This story has been contentious from the first article we published. Is Aaliyah Bedwell a three year old tot being sexually and otherwise abused, or is this a figment of the mother, Connie Bedwell’s imagination? It is a good question, and a very valid question.

One common view about this case is that it is bogus. Everyone from the Judge, to CPS, to the local police department are either ignoring it completely or skillfully avoiding looking into the allegations.

Auburn and Roseville, California are relatively small communities and as such, could it be possible that some families have more sway than others?

I know that that concept is one that many people will say ‘Oh it doesn’t work like that, we are not reliving The Dukes Of Hazard’. Well let me tell you a true story about my wife. At age 18 she was brutally attacked by a local business owner. I won’t go into the details, that is for Jan to share if she ever wants to. Her attacker was a local businessman and a ‘pillar’ of the local community. Broken, bloodied, and bruised, she could get no one to take her seriously. Two black eyes, and multiple contusions, still no one did anything. It could not be Mr ‘X’ he would never do such a thing was the story she got from the cops.

Jan was a victim, yet could get no one to pay attention. Could this happen today? You can bet your bottom dollar it could! The evidence is overwhelming.

Jan and I are not knights in shining armor, we are just regular folks. We run BNN because we believe in the concept of the little guy having a chance to say what he or she has to say about the items in the news. We use the term ‘Citizen Journalist’, that sums it up quite well. A couple of examples, Matt Drudge was an unknown, yet he was the guy that broke the Clinton, Lewinsky story. More recently we have the John Edwards scandal, the MSM were well aware of the allegations, but would not touch the story with a long pole. The official breaking organization is the National Inquirer, however the actual source is a good friend of mine. Randy just ran out of resources, and the Inquirer had some money that they were able to throw at the problem.

Another (much missed) friend is Sean Krause, his dogged following of the Caylee Anthony case is nothing short of amazing. Sean lost his fight with cancer, which was was huge loss to journalism. Without Sean, the whole Caylee Anthony story would likely have been buried.

We Citizen Journalists do have a big advantage over the MSM (Main Stream Media) we don’t have a boss telling us what we can and cannot report on. We report on what we care about! Sometimes we ruffle feathers, often our views are different to what the MSM would like. That does not mean that we do not do our research.

The case of Aaliyah Bedwell is a great example. We have not launched any article that we have not researched. We have waded through documents, we have talked to the people involved. We do our homework.

There has been a good deal of comments on our coverage, personally I could care less. If you think that Jan and I are talking BS, just don’t read the article. I for one do not like the supermarket tabloids, so I do not buy them. I do not like most TV programs on the big networks, so I do not watch them. I have no problem with people that do, and I certainly would not plow into an attack on them. If you love American Idol, or Dancing With The Stars, it is fine.

So folks, here is the deal. We at BNN want the truth, our methods may be strange, but we care. We do not make huge amounts of money, in fact Jan and I just make just enough to cover paying the rent and pay our bills.

The Aaliyah Bedwell story has grabbed us. If we are wrong we will take the flack, and it would be richly deserved. If we are right, what then?

The one thing that I would ask you all is to be civil in your comments. You might not agree with Jan and I, and I’m a big boy, if you want to launch into me that’s fine. I’ll even give you the email addy bnneditor@gmail.com

Here is what we need, we need people that are willing to share their stories and recollections about Aaliyah Bedwell. We are hitting a brick wall right now. But we are used to this, brick walls can be demolished. And we are good at the demolition business! A number of organizations seem to be avoiding talking to us. Why might that be? If we are on a wild goose chase why not tell us?

Oh, and I will add this. Jan and I are fed up with the bickering in the comments. Please stop it. We love to get feedback, but I, as the senior editor for BNN will not put up with personal attacks, and bickering. Think before you comment – Simon

Simon and Jan Barrett

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