16 MAR 10: When Mom's Not Happy

After spending the bulk of Monday out of town, I came home to conclude not much was going on in Columbus. There was the usual criminal lineup -- except for a couple of suspects who were NOT shown or named. And for a change, those suspects apparently are NOT law enforcement officers....

Two Phenix City mothers are charged with attempting to extort money online. The "alleged victim" also happens to be under arrest, on charges of having sex with the mothers' children. All three are due in Recorder's Court today -- and if they're together, this is a Jerry Springer episode simply waiting to happen.

This case started with John Przenkop's arrest on charges of sex crimes against teenage girls. If that's true, that's sad and sick. But Monday brought word that the girls' mothers may have tried to get even through extortion. That has me assuming the mothers haven't watched David Letterman's talk show in recent months.

Local news media face a tough decision in this case: whether or not to name the accused mothers. So far they have not. WTVM explained that would mean revealing the names of John Przenkop's alleged victims. The producers of those "Real Housewives" shows on cable TV probably would give the mothers nicknames, and keep the cameras rolling.

What strikes me most about this case is how these unnamed mothers may have decided to go after John Przenkop on their own. If what police say is true, it shows $1,000 rewards from CrimeStoppers simply aren't good enough anymore.

If police are right, this case also indicates some mothers aren't teaching a maxim uttered by generations of parents -- two wrongs don't make a right. I think this maxim started fading away when never-cheating Bob Backlund lost the WWF world wrestling championship in 1983.

But "moms getting even" plots probably have been the stuff of TV movies for a long time. I have to say "probably" because I couldn't dare admit to watching a woman's cable channel such as Lifetime....

My late mother was never the sort of woman who would engage in this sort of extortion plot. Why, she was courteous enough to keep the original home phone line when she added a second one. But then, she never told my father about the second phone line until she told him to leave the house for a divorce.

My mom's only real "scheming" was the old-fashioned sort of thing many mothers have done over the years. It's the creation of guilt clouds over children's heads - with words such as "you never write me."

See, I told you not much happened Monday. And if the main topic wasn't proof enough, here's what little else I found:

+ A federal appeals court upheld the $20,000 in sanctions imposed by Columbus Federal Judge Clay Land against attorney Orly Taitz. Taitz now has two choices: appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court - or demand proof that Land is a U.S. citizen, qualified to serve on the bench.

+ The main architect on the Muscogee County Public Education Center told Dick McMichael's blog the building cost less than $150 per square foot to build. Critics who call McPEC "Taj Mahal II" probably still won't be satisfied. They probably also want Jordan High School students to build some of the upcoming new schools.

+ Columbus State swept a softball doubleheader from Albany State 10-5 and 9-1. WRBL's Stuart Webber claimed the games were played in "frigid conditions." So 50-degree temperatures with a north wind are frigid? In Green Bay, Wisconsin, this would be downright balmy football weather.

+ Instant Message to Dr. Ian Bond of Beacon Seminary: I noticed you're teaching continuing education classes at Columbus State on "Who Wrote the Bible: I and II." If the answer to Part I is God, why bother having Part II?

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