Boycott Gov. Bob Riley's Sweet Home Alabama?

Today Alabama Governor Bob Riley called for a travel boycott against the island of Aruba. Perhaps as crime is so non-existent in Alabama, or they're always resolved when they do happen, he feels he is somehow serving all the people of Alabama by calling for a boycott of the island.  Then again, maybe not quite. At least not if history is any judge.

Unfortunately, history doesn't seem to support Riley's lofty stance. With a regular average crime clearance rate of 18% for Riley's state - offenders in Alabama appear to have the odds stacked well in their favor when it comes to never even being caught.

In the year 2000 Alabama had an estimated population of 4,447,100 which ranked the state 23rd in population. For that year the State of Alabama had a total Crime Index of 4,545.9 reported incidents per 100,000 people.

This ranked the state as having the 15th highest total Crime Index. For Violent Crime Alabama had a reported incident rate of 486.2 per 100,000 people. This ranked the state as having the 20th highest occurrence for Violent Crime among the states.

For crimes against Property, the state had a reported incident rate of 4,059.7 per 100,000 people, which ranked as the state 15th highest. Also in the year 2000 Alabama had 7.4 Murders per 100,000 people, ranking the state as having the 6th highest rate for Murder.

Alabama’s 33.3 reported Forced Rapes per 100,000 people, ranked the state 24th highest. For Robbery, per 100,000 people, Alabama’s rate was 128.2 which ranked the state 22nd highest for Robbery. The state also had 317.2 Aggravated Assaults for every 100,000 people, which indexed the state as having the 19th highest position for this crime among the states.

For every 100,000 people there were 906.9 Burglaries, which ranks Alabama as having the 11th highest standing among the states. Larceny - Theft were reported 2,864.8 times per hundred thousand people in Alabama which standing is the 16th highest among the states. Vehicle Theft occurred 288.0 times per 100,000 people, which fixed the state as having the 33rd highest for vehicle theft among the states.

Well,  at least Alabamians can take some solace in knowing their vehicles were relatively safe from crime over the time period.

This post is also available at Blogger News Network.

Comments

[maiwee]

PKT your assessment is correct.Beth has no choice but to fight on behalf of her daughter by calling for a boycott. The US government should actually order a travel ban to Aruba until the case is solved. Even Dave now believes there is a massive cover up. The question is why are they covering up, what issues are at stake and who is driving the cover up and why.All we have been witnessing are games being played by the investigating team, they give you the impression something is coming up soon , knowing well that they are just buying time. They cannot use this trick anymore, people now know what is happening. My guess is the boys are guilty in any scenario, be it a drugging-kidnap-rape and murder then body disposal or a drugging-kidnapping and sex slave scenario.The boys played key roles in either senario.It appears Paul Sloot would spiil the beans about drug related crimes by senior officials if him or his son are convicted. He obvious may know a lot by virtue of his position in the judiciary. This is where the catch is. Aruban authorities would rather go through a boycott than get exposed on drug dealing crimes. So the ordinary Aruban would suffer for the sins of the few. This happens, even god punishes us for the sins of our fathers.The resolution of Natalee's case lies in official exposure of those behind the cover up. This is the secret to the case.

[maiwee]

Beth has no choice but to fight on behalf of her daughter by calling for a boycott. The US government should actually order a travel ban to Aruba until the case is solved. Even Dave now believes there is a massive cover up. The question is why are they covering up, what issues are at stake and who is driving the cover up and why.All we have been witnessing are games being played by the investigating team, they give you the impression something is coming up soon , knowing well that they are just buying time. They cannot use this trick anymore, people now know what is happening. My guess is the boys are guilty in any scenario, be it a drugging-kidnap-rape and murder then body disposal or a drugging-kidnapping and sex slave scenario.The boys played key roles in either senario.It appears Paul Sloot would spiil the beans about drug related crimes by senior officials if him or his son are convicted. He obvious may know a lot by virtue of his position in the judiciary. This is where the catch is. Aruban authorities would rather go through a boycott than get exposed on drug dealing crimes. So the ordinary Aruban would suffer for the sins of the few. This happens, even god punishes us for the sins of our fathers.The resolution of Natalee's case lies in official exposure of those behind the cover up. This is the secret to the case.

[The-Guy]

Dan...once again you've shown that your not only irresponsible but insensitive to boot. Thanks for slamming a state full of good people while a Mother continues to search for her lost daughter. You need a reality and morality check up.

[nelson]

I own a clothing manufacturing company and we buy lots of fabric from Alabama, well now they can say that business goodbye!! BOYCOTT Alabama, untill they get their act together, but I guess those rednecks will never see that anyway, they can't see any further then their nose.

[Melody]

A boycott will do nothing to help find Natalee. It may cause some extra pressure being put on the LE by a small few in Aruba, but I do not see the majority of Americans who had plans or thoughts to travel to Aruba to cancel. In fact some, who are fed up with media coverage of this, may now decide to go to Aruba out of anger. JMO. Very disappointed that this boycott was requested. Still empathize with the family & don't feel qualified to judge any of their actions, but don't share their views on this move at all.
May Natalee be found soon.

Posted by: jolari | Nov 9, 2005 3:14:12 AM

well said :)

[bizman]

That's it.I am officially boycotting Alabama.No more annual vacations to Orange Beach,Alabama where I usually spend 4 grand or more on each visit.No more trips to Talladega twice a year to for Nascar racing events where I usually spend $1500 on each trip considering hotels in Bham,restaurants,tickets and so forth.

Yep,I think I will just spend that money and take an extra trip to Aruba and maybe an extra trip to Nassau instead of supporting the Alabama economy.

I encourage everyone to BOYCOTT Alabama,Gov.Riley and Beth Twitty for acting like complete idiots and stonewalling the very investigation that they appear not to want fully investigated.

BOYCOTT ALABAMA

[bizman]

And this means Beth will be honoring her own boycott too right?

Posted by: CitizenDick | Nov 8, 2005 10:47:14 PM

Let's do one of those prayer thingies and hope like hell she honors her own boycott and stays the hell out of Aruba.

[Brooke]

Posted by: Carri | Nov 9, 2005 2:09:25 AM
Posted by: bizman | Nov 9, 2005 6:25:21 AM

Excellent posts and I support your decision. And may I add a very intelligent decision.

BOYCOTT Alabama

[RICK]

bizman: Good one! I wish I thought of that. Beth honoring her own boycott. I really don't think she can stay away, she needs the attention. However, if she has to pay she won't be staying at the Holiday Inn. That's only a freebee.

[Honey]

Did you notice that he called for "his fellow governors" to support it? Huh? Not the white house, not the State Department. Why is that? Use your freaking head.

Posted by: Dan | Nov 9, 2005 1:55:17 AM

Alabama Senator Shelby is going to take it to the US Senate. :)

[Fab]

J. B. Lenoir got it right all along.

I never will go back to Alabama, that is not the place for me (2x)
You know they killed my sister and my brother,
and the whole world let them peoples go down there free
I never will love Alabama, Alabama seem to never have loved poor me (2x)
Oh God I wish you would rise up one day,
lead my peoples to the land of pea'
My brother was taken up for my mother, and a police officer shot him down (2x)
I can't help but to sit down and cry sometime,
think about how my poor brother lost his life
Alabama, Alabama, why you wanna be so mean (2x)
You got my people behind a barbwire fence,
now you tryin' to take my freedom away from me

[Skye]

Fab, According to your posted message (insane drivel) , you need to take a break.

Alabama nor any other state in the US denies that there is crime. Aruba denies that there is crime on the island of "paradise". News for you people. There is no such thing as an island of paradise and there is crime everywhere and people waiting to do something criminal at any moment. Crime in Aruba rarely is reported because it is crime against tourists. How many of you have been to Aruba and returned to your motel room to find items missing? Did you report it? NO. Because you are going home in a few days and it is not worth the red tape to report. There is crime on the island of Aruba.

[berry]

Go the the AL site and click the governor's pic on the right. On his page look left and click Proclamations. Go to July 19, 2005 and see what the governor's mindset was that day.

Like any good politico he is running off at the mouth - both sides.

[homewoodmom]

Dan- What " only applies to white people " ? You have a very distorted view.

[Arubaanse]

There is no such thing as an island of paradise and there is crime everywhere and people waiting to do something criminal at any moment

Posted by: Skye | Nov 9, 2005 8:19:39 AM

I agree with you on this one. But we never said that Aruba was a crime free island, because such place does not exist. What we always said is that Aruba has a very low crime rate and that is true. We still have a very low crime rate but to say that Aruba is a crime free island...I agree with you that is BS. Like I said before we are all human being and humans are capable of doing alot of harm no matter where you are.

[Fab]

@Skye

You said it yourself..there is crime everywhere.....so why boycott an entire island for what 3 or 4 people did?

[Dixie]

Slamming Alabama is just as bad as whats going on in Aruba. Comparing Bama to Aruba is apples and oranges.
I'm from Bama and I dont agree with the boycott at all. I was truly ashamed of Gov Riley for calling for the boycott and asking other Govs. to back it also. Aruba has some truly decent people that depend on tourism dollars to feed and clothe their children....they cant control what the Aruban LE does or does not do. Most Arubans are just as disappointed with their LE as we are. Alabama also has some truly decent caring people..that dont back this boycott. I feel the Brookies havent been totally honest with everything they know..and until they do this case has no chance of being solved. I think Mountain Brook is more worried with tarnishing their image, rather then talking to their teens and being forthcoming and honest with all the answers. I think Aruban LE has all the right to question these teens again..and again if thats what it takes to get the answers the family and friends of Natalee need. I think the MB parents should encourage their kids to speak with LE again. The Aruban LE didnt handle this case correctly in the beginning..and due to that, we dont know any more about this then we did on May 31st. They screwed up bigtime...but calling for a boycott will hurt innocent people and kids in Aruba. I dont think the Arubans should pay for the incompetance of the LE or the crimes 3 young men may or may not have commited in Aruba.
I dont think this boycott will acomplish what they think and hope it will....I think we are now moving backwards , rather then moving ahead. Beth wont be able to go back to Aruba now to search for answers...I think she is messing up any chance she has of getting the answers she deserves...or bringing Natalee home to Bama to rest.
This is one time that I can truly say that I am not proud to be an Alabamian .
I pray for Natalee and continue to keep hope that someday we will have answers..but with this boycott in place..I seriously doubt that will happen.
Just my 2 cents..from Alabama.

[Fab]

@ Dixie

I am glad to that to hear that there are a lot of American people still objective about this case.

[Dixie]

@ Fab
Thanks..its getting harder and harder to remain objective, especially when Dan & everyone slams Alabama for the actions of a handful of people. We are good decent people...not rednecks. You cant judge everyone by the actions of a few...thats exactly whats going on in Aruba and it isnt fair..right or decent.
Just my 2 cents worth

[jayjay]

**Part 1

What I find utterly comical in all of this is the consistent and persistent comparison of America as a country to Aruba, or of Alabama to Aruba.

I have yet to see a comparison that even closely resembles and “apples to apples” comparison. Now I realize that the absolutely ridiculous call for boycott has come from the Governor of Alabama, hence the comparison, but how about if we are going to make comparisons, we compare Aruba to a specific location, a location in the US of similar size and population and a similar crime index.

Perhaps we should compare Aruba to a township or municipality with its own police force that is not directly accountable to federal authority? See the point here is to compare similar or as similar as possible entities and then once we have established a baseline, then make your comparison.

See what we all keep failing to understand, is that the crime statistics are a mute point! They simply do not mean anything, because what most people have a problem with is the “POST crime” action or inaction. Had this been Jamaica or Mexico, would we even be talking about crime statistics? NO WAY!

We are talking about Aruba and its perceived inaction SINCE the alleged crime or disappearance, not “prior to” or leading up to the disappearance or alleged crime.

[neil young]

Alabama clings to segregationist past
US state with racist history votes to keep 'separate schools for white and coloured children' as part of constitution

Gary Younge in New York
Tuesday November 30, 2004

Guardian

During his inaugural address in 1963, the then Alabama governor, George Wallace, took to the steps of the state capitol and made a promise. Standing on the spot where Jefferson Davis had declared an independent southern confederacy just over 100 years before, he pledged: "In the name of the greatest people that ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny and I say: Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation for ever."
Yesterday it looked as if he might get his wish, after a referendum in the state looked likely to keep segregation-era wording, requiring separate schools for "white and coloured children" in its constitution as well as references to the poll taxes once imposed to disenfranchise blacks.

A narrow margin of 1,850 votes out of 1.38 million, or 0.13%, in a referendum on November 2, meant the state was obliged to hold a recount, which took place yesterday. But with no accusations of electoral fraud or any other irregularities, nobody last night expected the result to change.

The ballot initiative sought to remove the most objectionable elements of the state's constitution which remain, even though they have been overridden by more recent civil rights legislation. They include passages such as:

"Separate schools shall be provided for white and coloured children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race."

And: "To avoid confusion and disorder and to promote effective and economical planning for education, the legislature may authorise the parents or guardians of minors, who desire that such minors shall attend schools provided for their own race ... "

Almost 50 years since Rosa Parks was ejected from a bus in the shadow of the governor's mansion because she would not move to the back, most people thought the amendment to remove the segregation clause would pass fairly easily.

"It was more ceremonial than legalistic," said Bryan Fair, a law professor at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. "The language in the constitution was already unconstitutional and this would have brought Alabama up to date. So it was surprising that something so clear and symbolic would be even close."

Even the Montgomery Advertiser, not given to radical outbursts, backed it. "Amendment 2 is a valuable cleansing of a grievous stain on the state's image," it argued in an editorial shortly before the vote. "It should be ratified."

But powerful groups and personalities on the right campaigned heavily against it, claiming that the amendment opened the door to lawyers to sue the state and raise taxes.

They were most incensed by efforts to remove the section that denied that Alabamians had "any right to education or training at public expense". Opponents claim education is a gift from the state of Alabama, not an entitlement.

"You open up that door, that is a trial lawyer's dream, to represent clients that have unbridled opportunity for mischief in raising taxes, tampering with private and parochial schools. It's unlimited," said John Giles, president of Alabama Christian Coalition. "Activists on the bench know no bounds. It's a trial lawyer's dream."

Mr Giles's campaign was assisted by the former Alabama chief justice Roy Moore, who has become a local hero since he defied a federal court order to remove a two-ton slab of granite engraved with the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the Alabama supreme court.

Mr Giles said he would have been happy to see the racist language go so long as the issue of education rights remained. But many in Alabama believe the taxation argument was simply a ruse for white southerners to flex their muscles, even on a symbolic issue.

After the US supreme court ordered the end of segregation 50 years ago, many white southerners simply moved their children from state schools to private academies, often referred to as "seg academies" because they effectively kept segregation intact.

Since then Alabama has provided the backdrop for some of the ugliest scenes during the civil rights era, from the bombing of a church in Birmingham that killed four little girls at Sunday school to the beating of marchers on St Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma.

"There are people here who are still fighting the civil war," Tommy Woods, 63, a deacon at Bethel Baptist church and a retired school administrator, told the Washington Post. "They're holding on to things that are long since past. It's almost like a religion."

A statute banning interracial marriage in the state was struck down only four years ago by 59% to 41%, with a majority of whites voting against the change.

This year Mr Moore's former aide, Tom Parker, was elected to the Alabama supreme court even after it became clear that he had been handing out Confederate flags while campaigning and had attended a function honouring the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

"It seems perfectly clear that a number of the people who voted against the amendment did so for purely racist reasons," said Mark Potok, spokesman for the Southern Poverty Law Centre, an anti-racist monitoring group based in Montgomery.

But in one of the most lightly taxed states in the nation the argument that the measure could raise the fiscal burden went a long way, some say.

"In Alabama, if an opponent can label a policy as a tax, then 99 times out of 100 the policy fails," said Prof Fair, who is an African American. "Some folks in Alabama are assiduously holding on to what they call southern traditions which are traditions of white people being superior. But racism by itself is far too simple an explanation."

Troubled past

Since Alabama was declared a sovereign and independent state on January 11 1861, it has been a hotbed of racial tensions in the US

· December 1955 Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat for a white passenger. Her action prompted the Montgomery Bus Boycott and earned her the title "mother of the modern day civil rights movement".

· December 1956 The US supreme court banned segregated seating on Montgomery's public vehicles. The Rev Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks were the first to ride a fully integrated bus.

· May 1961 The Freedom Ride, an integrated bus trip from Washington DC, through the Deep South, was formed to test the 1960 supreme court decision prohibiting segregation on buses and trains. It was greeted with violence in Anniston and Birmingham. The Freedom Ride eventually resulted in the interstate commerce commission ruling against segregation in interstate travel.

· 1963 Birmingham bombings of civil rights-related targets, including the offices of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the home of A D King (brother of Martin Luther King Jr), and the 16th Street Baptist Church (in which four children were killed). Governor Wallace makes a speech at the University of Alabama protesting against federally forced racial integration; Vivian Malone and James Hood register for classes as first African American students.

· March 1965 Six hundred demonstrators make the first of three attempts to march from Selma to Montgomery demanding the lifting of voting restrictions on black Americans. They were stopped by police at Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge, the pictures of the clashes with police were broadcast across the nation and caused a surge of support for the protesters.

· March 1965 The Rev Martin Luther King led 3,200 marchers from Selma toward Montgomery in support of civil rights for blacks. Four days later, outside the Alabama state capitol, King told 25,000 demonstrators: "We are on the move now ... and no wave of racism can stop us." On August 6 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law.

· Sept 2000 Selma elects its first black mayor, James Perkins, with 60% of the vote

· May 2002 Bobby Frank Cherry is convicted of murder for his part in the bombing of Birmingham's Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on September 15 1963, in which four black girls were killed.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

[jayjay]

@Skye

You said it yourself..there is crime everywhere.....so why boycott an entire island for what 3 or 4 people did?

Posted by: Fab | Nov 9, 2005 8:55:18 AM

We are all missing the point, these people did not call for a boycott because of the crime my friends, they called for the boycott because of the perception of how the investigation, if there really is one, is going!

The call for boycott is coming from the disastrous aftermath of an alleged crime!

[Dixie]

@ Neil
And what may I ask has that LONG copy and paste..have to do with this???????
Anyone with 1 iota of sense or education knows Alabama history...its taught in all the local schools. My 6 yr old knows that!
Give me a break...post something remotely related to the issue at hand

[Bob]

By the way where did the Civil War start...

[Dixie]

sarcasm?? I wont even go there.
Open a history book...or google it.

[kathy]

This has nothing to do with an American tourist dissapearing in a foreign country. The justice system is either enept or this is a "cover-up" that involves a rich kid whose father was a "judge-in-waiting! Proves that it's "who-you-know" if Joran was involved!
Beth's fault is that she will NEVER see her daughter again. It would be nice if she could bring Natalee home and at least have a gravesite she could visit!!!!!!

[nelson]

This situation will just take a turn to the worst, most probable case that will happen next will be Beth WILL be pronounced a "PERSONA NON GRATA" on Aruban soil and most probably on ALL Dutch territories.

[c]

Boycott Alabama ?
what is there in Alabama to see/visit ? (may be Mt. Brook)

Since we know all the crime rate in Alabama. does anyone know the education system (like highschool where they rank compared to other states, also there ranking as far as colleges are concerned).

[MEL]

DAN YOU ARE AN IDIOT ALONG WITH ALOT OF OTHER
PEOPLE ON THIS WEBSITE

[c]

Slamming Alabama is just as bad as whats going on in Aruba.
Posted by: Dixie | Nov 9, 2005 8:56:52 AM

seriously, I agree with u and your post.

[Dixie]

I assume you all think that slamming Alabama is going to give you the answers we all want?
I don't think so.
This is like some childhood game ....calling each other names and such.
I cant believe that Dan would start this by posting garbage....what has this acomplished other then trashing each other and Alabama?
I just lost all faith in Dans journalism skills....this is trash reading..not newsworthy.
Refusing to hop this train

[Steve]

YES, BOYCOTT ALABAMA...

[c]

Actually Dan did not say to boycott Alabama, he said may be Boycott Gov. Bob Riley's Sweet Home Alabama.

He is looking for a change in government....

[Dixie]

same difference. He knows what he is implying and the issues it will stir up.
JMO

[middle to all]

Hey Aruba... give us answers and we will give you your tourist back.

As for Dan my middle finger is slowly rising

[glassasparagusplatter]

One question.... I watched the press conference with Beth and Riley. Does Beth not own a suit or at least something nicer than jeans and a GAP shirt? Even Jug dressed up! I know it is not about how you look but come on Beth you could have but a little more effort in your apperance.

[carl]

Well Well,

Do you mean that Aruba has now to sacrify some innocent head to satisfy Beth and Riley...

[VASteve]

By the way where did the Civil War start...

Posted by: Bob | Nov 9, 2005 9:19:02 AM

Please share your answer and the relavence?

[Freebrid]

I am proud to live in the state of Alabama. But people have to make there own choice if they want to boycott or not. As for me I will never go to Aruba because my husband cannot travel. I feel that Aruba should have told the Holloway/Twitty's from the start that only the Dutch could really do anything for them it would have saved alot of time. Here in Alabama we call that "passing the buck" which is what they are doing washing there hands of their mass they have made! And as for if it was a poor black girl and not a rich white girl comment, well Dave Holloway has already told everyone he is not rich neither is Jug Twitty. They just care enough about their child that they have done everything possible that they could to keep the story alive. Anyone even a poor person can get out and make their voice heard if they want to.

[VASteve]

Anyone even a poor person can get out and make their voice heard if they want to.

Posted by: Freebrid | Nov 9, 2005 12:33:43 PM

I disagree with the sentence. MSM does not seem to pay equal attention to the poor or minorities. This is my observation only.

[Lisa11011]

glassasparagusplatter - I noticed that too!!! I thought her dress was sooo inappropiate!! Can some of Pro Bether's inform this lady she is a mother and not a teen ager. That goodness "This Time" she wore a long shirt so we did not have to see her belly AGAIN!!!!

[fiesta819]

The boycott is not necessarily for what "three people did", but for what Aruba's LE HASN'T done! IMO, they (Aruba LE) should be blamed for any hardships, if any, that may befall the Arubans. At least Alabama's government tries to protect its citizens! Hopefully, Aruban government will start thinking of their own citizen's best interests!

[ABUR]

Let's see and hope that folks from ALABAMA respect this mandate.

*** ESPECIALLY BETH TWITTY AND FAMILY/FRIENDS PLEASE SUPPORT THE BOYCOTT TOO - DON'T DARE EVER TOUCH THE ARUBAN SOIL AGAIN ****

YOU ARE PERSONA NON GRATA IN ARUBA...HAHAHAHA

[Cheri]

I just find this scary...for a distraught mother and some opportunists to try to set foreign policy? this is absurd

I do think that Phil, Gov Riley, Skeeter, Art Woods and Joe Felon among many are riding the gravy train of fame and fortune....nothing they are doing is going to find Natalee...they are a disgrace

What of Claudia in Jamaica, Amy in Curuzan, Jon Benet in Colorado, Nicole Simpson in Calif (Mark Furman helped to screw that case up)

this is a true disgrace

as for those who yammer what they "should do">> there is NO evidence...with what they have, those 3 guys would not have spent a nite in jail let alone 3 months....

look at poor Tara in Georgia..they are giving up the search...did their state government give the workers a 1/2 day paid to go search for her? aruba did that for Natalee..
did our air force send in fighter jets to look for her with heatseeking etc equipment? Netherlands sent in jets for Natalee

This is just a horrible example of politicians and tv jerks taking advantage of a sorry situation and a woman who probably needs mental counseling now instead of more tv lights

[Freebrid]

VASteve

I was taught that you make of yourself what you want other people to see. If your child was missing I feel instead of feeling sorry for yourself get out and do something about it. And now minorities could be anyone. Their are so many different races in our city you can't say any one group of people are minorities anymore. Their are to many programs for people to get money and help from so I feel if someone wanted something bad enought they would do whatever it takes to get the action they need. This is only my opinion and I respect yours and everybody else that gives their own opinion.

[bama1991]

@ Dixie!

You have it exactly right. The only thing I have to add is that Gov. Riley is 100% using this situation for political gain. There are many, many hard-core Republicans, like myself, who will not support him in our next election. He is hitting the Brookies up for their big bucks so he can fight off more qualified candidates running for Governor (Lucy Baxley).

Many of you are bad mouthing our Great State without any information to back up your conclusions. The sad truth of this situation is this--IF NATALEE HAD STAYED IN ALABAMA INSTEAD OF GOING TO ARUBA, SHE WOULDN'T BE MISSING!!!!! Alabama is not to blame! We do not all support this ridiculous boycott of Aruba. A boycott isn't going to help find Natalee because if anyone in Aruba was hiding something, they will certainly stay silent because of Beth Twitty and this boycott. It truly is a shame!

[alaruba]

Riehl and Riley both need to be injected with "proportionality" serum...rigid braces applied to each leg of both of these guys may diminish their "knee-jerk" reactions...

[tess]

BOYCOTT ALABAMA FOR ALL THE MISSING PEOPLE THERE!! AND ALL THE COPS THAT CANNOT DO A GOOD JOB. (OJ CASE) ONE OF THE REASONS EVERYBODY HATES U.S.A. BETH AND dr PHIL SHOULD GET MARRIED CAUSE THEY BOTH NEED HELP! THOSE WHO ARE FOR THE BOYCOTT, DONT HAVE THE MONEY TO GO THERE, SIMPLE AS THAT.

[Frank]

As a travel company owner in the states, I will be the first to admit that the boycott to Aruba HAS HAD a major effect in travel to the destination. My company's major offering was to the island, but with demand off so much I have had to layoff 40% of the workforce just prior to the holidays. I sympathize with the Hallaway family and only wish the situation would only have been resolved more effectively from the outset. Unfortunately, that is not the case and while we list stats and complain about a complicit Aruba government, people have lost jobs and a family has lost a daughter. My only takeaway from all the conversation above, is sometimes not all answers can be found and we must learn to move forward when appropriate. I only wish peace and comfort to the families involved and hope the new year brings some answers and an opportunity for closure.