlando airport, then attacked her as Shipman arrived at her car.
Borrowing from a chapter in the life of former Survivor: The Australian Outback contestant and current co-host on the The View , Elisabeth Hasselbeck—or Hasselbeck borrowed it from Nowak (http://www.ifilm.com/video/2875317)—, Nowak had driven nearly 1,000 miles from Houston to Orlando, using diapers to avoid taking breaks , and then pepper-sprayed Shipman while trying to get into her vehicle. Nowak disguised herself in a dark wig, glasses and trench coat, her hood pulled over her head. Shipman was able to drive away, and Nowak was arrested. Police found Nowak at a nearby bus stop. After searching her duffel bag and car, they found a loaded, CO2-powered BB pistol, a 4-inch knife, about six feet of rubber tubing, rubber gloves, a 2-pound steel mallet and a box of large garbage bags. (Isn’t that about the same thing they used to fix Apollo 13?) Nowak was charged with attempted kidnapping, battery and burglary with assault and has pleaded not guilty, and faces charges of attempted murder and the possibility of life in prison.
Nowak suffered from major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, insomnia and “brief psychotic disorder with marked stressors,” her defense attorney wrote in his notice of intent to rely on the insanity defense. He also noted that the already petite Nowak recently lost 15 percent of her body weight.
A spokeswoman for the state attorney’s office, said prosecutors would address the issue in court and declined to elaborate.
NASA has long since given Nowak das Boot, but the Navy is waiting the outcome of the trial before doing the same.
From her NASA bio: Lisa enjoys bicycling, running, skeet , sailing, gourmet cooking, rubber stamps, crossword puzzles, piano, and African violets.
While assigned to Electronic Warfare Aggressor Squadron 34, she qualified as Mission Commander and EW Lead. EW should have been a dead giveaway about the diapers.
Oh, and lest we forget the eBay connection, http://mfile.akamai.com/12939/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2007/0216/11031667.200k.asx

No Room at the Inn
Her attorney wants to get something straight—Lisa Nowak did not wear diapers to avoid bathroom breaks as she drove from Houston to Orlando to confront her romantic rival in February. Instead the diapers found in her car that night were size "toddler 3," hardly big enough for an adult (unless the already petite adult recently lost 15 percent of her body weight?) , and were left over from her family's evacuation from Houston in 2005 as Hurricane Rita approached…the diapers were used by kids and adults in that evacuation because the Nowak family could not get into a hotel room, and were forced to stay in a car in a hotel parking lot along with hundreds of other people. He described a scene in which people were not allowed into the hotel unless they were guests. Hurricane Rita hit Texas between September 21 and 24. She was carrying them around in the car for 4½ months? Continued “EW”…
"It holds my client up to ridicule. It jeopardizes our ability to get a fair trial when the client is the butt of jokes. (Here I thought peeing was the issue; it seems really about to hit the fan…) "Under questioning from reporters, he was vague on whether Nowak ever used a diaper on her drive, but he called the diaper claim preposterous after a hearing aimed at suppressing evidence in the case. "A lie repeated over and over and over again can overcome the truth," he said, and added that the diapers are not in evidence and were not investigated by police.
Meanwhile, Colleen Shipman's attorney, told reporters: "Ms. Shipman doesn't care whether she had a diaper on or off."
Investigator William C. Becton reported finding used diapers in a yard trash bag inside Nowak's car. "I asked Mrs. Nowak if the diapers were used," the Orlando detective wrote in his report. "She said that the diapers were used. I then asked Mrs. Nowak why she had the baby diapers. Mrs. Nowak said that she did not want to stop and use the restroom, so she used the diapers to collect her urine." According to investigative documents, police found two used children's diapers and a large garbage bag in the back seat of the car. Did we mention EW yet?

Continued at http://www.fireflyfans.net/showblog.asp?b=7046

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