Happy Halloween!

Danger, Danger captain, thar' be rocks a'stern!

The shore... waves splash against their boundaries... blue kisses tanned yellows... where water meets rock... a place to contemplate life when one has nothing else to do ... which reminds me of a special Christmas tune that seems quite appropriate wrt the last thread:

/you only got 55 days left...

re: #3 freetoken

The shore... waves splash against their boundaries... blue kisses tanned yellows... where water meets rock... a place to contemplate life when one has nothing else to do ... which reminds me of a special Christmas tune that seems quite appropriate wrt the last thread:

[Video]/you only got 55 days left...

I don't start my Christmas shopping until November as a matter of principle.

re: #4 Dark_Falcon

I don't start my Christmas shopping until November as a matter of principle.

Ok... you got 1 day left then!

Off I go to bed. The kids were already in near-meltdown today over Halloween; I have to be ready for an early start to a long day of costume-wearing and candy-gathering anticipation. Happy Evil-Spirit's Eve to All!

Sheesh! Earlier tonight I talked with my antivax friend who contracted the flu after he steadfastly refused to get the vaccine. He and his 10 year old son are recovering fairly well. I forebore mentioning the vaccine.

Unfortunately, the dad also has a very bad case of ODS.

He launched into a bitter denunciation of Obama's trip to Dover to meet our returning war dead, calling it a "photo op" and gloating that some of the famlies allegedly refused to be photographed with the President. (It might not have occurred to Mr. Antivax/ODS that the families did not want to be photographed at all on such an occasion, POTUS or not.)

Now, I am not a big fan of Obama, and I didn't vote for him, but I just do not understand those on the right who seem to be eaten alive with hatred for the man. They are not a loyal opposition, they are more like a pack of rabid dogs. To them, Obama literally can't do anything right. For example, I asked Mr. Antivax how Obama's visit to Dover would have been different if it had been a pure act of humanity and compassion rather than a cynical political ploy. His answer: If someone other than Obama had done it.

re: #7 shiplord kirel

Sheesh! Earlier tonight I talked with my antivax friend who contracted the flu after he steadfastly refused to get the vaccine. He and his 10 year old son are recovering fairly well. I forebore mentioning the vaccine.

Unfortunately, the dad also has a very bad case of ODS.

He launched into a bitter denunciation of Obama's trip to Dover to meet our returning war dead, calling it a "photo op" and gloating that some of the famlies allegedly refused to be photographed with the President. (It might not have occurred to Mr. Antivax/ODS that the families did not want to be photographed at all on such an occasion, POTUS or not.)

Now, I am not a big fan of Obama, and I didn't vote for him, but I just do not understand those on the right who seem to be eaten alive with hatred for the man. They are not a loyal opposition, they are more like a pack of rabid dogs. To them, Obama literally can't do anything right. For example, I asked Mr. Antivax how Obama's visit to Dover would have been different if it had been a pure act of humanity and compassion rather than a cynical political ploy. His answer: If someone other than Obama had done it.

That last sentence really does sum up any Derangement Syndrome in a nutshell (pun intended). The person who is the target if the craziness comes to represent utter evil and must always be opposed no matter what they do. Its deeply sick and very sad to see.

re: #7 shiplord kirel

I absolutely agree on the creepiness of ODS. To me, it looks the same as BDS. I'm beginning to sense a pattern here and it worries me to death. We have seen almost a decade of the opposition perfectly willing to tear down just about anything, so long as the party in power gets hurt in the process.

It was unpatriotic when Bush was president and it's unpatriotic now. If it goes on much longer, it could suck beyond our wildest imagination.

re: #9 Pythagoras

It was unpatriotic when Bush was president and it's unpatriotic now. If it goes on much longer, it could suck beyond our wildest imagination.

I'll tread lightly on this but something seems more remarkable about Obama hate than Bush hate. I mean Bush started a pre-emptive war. Right or wrong, whether or not you support it, that's a huge fucking deal and you know it will trigger radical response. I think anyone who knows anything about American politics knows that war can be a flash-point for even the moderate lefties and its going to bring out the crazies in full force. Look what happened to Lyndon Johnson.

But what exactly has BO done to anger the right so much, and elevate the rhetoric so harshly so fast?

This isn't about one president deserves it and one doesn't, but it just seems like many on the right are trying to use this period as payback for the bush-era.

Again, I'm trying to ask this question delicately, and I'm not saying Bush deserved the hate, but just that you might expect it if you know how the left reacts.

re: #10 lastlaugh

I'll tread lightly on this but something seems more remarkable about Obama hate than Bush hate. I mean Bush started a pre-emptive war. Right or wrong, whether or not you support it, that's a huge fucking deal and you know it will trigger radical response. I think anyone who knows anything about American politics knows that war can be a flash-point for even the moderate lefties and its going to bring out the crazies in full force. Look what happened to Lyndon Johnson.

But what exactly has BO done to anger the right so much, and elevate the rhetoric so harshly so fast?

This isn't about one president deserves it and one doesn't, but it just seems like many on the right are trying to use this period as payback for the bush-era.

Again, I'm trying to ask this question delicately, and I'm not saying Bush deserved the hate, but just that you might expect it if you know how the left reacts.

He won, plain and simple. And after listening to the BDS crowd for 8 years he simply became the target of pent up anger.

Goodnight, all.

re: #8 Dark_Falcon

re: #9 Pythagoras

It might help if major politicians would make more of an effort to show that they like and respect each other personally, as most of them actually do. Obama and McCain did some of this during the campaign during the campaign last year but it was not enough to register on their crazier supporters.

At one time, it was taken for granted that the great men of politics, at least at the national level, could be friendly personally while remaining political adversaries. The classic example might be John F. Kennedy and Barry Goldwater. They were polar opposites politically, sharing almost nothing but a mutual detestation of communism, but they were great friends personally and spent a great deal of time drinking, fishing, and generally socializing together.

During the summer of 1963, when it first seemed likely that Goldwater might be JFK's opponent in the 1964 election, the two hatched a plan to conduct the campaign as a kind of joint whistle-stop tour. They would criss-cross the country on the same train, holding debates at every stop along the way. Since they were both notable party animals, it could have been an interesting trip indeed and it might have permanently changed the tone of American politics. Alas, it was not to be.

re: #10 lastlaugh

I'll tread lightly on this but something seems more remarkable about Obama hate than Bush hate. I mean Bush started a pre-emptive war. Right or wrong, whether or not you support it, that's a huge fucking deal and you know it will trigger radical response. I think anyone who knows anything about American politics knows that war can be a flash-point for even the moderate lefties and its going to bring out the crazies in full force. Look what happened to Lyndon Johnson.

But what exactly has BO done to anger the right so much, and elevate the rhetoric so harshly so fast?

This isn't about one president deserves it and one doesn't, but it just seems like many on the right are trying to use this period as payback for the bush-era.

Again, I'm trying to ask this question delicately, and I'm not saying Bush deserved the hate, but just that you might expect it if you know how the left reacts.

I kinda agree but Bush was hated even before any war. People hated him before he was inaugurated! Remember why Jeffords bailed? Remember all the filibusters even before 9/11? Remember how 2 of Bush's first 11 judicial appointments were ones Clinton had tried to appoint and they were quickly confirmed but most of the rest either never got confirmed or were part of the "gang of 14" plan 4 years later?

And Clinton was hated before that, and Bush 1 before that. I don't want to pin this on any one side. It's been building for decades. It seems to get a bit worse every administration. Imagine if it keeps rising!

re: #14 Pythagoras

Hatred of any Republican President is endemic since Nixon. The media and the 60's types remember longingly that victory and lust for a repeat. The OBS appears much more grass roots, with the exception of the influence of FOX, but even then it is not the latent type we see in the rest of the MSM and left.

Uh oh

Bullet hits Lou Dobbs' NJ home with wife nearby

WANTAGE, N.J. (AP) - Police in New Jersey are trying to determine who fired a bullet that struck CNN commentator Lou Dobbs' home as his wife stood nearby. State police Sgt. Stephen Jones says Dobbs' wife and driver were outside the home Oct. 5 when they heard the gunshot. Jones says the bullet didn't penetrate the siding and fell to the ground outside.

Dobbs mentioned the bullet earlier this week on CNN and his radio show.

Dobbs says he had been receiving threatening phone calls for weeks. On his radio show, he connected the gunshot to his advocacy for a crackdown on illegal immigration and to his opponents' rhetoric.

The home is on a farm in Wantage, about 50 miles northwest of New York City.

It is small-game hunting season, but no hunters were seen in the area.

Not to minimize this incident, but it does seem that Dobbs is jumping to conclusions. Sniper attacks just aren't the batshit left's style, they are more into bombs, probably a result of being outside the gun culture and consequently lacking the necessary skills. If it was a small game hunter who realized he had bagged a house rather than a varmint, he would almost certainly have skeddaddled before the state police could arrive.

I'd like to thank everyone for keeping a relatively even keel on that last thread. Not every point was answered, not every slam was responded to. All in all, very civil. Thanks to the board!

And good night, my dear Lizards. I don't think a lot of the poster's here have any idea how singular this site is. Kudos to all involved, and my deepest regards.

re: #17 austin_blue

Good night austin_blue, thank you for your comments!

re: #10 lastlaugh

But what exactly has BO done to anger the right so much, and elevate the rhetoric so harshly so fast?

The stimulus, Cap and trade and 0bamacare- bad, bad, god-awful policies that will harm the country and he's trying to pass through on the basis of his personality with no questions asked. Granted those crap-tastic ideas aren't his alone, but ultimately he gets to sign off on them and there's more in the pipeline (Card Check, a 2nd stimulus).

Bush won re-election by a wider margin than 0bama did, and one of the first things we heard the Fat Fuck From Flint Micheal Moore say was '56% isn't a mandate, Mr. Bush'...but apparently to these hypocrates on the left, 52% is a mandate when their guy won.

I have no problem when he does the right thing (Maersk Alabama; various predator drone strikes in Pakistan that I'm sure he signed off on at some point)...especially when they result in the enemies of the United States of America being killed. But the guy's a smarmy, thin-skinned Chicago hack who's barely been asked a difficult question by his MSM cheerleaders. I have zero faith or trust in the guy based on what he's trying to achieve domestically.

If that makes me an 0DS sufferer, so be it.

re: #19 Fenway_Nation

Bush won re-election by a wider margin than 0bama did, and one of the first things we heard the Fat Fuck From Flint Micheal Moore say was '56% isn't a mandate, Mr. Bush'...but apparently to these hypocrates on the left, 52% is a mandate when their guy won.

Don't know where you are getting your figures...

United States presidential election, 2004

Note that GWB just got over half of the popular vote. It has been noted that his results were among the lowest for a sitting President who got re-elected, and especially during wartime seemed rather low.

If that makes me an 0DS sufferer, so be it.

Frankly, at times it does seem you have a mild case of ODS. I've never understood your hatred for Obama.

re: #19 Fenway_Nation

I think you're not who I'm talking about here. You at least acknowledge he's done some right things.
If you say, for instance, UHC would make us no better than Nazi Germany, you may have ODS.

re: #16 shiplord kirel

Uh oh

Bullet hits Lou Dobbs' NJ home with wife nearby

Not to minimize this incident, but it does seem that Dobbs is jumping to conclusions. Sniper attacks just aren't the batshit left's style, they are more into bombs, probably a result of being outside the gun culture and consequently lacking the necessary skills. If it was a small game hunter who realized he had bagged a house rather than a varmint, he would almost certainly have skeddaddled before the state police could arrive.

What are you talking about here?

Bombs?

Liberals like bombs. OK.

re: #14 Pythagoras

I kinda agree but Bush was hated even before any war. People hated him before he was inaugurated! Remember why Jeffords bailed? Remember all the filibusters even before 9/11? Remember how 2 of Bush's first 11 judicial appointments were ones Clinton had tried to appoint and they were quickly confirmed but most of the rest either never got confirmed or were part of the "gang of 14" plan 4 years later?

I could be misremembering but that stuff seemed politics as usual. Opposition being the opposition.

The opposition took a sharp turn at the Patriot Act and went off the rails after Iraq.

re: #22 bluecheese

What are you talking about here?

Bombs?

Liberals like bombs. OK.

Are you really going to conflate "batshit left" with "liberals?"

re: #22 bluecheese

William Ayers certainly didn't know anything about bombs- otherwise his weather udnerground buddies might still be alive instead of the GIs at Fort Dix their little ill-fated science project was intended for.

Oh wait...I guess Ayers is a foaming-at-the-mouth right winger.

Keep in mind that Bill Ayers's friends back in '70 did not blow themselves up with party balloons and you would have to be Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck to think of them as liberals.

re: #23 lastlaugh

The opposition took a sharp turn at the Patriot Act and went off the rails after Iraq.

IIRC the Patriot Act passed with only one senator voting against it. Anthrax.

The opposition party still authorized, and funded Bush's wars. I don't think that today's Republican opposition is the same as the Dems were under bush.

re: #24 shiplord kirel

Are you really going to conflate "batshit left" with "liberals?"

My bad.

re: #25 Fenway_Nation

William Ayers certainly didn't know anything about bombs- otherwise his weather udnerground buddies might still be alive instead of the GIs at Fort Dix their little ill-fated science project was intended for.

Oh wait...I guess Ayers is a foaming-at-the-mouth right winger.

Ayers? Please.

Do we have anything within the last three decades?

re: #27 bluecheese

Actually...yea- but it would undercut the 'Liberals don't use guns argument'.

Also...does Eric Rudolph Robert have a cushy teaching job and a home in an upscale neighborhood?

No...wait...he's in the fucking Supermax where he belongs. Wonder why Ayers was such a special little flower princess to get off with no jail time.

Well, just one loose-knit gang, the animal rightists (not known for their rightist associations, however) at the Revolutionary Cells – Animal Liberation Brigade, have managed the following just since 2003:

The RCALB took credit for its first action on August 27, 2003, when two "pipe bombs filled with an ammonium nitrate" were placed at Chiron Corporation's offices in Emeryville, California...

In September 2003, the RCALB took responsibility for another bombing, this time at the offices of Shaklee Inc...

Incendiary device
On June 24, 2007, an explosive device was placed under a car belonging to Arthur Rosenbaum, a pediatric ophthalmologist who carries out animal experimentation with cats and rhesus monkeys...

Letter bombs
Although no suspicious packages have yet been found, RCALB claimed in January 2009 to Indybay that they sent two UC Davis animal researchers letter bombs...

Vehicle firebombed
In the early hours of March 7, 2009, the Animal Liberation Brigade once again targeted UCLA. This time setting ablaze and destroying a car belonging to a researcher.

Terrorist attacks in the US since 2000

A good synopsis by method, date, target, and motive.

re: #30 shiplord kirel

Ah...but the fatal flaw. It's wiki and anybody can edit it.

Of course, having said that I just linked the their entry on the terrorist attacks on Pakistan for just this month alone from my blog.

re: #29 shiplord kirel

lol.
Yeah, wackadoodles.

You got me on that one.

Holy fucking shit...how long did I have Iran's state-controlled PressTV set as my homepage?

re: #33 Fenway_Nation

Holy fucking shit...how long did I have Iran's state-controlled PressTV set as my homepage?

You've been exposed, Brother Fenway. You are ordered to return to Tehran at once to answer for your lax attitude toward operational security.

re: #34 shiplord kirel

It's to an article I linked to in the spinoff links...how the hell did it get set as my homepage in the process?

/Article quotes Taliban spokesfecalmatter as saying this week's Peshawar attacks were the work of Blackwater USA.

re: #35 Fenway_Nation

It's to an article I linked to in the spinoff links...how the hell did it get set as my homepage in the process?

/Article quotes Taliban spokesfecalmatter as saying this week's Peshawar attacks were the work of Blackwater USA.

Actually, I've had that happen too. The last link I post in spin-offs will appear in the posting box as my homepage. Sometimes I have to delete it, after which my original homepage, NuclearSpace, will return by itself. Very odd.

re: #34 shiplord kirel

You've been exposed, Brother Fenway. You are ordered to return to Tehran at once to answer for your lax attitude toward operational security.

Fuck that...I'm having way too much fun with all this vodka and volutuous infidel hookers!
/

BTW- would one refer to a terrorist attack that killed 117 people as 'mass casualty'? Or is the threshold higher?

Well, there's batshit left and then there's the Schrödinger Cat Liberation Front

Clearly liberals, their mission is to save felines from physics experiments. I hope the FBI is watching them, they sound dangerous.

Grim Milestone: McDonalds withdraws from Iceland is a brilliant title.

. re: #40 Bagua

Thanks...flattery will get you updinged.

/Feel free to leave a comment over there.

This obituary for one of the WWII Navajo Code-Talkers is near and dear to me for some reason. Earlier it was just a link to the really short USA Today writeup, but I was able to link to the Navajo tribal newspaper that has a more detailed bio and some worthwhile quotes from an earlier interview.

I might tinker with the timestamp so it'll appear at the top of my blog for a little while.

/Here's to a life well-lived, Mr. Oliver. God bless and thank you!

And on that bittersweet note- I'm outta hea'...

re: #44 Fenway_Nation

g'night FN

re: #43 Fenway_Nation

I might tinker with the timestamp so it'll appear at the top of my blog for a little while.

Steady on mate, that's how it starts you know, tinker with a timestamp here and there, later a few stealth edits, next thing you know you're covering up all sorts of iniquity and adverts pimping gold start appearing on your blog.

It's a slippery slope and there's no turning back when you start fabricating data.

Disturbing details emerge on this sinister and shadowy group.

The Schroedinger Cat Liberation Front aims to save cats from cruel experiments carried out in all theoretical physics labs in the planet. As you may know there is a (thought, they say!)experimant that was devised by the Nazi scientist, Erwin Schrödinger, that occurres in the death of the cat 50% of the time. We cannot afford a loss of felines so high, we will take any action to liberate the cats by opening their little black boxes!

I do understand their grievance, I lost a cat under very suspicious circumstances once. The desire for revenge is there.

But what ennobles us as humans is the ability to put aside our rage and just accept that sometimes bad things happen to good cats and we can't protect them all... and in any case, must never resort to extreme measures to promote our political goals.

re: #7 shiplord kirel

His answer: If someone other than Obama had done it.

When politics becomes like rooting for a football team...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled late Thursday that almost all juvenile delinquency cases heard by an indicted former judge must be thrown out. The ruling means cases heard by former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella from Jan. 1, 2003 to May 31, 2008 are in question for fairness and impartiality.

Ciavarella faces criminal charges that accuse him of taking millions of dollars in kickbacks from owners of private detention centers in exchange for placing juvenile defendants at their facilities, often for minor crimes.

In one reported case, a college-bound high school student served three weeks in juvenile detention for making fun of the school principal on a Web site.

The court said that it "cannot have any confidence that Ciavarella decided any Luzerne County juvenile case fairly and impartially while he labored under the specter of his self-interested dealings with the facilities," and called Ciavarella's actions a "travesty of juvenile justice."

The decision could impact up to 6,500 Pennsylvania youth, whose juvenile detention records will now be erased and their cases dismissed without the possibility of retrial.

SNIP

The ruling is the latest stunning development in a story of corruption that first shocked Luzerne County residents in January 2009. Federal prosecutors announced that respected county judges Ciavarella and Michael Conahan had pleaded guilty to tax evasion and honest services fraud. However, their plea deal and relatively light sentence were later rejected by a federal judge who ruled that Ciavarella and Conahan had failed to accept responsibility for their crimes. In fact, Ciavarella had previously told "20/20" that "we would never agree that [the kids' sentencing] was improper."

Now, the two former judges face much more serious federal racketeering, bribery, and extortion charges. All of this is the result of a lengthy investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI. Ciavarella and Conahan have pleaded not guilty.

"They sold their oath of offices to the highest bidders and engaged in ongoing schemes to defraud the public of honest services that were expected from them," Deron Roberts, chief of the FBI's Scranton office, said at a late January news conference announcing the case.

SNIP

Ciavarella and Conahan had allegedly devised a plot to use their positions as judges to pad their pockets. They shut down the old county-run juvenile detention center by first refusing to send kids there and, then, by cutting off funds, choking it out of existence.

They then replaced the facility with a cash cow -- a privately owned lockup built by the judges' cronies -- and forged a deal for the county to pay $58 million for a 10-year period for its use. At the time, Conahan was serving as president judge of the Luzerne County Common Pleas Court, a position that allowed him to control the county-court budget. Ciavarella was the Luzerne County juvenile court judge.

SNIP

re: #50 MandyManners

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled late Thursday that almost all juvenile delinquency cases heard by an indicted former judge must be thrown out. The ruling means cases heard by former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella from Jan. 1, 2003 to May 31, 2008 are in question for fairness and impartiality.

I hope those bastards spend the rest of their lives in federal prison, and I don't mean a Club Fed.

SNIP

re: #50 MandyManners

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled late Thursday that almost all juvenile delinquency cases heard by an indicted former judge must be thrown out. The ruling means cases heard by former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella from Jan. 1, 2003 to May 31, 2008 are in question for fairness and impartiality.

SNIP

I hope those bastards spend the rest of their lives in federal prison, and I don't mean a Club Fed.

re: #48 WindUpBird

When politics becomes like rooting for a football team...

And all the teams suck!

[Link: article.nationalreview.com...]

"Old Soviet joke:

Moscow, 1953. Stalin calls in Khrushchev.

“Niki, I’m dying. Don’t have much to leave you. Just three envelopes. Open them, one at a time, when you get into big trouble.”

A few years later, first crisis. Khrushchev opens envelope 1: “Blame everything on me. Uncle Joe.”

A few years later, a really big crisis. Opens envelope 2: “Blame everything on me. Again. Good luck, Uncle Joe.”

Third crisis. Opens envelope 3: “Prepare three envelopes..."

re: #52 MandyManners

Definitely. Just about the worst kind of corruption and miscarriage of justice imaginable. Imprisoning juveniles for profit.

re: #55 Timmeh

Definitely. Just about the worst kind of corruption and miscarriage of justice imaginable. Imprisoning juveniles for profit.

What perplexes is me is this:

"I think that we had a conspiracy of silence going on in Luzerne County," Levick said. "There were officers of the court, there were members of the district attorney's office, members of probation, private lawyers, public defenders, who were in the courtroom every day. And they had to know what was happening and whether it was by virtue of intimidation or an unwillingness to get involved. The fact remains that nobody stood up."

SNIP

re: #56 MandyManners

What perplexes is me is this:

"I think that we had a conspiracy of silence going on in Luzerne County," Levick said. "There were officers of the court, there were members of the district attorney's office, members of probation, private lawyers, public defenders, who were in the courtroom every day. And they had to know what was happening and whether it was by virtue of intimidation or an unwillingness to get involved. The fact remains that nobody stood up."

SNIP

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.

Edmund Burke

re: #56 MandyManners

Just. Wow.

re: #52 MandyManners

I hope those bastards spend the rest of their lives in federal prison, and I don't mean a Club Fed.

The local county jail would be better. More chance of running into some of his former charges there than in FedPen.

re: #57 rwdflynavy

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.

Edmund Burke

re: #58 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Just. Wow.

It's a good thing none of those kids was killed because those involved could face some sort of homicide charges.

Not to start a big Creationism debate, but there was a banner ad at the very top of LGF..."Creation Help, a source for Pastors and Priests" "For help preserving the creation story".

Paraphrased, when I went to comments it disappeared, that's what I can remember.

Just thought it was a little funny.

re: #59 SixDegrees

The local county jail would be better. More chance of running into some of his former charges there than in FedPen.

I'd rather see them in 23-hour lockdown for the rest of their lives.

re: #61 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Not to start a big Creationism debate, but there was a banner ad at the very top of LGF..."Creation Help, a source for Pastors and Priests" "For help preserving the creation story".

Paraphrased, when I went to comments it disappeared, that's what I can remember.

Just thought it was a little funny.

Oh, yes, it is funny.

Gotta run lizards. Time to start prepping for my squadron's ready room tailgate of the FL/GA Game. The keg of homemade Cherry Wheat is chilled and ready to go. Should be a fun day.

re: #60 MandyManners

Some other bad? Some of those kids were pretty frickin' guilty too.

But, I feel great sadness for those kids who were sold, I don't know another word for it than human trafficking.

re: #61 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Not to start a big Creationism debate, but there was a banner ad at the very top of LGF..."Creation Help, a source for Pastors and Priests" "For help preserving the creation story".

Paraphrased, when I went to comments it disappeared, that's what I can remember.

Just thought it was a little funny.

The whole "targeted ads" schtick is so much BS. All those algorithms do is count words, and stick ads on pages with high counts. They are completely unsophisticated in their selection, so if the word "creationism" pops up frequently, it'll get an ad targeting creationists, even if the page in question is a site wholly critical of the subject.

I would never pay more for such a service than I would for a service that simply placed ads at random.

The Doors (3 stars) 1991 Jim Morrison ( Val Kilmer) forms a band and turns tragic 1960's 1960s rock star.
I'm blown away by Val's performance in this movie. I guess I can't make fun of the ice-man any more. He played the part of Morrison of inspired genius.
He deserved an Oscar and I highly recommend this movie.

re: #66 SixDegrees

I know. But the irony almost burns!

re: #62 MandyManners

I'd rather see them in 23-hour lockdown for the rest of their lives.

Works for me, too, but that won't happen anywhere I know about. County jails, meanwhile, are usually a lot more "lenient" when it comes to things like salad tossing than the Feds are.

re: #67 HoosierHoops

Dude. He actually sang the role.

re: #68 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

I know. But the irony almost burns!

Heh. I was reading the thread downstairs, thinking that in honor of the new version of the Origin being peddled, I need to release a "special" edition of Genesis, leaving out the unimportant bits and including my own commentary...

re: #65 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Some other bad? Some of those kids were pretty frickin' guilty too.

But, I feel great sadness for those kids who were sold, I don't know another word for it than human trafficking.

How can guilt be determined in a hearing of less than five minutes' duration, especially when the court already had detemined the child was going to prison?

re: #56 MandyManners

I posted that in yesterdays morning thread. I was sure there would be people who would try to explain how the judge has a hard job to do and he was just doing what he thought was best for the children, the millions exchanging hands is pure coincidence. 99.9% of judges are good people after all.

Down with the man!

re: #67 HoosierHoops

The Doors (3 stars) 1991 Jim Morrison ( Val Kilmer) forms a band and turns tragic 1960's 1960s rock star.
I'm blown away by Val's performance in this movie. I guess I can't make fun of the ice-man any more. He played the part of Morrison of inspired genius.
He deserved an Oscar and I highly recommend this movie.

Kilmer got the part after making a video of himself performing Doors material and playing it for Stone. He told Stone that songs were mixed up between his own singing and Morrison's. He asked Stone to tell them apart; after he made his guesses as to who was singing what songs, Kilmer admitted that the entire video was him singing.

re: #69 SixDegrees

Works for me, too, but that won't happen anywhere I know about. County jails, meanwhile, are usually a lot more "lenient" when it comes to things like salad tossing than the Feds are.

Typically, county jails hold defendants for trial and convicts serving 11/29 on state charges, and these are federal charges.

re: #75 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Kilmer got the part after making a video of himself performing Doors material and playing it for Stone. He told Stone that songs were mixed up between his own singing and Morrison's. He asked Stone to tell them apart; after he made his guesses as to who was singing what songs, Kilmer admitted that the entire video was him singing.

Just amazing piece of art...I always thought Val was a second rate actor.. No more.

re: #69 SixDegrees

I have a in-law who is in a max security fed pen (ironically, in Pennsylvania). It's pretty brutal.

re: #50 MandyManners

An incredible story. Sounds very "Third World" doesn't it.

re: #73 RogueOne

I posted that in yesterdays morning thread. I was sure there would be people who would try to explain how the judge has a hard job to do and he was just doing what he thought was best for the children, the millions exchanging hands is pure coincidence. 99.9% of judges are good people after all.

The only people I can imagine who hold that attitude are the judges, their families and their attorneys. As for 99.9 per cent of judges being good people, in my career as a reporter and my work as a paralegal, I've found that to be generally true but, I've also seen some doozies on the bench!

re: #76 MandyManners

Typically, county jails hold defendants for trial and convicts serving 11/29 on state charges, and these are federal charges.

Oh - I didn't realize they were Federal charges. So much for that idea, then.

My next hope is that he gets his ass sued, and all those millions he received go to his victims. Same with those running the institutions he was supplying.

re: #78 RogueOne

I have a in-law who is in a max security fed pen (ironically, in Pennsylvania). It's pretty brutal.

I hope these assholes get sent to the supermax in Florence, Colorado, or Pelican Bay in California.

re: #79 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

An incredible story. Sounds very "Third World" doesn't it.

The violations of due process boggle the mind, don't they?

re: #81 SixDegrees

Oh - I didn't realize they were Federal charges. So much for that idea, then.

My next hope is that he gets his ass sued, and all those millions he received go to his victims. Same with those running the institutions he was supplying.

I don't see how either can cloak themselves in governmental immunity.

re: #84 MandyManners

I don't see how either can cloak themselves in governmental immunity.

I don't think that dog's gonna hunt, either.

Mandy. Thanks for posting the lyrics to "How Great Thou Art" yesterday. Was lovely, as are you.

re: #85 SixDegrees

I don't think that dog's gonna hunt, either.

It would be the height of irony.

re: #86 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Mandy. Thanks for posting the lyrics to "How Great Thou Art" yesterday. Was lovely, as are you.

*blush*

Thank you. It's the first thing that came to mind when I saw that photograph.

I wonder what a corrupt judge thinks about when he's awaiting sentencing...by another judge?

re: #87 MandyManners

It would be the height of irony.

Maybe they'll get a judge with an "Agreement" with the people who supply electricity to "the chair".

re: #89 SixDegrees

I wonder what a corrupt judge thinks about when he's awaiting sentencing...by another judge?

I hope they're both scared shitless. Or, their egos might be so sick that they expect to skate.

re: #90 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Maybe they'll get a judge with an "Agreement" with the people who supply electricity to "the chair".

HA! But, it's not a capital case.

re: #84 MandyManners

I don't know. Have you seen this case?
[Link: www.acslaw.org...]

The Supreme Court's Imbler opinion is quite broad. It grants prosecutors absolute immunity from § 1983 lawsuits even if they knowingly used perjured testimony at trial, deliberately withheld exculpatory information, or failed to make a full disclosure of all facts casting doubt upon the state's testimony.

If prosecutors have absolute immunity even if they make up evidence, what's to stop judges from enjoying the same kind of immunity?

Here is where I originally found that story:
[Link: reason.com...]

re: #92 MandyManners

But funny!

re: #93 RogueOne

I don't know. Have you seen this case?
[Link: www.acslaw.org...]

If prosecutors have absolute immunity even if they make up evidence, what's to stop judges from enjoying the same kind of immunity?

Destroying a state institution (the juvenile lock up) in order to create an enterprise from which they would profit after giving no due process to the defendants? I just don't see GI going that far.

re: #93 RogueOne

I don't know. Have you seen this case?
[Link: www.acslaw.org...]

If prosecutors have absolute immunity even if they make up evidence, what's to stop judges from enjoying the same kind of immunity?

a vigilante

re: #97 albusteve

Thumbs up for thinking outside the box
/
sarc tag so I don't get a visit from the secret service

re: #93 RogueOne

I don't know. Have you seen this case?
[Link: www.acslaw.org...]

If prosecutors have absolute immunity even if they make up evidence, what's to stop judges from enjoying the same kind of immunity?

It isn't absolute immunity. It's immunity against civil lawsuits. They're still liable for a whole truckload of criminal and ethical charges.

Not to imply that this decision should stand, but it isn't an absolute roadblock to prosecution by any stretch. It does, however, stand in the way of allowing victims to seek damages from those responsible, a matter that ought to be revisited.

Steve Hines at AT...

With countless examples of the media ignoring news that might damage Democrats, it seems this practice has bred a sense of security among the party's leaders. They even appear emboldened by their media allies as they get closer than ever to something they've craved for decades: complete control of the health care industry. To wit, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her band of Pelosheviks are compelled to tell us that things are not what we know they are. Last week, Pelosi said with a straight face (I've been waiting to use that line) that the expiration of the Bush tax cuts next year will not be a tax increase, but rather the "eliminating a tax decrease that was there." This would be funny stuff if she were not in charge of our nation's fiscal health. Don't hold your breath waiting for that kind of health reform.

Little seasonal music...

re: #100 albusteve

Steve Hines at AT...

With countless examples of the media ignoring news that might damage Democrats, it seems this practice has bred a sense of security among the party's leaders. They even appear emboldened by their media allies as they get closer than ever to something they've craved for decades: complete control of the health care industry. To wit, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her band of Pelosheviks are compelled to tell us that things are not what we know they are. Last week, Pelosi said with a straight face (I've been waiting to use that line) that the expiration of the Bush tax cuts next year will not be a tax increase, but rather the "eliminating a tax decrease that was there." This would be funny stuff if she were not in charge of our nation's fiscal health. Don't hold your breath waiting for that kind of health reform.

Orwell would be proud.

re: #99 SixDegrees
True. The judge who accepted the bribes in Pn will likely go to prison but the Pottawattamie v. McGhee case brings up an interesting question. if they have unqualified immunity for their actions before and during the trial what's to stop them from arguing the exchange of money is no worse than manufacturing evidence since the end result is the same.

Talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah have broken down, and Abdullah is likely to pull out of next week's presidential runoff, a person with knowledge of the talks said Friday.

Alice Cooper on the Soupy Sales Show

re: #105 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

I've seen Alice live at least 20 times. He's one of my favorites.

re: #106 RogueOne

Once, two days before Halloween... completely by accident. The show was great!

re: #102 MandyManners

Orwell would be proud.

the liberal left have turned into religious freaks that worship at the alter of control and indoctrination...they want it all regardless of whether it is good for America or not...they have become fanatic in their pursuit of power until reality has no meaning

re: #107 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

He used to come to indy for a halloween show, he did it 5 or 6 years in a row. Always a good time.

Fucking sophomoric.

Addressing a roomful of Pakistani women Friday afternoon at the National Art Gallery here, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made every effort to connect with her audience. But after enduring multiple security checks and waiting over four hours for the secretary to arrive, most women left unimpressed.

“Frankly, it was a waste of my time,” said one assistant professor from the Fatima Jinnah Women’s University (FJWU) in Rawalpindi, who asked not to be named. “[Clinton] wasn’t interested in hearing the about the layman’s problems or the reality of our daily lives.”

That caused many, such as Shazia Marri, the information minister of the Sindh province, to leave the meeting frustrated that their concerns were not heard. “Emancipated women in Pakistan have a clear point of view that did not come across,” she said.

SNIP

It didn’t help that many women objected to the format of the discussion, which was moderated by five female news anchors. Before Clinton arrived, one State Department representative explained that the format aimed to imitate the popular talk show, ‘The View.’

But it seems the women were not all convinced that the show is what the meeting most closely mirrored. “This meeting was as micromanaged as our country’s internal affairs,” quipped the FJWU professor. “[The Americans] were trying to retain the upper-hand in the conversation.”

SNIP

re: #108 albusteve

the liberal left have turned into religious freaks that worship at the alter of control and indoctrination...they want it all regardless of whether it is good for America or not...they have become fanatic in their pursuit of power until reality has no meaning

This is the group that has worked hard to deconstruct reality in education, to foist moral equivalence on us.

re: #107 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

As a matter-of-fact, I had a buddy who lived a couple blocks from a radio station where Alice was doing an interview the day before a show. We decided to go down and see if he'd sign some shirts for us. This was late 80's, I think he was pimping the Poison album. There were only 2 groups of people waiting, us and some others, maybe 8 people total. He came out and signed autographs, took pics, and chatted for a solid 15 mins, he was very nice about it.

re: #111 MandyManners

This is the group that has worked hard to deconstruct reality in education, to foist moral equivalence on us.

diversity, choice, world community, redistribution, consenting adults, cultural pluralism, anti military, reduction of American status...and I get slammed for calling them sick fuckers...too bad

re: #100 albusteve

The Dems have a huge problem looming in their future - the ever-increasing deficit, already at record levels, is only going to get bigger under their leadership. This is already causing grumbling within their own ranks, and outright terror everywhere else, as the unsustainability of their policies becomes apparent.

And the Dems are hamstrung by 0bama's pronouncement, reminiscent of Bush I, of no tax increases. The Dems simply don't know how to cut spending, only increase it; and they're forbidden to raise revenue through tax increases. What to do?

Well, you can employ various stealth measures like this one, allowing tax decreases with time limits on them to expire, then claiming it wasn't really an increase but a "restoration" of ordinary taxation. You can increase a host of fines, fees, mandates and other things that technically aren't taxes, but that walk and quack just like them all the same. And, finally, you can selectively raise taxes on vilified groups, like "the rich," while constantly re-defining exactly what constitutes this class until it includes anyone in the middle class.

The other stone around the Dem's neck is the economy. Any increase in taxes, fees or other source that transfers money from consumer's pockets to government trousers will be a drag on a recovery that looks anemic, at best. And the political price that such increases will command is probably too high for the Dems to bear.

re: #113 albusteve

diversity, choice, world community, redistribution, consenting adults, cultural pluralism, anti military, reduction of American status...and I get slammed for calling them sick fuckers...too bad

The Cult of Multi-Culti.

re: #114 SixDegrees

well said...but will voters respond?, after the election of BO I've lost all confidence...you should save this post for another time

Good Morning LGF.

re: #114 SixDegrees

The Dems have a huge problem looming in their future - the ever-increasing deficit, already at record levels, is only going to get bigger under their leadership. This is already causing grumbling within their own ranks, and outright terror everywhere else, as the unsustainability of their policies becomes apparent.

So what? All the Dems have to do is get as many people as possible into a program where the government supplies their needs. Then every election cycle, just keep reminding the faithful exactly which party it is that makes sure the good times keep rolling.

Perpetual power, baby. How sweet it is!

re: #116 albusteve

well said...but will voters respond?, after the election of BO I've lost all confidence...you should save this post for another time

What'll more likely happen in next year's elections is Democrats will be able to point to a recovery of sorts and claim credit for it - and people will accept that explanation.

Maybe. I saw a report yesterday that job growth may not resume until 2012. A lot of economic indicators are not pointing in the right direction, and people understandably vote their wallets first and foremost.

Well Thank Goodness the Terrorists at Gitmo will get the H1n1 flue shot before all of our kids in America...I toss and turn at night worrying about a hardened Terrorist might get the swine flu. Hell Let's give them a chit for a Hilton hotel stay and get it over with Mr President.

O frabjous day, calloo callay!

Morning, LGF nation. Happy Halloween. Random poetry interval:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

re: #120 HoosierHoops

Well Thank Goodness the Terrorists at Gitmo will get the H1n1 flue shot before all of our kids in America...I toss and turn at night worrying about a hardened Terrorist might get the swine flu. Hell Let's give them a chit for a Hilton hotel stay and get it over with Mr President.

I can almost understand prisoners there an in the CONUS getting the shots because it is the ultimate closed society, and we are responsible for their care. H1N1 would spread like the proverbial wildfire in prison and the death toll likely would be astounding.

Now, pardon me while I go rob a bank.

re: #119 SixDegrees

What'll more likely happen in next year's elections is Democrats will be able to point to a recovery of sorts and claim credit for it - and people will accept that explanation.

Maybe. I saw a report yesterday that job growth may not resume until 2012. A lot of economic indicators are not pointing in the right direction, and people understandably vote their wallets first and foremost.

simply redefine recovery and let the MSN pound away for a year...like hypnosis

re: #121 iceweasel

O frabjous day, calloo callay!

Morning, LGF nation. Happy Halloween. Random poetry interval:

Whoa, poetry hour! Place is getting a little classy!

*AHEM*

Carnation Milk is the best in the land;
Here I sit with a can in my hand.
No udders to pull, no hay to pitch,
I just pull the top off the son of a -

gone but not forgotten...

Starkle starkle little twink,
Who the Hell are you I think,
I'm not under what you call,
the alcofluence of incohol.
I'm just a little slort of sheep,
I'm not drunk like thinkle peep.
I don't know who is me yet,
but the drunker I stay the longer I get.
So one more drink to fill up my cup,
I got all day sober to Sunday up.

re: #122 MandyManners

I can almost understand prisoners there an in the CONUS getting the shots because it is the ultimate closed society, and we are responsible for their care. H1N1 would spread like the proverbial wildfire in prison and the death toll likely would be astounding.

Now, pardon me while I go rob a bank.

The Military should get a shot...But Child care centers are really the breeding ground for the flu.. After all the kiddies get a shot...Then give it the animals at Gitmo.. IMO

re: #124 SteveC

re: #125 albusteve

hee. Those are pretty good.
I'm thinking of some others but they are very classless. :(

re: #126 HoosierHoops

The Military should get a shot...But Child care centers are really the breeding ground for the flu.. After all the kiddies get a shot...Then give it the animals at Gitmo.. IMO

Not everyone at GITMO has been convicted of a crime.

re: #128 MandyManners

Not everyone at GITMO has been convicted of a crime.

You are really harshing my daily outrage Mandy...
Good Morning...Need a wheel man for the bank robbery?
LOL

Six people faint on flight from Newark to London

They were probably just relieved to be getting out of Newark!!

re: #129 HoosierHoops

You are really harshing my daily outrage Mandy...
Good Morning...Need a wheel man for the bank robbery?
LOL

How fast can you drive?

re: #130 SteveC

Six people faint on flight from Newark to London

They were probably just relieved to be getting out of Newark!!

That's odd.

re: #130 SteveC

Six people faint on flight from Newark to London

They were probably just relieved to be getting out of Newark!!

Cause for fainting for me would the the mere fact of being on an airplane to begin with.

Abdullah Abdullah might just sit this one out.

Oh, Hell!

re: #131 MandyManners

How fast can you drive?

Ya'll take my car!

Muslim leaders are preparing for the funeral of a Detroit imam who was fatally shot by federal agents after authorities say he resisted arrest and fired his weapon.

The service for Luqman Ameen Abdullah was set for Saturday morning at the Muslim Center in Detroit.

SNIP

re: #130 SteveC

Six people faint on flight from Newark to London

They were probably just relieved to be getting out of Newark!!

Really smelly fart?

re: #133 reine.de.tout

Cause for fainting for me would the the mere fact of being on an airplane to begin with.

Back in the days when I still flew, I'd have to be drugged from the moment I got out of bed the day of the flight.

re: #131 MandyManners

How fast can you drive?

Speaking of driving fast.. I flew my dad out from Cali to drive an Indy race car
on the Indy Track for a Christmas Present...You too can drive on the track really fast for 500 bucks..Sign up here Lizards.
[Link: www.indyracingexperience.com...]

re: #135 SteveC

Ya'll take my car!

We'll be getting our H1N1 shots pretty quickly if we take that.

re: #135 SteveC

Ya'll take my car!

cut me in and you can borrow mine...nobody will even notice it
Image: 1094747147_offer_jlm-muscle_cars-1969_chevy_camaro_street_rod.jpg

re: #139 HoosierHoops

Speaking of driving fast.. I flew my dad out from Cali to drive an Indy race car
on the Indy Track for a Christmas Present...You too can drive on the track really fast for 500 bucks..Sign up here Lizards.
[Link: www.indyracingexperience.com...]

Can I get the PA system to play this?

re: #128 MandyManners

Not everyone No one at GITMO has been convicted of a crime.

re: #138 MandyManners

Back in the days when I still flew, I'd have to be drugged from the moment I got out of bed the day of the flight.

I never did that, but probably should have.
I just get nervous and then I would get all chatty and drive everyone near me absolutely berserk.

re: #143 philosophus invidius

Not everyone No one at GITMO has been convicted of a crime.

they are not criminals...they are illegal combatants

re: #144 reine.de.tout

I never did that, but probably should have.
I just get nervous and then I would get all chatty and drive everyone near me absolutely berserk.

my mom does that all the time...no problem

re: #145 albusteve

they are not criminals...they are illegal combatants

An unlawful combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a civilian who directly engages in armed conflict in violation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and may be detained or prosecuted under the domestic law of the detaining state for such action

Gotta' go.

re: #143 philosophus invidius

Not everyone No one at GITMO has been convicted of a crime.

Since when did it become fashionable to put non-citizen enemy combatants on trial?

Just send the GITMO peeps back to their home countries. I really don't care what happens then.

re: #147 reine.de.tout

well there you have it

re: #144 reine.de.tout

I never did that, but probably should have.
I just get nervous and then I would get all chatty and drive everyone near me absolutely berserk.

You'd love flying with me.. When the Gov't sent 300 of us Nuke workers to Pearl Harbor for 3 years, I flew with a couple of lady Fellow workers who were terrified of Flying.. We sat in the bar in SFO and got completely trashed before take off...We boarded and they passed out on my left and right shoulder.. I woke them up when we landed...
You really need to fly with the Hoopster.. *wink*

re: #151 albusteve

well there you have it

Notice that an unlawful combatant has engaged in armed conflict in violation of International Humanitarian Law.

It often sems to be forgotten (and very rarely ever mentioned) that an unlawful combatant has violated international law.

For Halloween I thought I'd go as a sociopath. They look like everyone else.

re: #61 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Not to start a big Creationism debate, but there was a banner ad at the very top of LGF..."Creation Help, a source for Pastors and Priests" "For help preserving the creation story".
(Snip)

Is that some kind of soy thing you use to stretch "Pre-mortial Soup"?

re: #153 reine.de.tout

Notice that an unlawful combatant has engaged in armed conflict in violation of International Humanitarian Law.

It often sems to be forgotten (and very rarely ever mentioned) that an unlawful combatant has violated international law.

indeed...what's taking so long to set up a Tribunal and prosecute them

re: #154 Sharmuta

For Halloween I thought I'd go as a sociopath. They look like everyone else.

I'm going as the leader of the militant wing of the Salvation Army..
Don't you judge me!
/

I vote we release all the prisoners at Gitmo. If someone will take them in a foreign land, they can fly there. If no one will take them, we can fly them back to their home country. Or maybe they can bunk with the people who vote to release them in this country.

re: #155 Decatur Deb

Is that some kind of soy thing you use to stretch "Pre-mortial Soup"?

Decatur Deb!
Good one!

re: #50 MandyManners

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled late Thursday that almost all juvenile delinquency cases heard by an indicted former judge must be thrown out. The ruling means cases heard by former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella from Jan. 1, 2003 to May 31, 2008 are in question for fairness and impartiality.

SNIP

Ciavarella faces criminal charges that accuse him of taking millions of dollars in kickbacks from owners of private detention centers in exchange for placing juvenile defendants at their facilities, often for minor crimes.

My heavens.

re: #158 Odahi

I vote we release all the prisoners at Gitmo. If someone will take them in a foreign land, they can fly there. If no one will take them, we can fly them back to their home country. Or maybe they can bunk with the people who vote to release them in this country.

Send them to Hollywood.. Plenty of space in the Star's home...Sean Penn could take in dozens...And Angela Jolie could stop adopting kids

re: #151 albusteve

I don't deny that we cannot turn the whole fight against terrorism into a criminal investigation. The problem is that the designation "enemy combatant" is itself not clearly defined in law. By nature, it does not require proof of the sort that would be required in criminal law. But if we are having a global war on terrorism, then any non-citizen accused of terrorism could essentially be convicted without due process. That is troubling.

The main point here is not that they should be treated as innocent, but rather than we shouldn't just call them and treat them like animals. Maybe a few did nothing wrong.

re: #159 reine.de.tout

'Morning, Your Majesty.

re: #150 Cannadian Club Akbar

Just send the GITMO peeps back to their home countries. I really don't care what happens then.

Their home countries refuse to accept them, in most cases.

re: #147 reine.de.tout

They may (not "shall") be tried - they have no right to a trial. Their only "right" is to be treated humanely while in custody.
These bastards are lucky to be alive, and they owe that to the good graces of the US armed forces and the US government, since they could have been captured and killed on the spot.
The reason for their continued detention is presumably to enhance the security interests of the US, and I assume that is why the POTUS is no longer in such a rush to close GITMO.
IMO.

re: #160 Frogmarch

My heavens.

Good grief!
I'm glad to see he's facing criminal charges in that, I hope they throw the book at him.

I worked for a government agency, and in my mind - for a public employee - there are very few things more heinous than violating the public trust in any way, and particularly in a way where one uses his/her public position to enrich himself or his friends.

The 29-year-old doctor wants an apology and a change in CareNow's policy.

good grief...one drip at a time
[Link: www.foxnews.com...]

re: #157 HoosierHoops

I'm going as the leader of the militant wing of the Salvation Army..
Don't you judge me!
/

Or you could go as a Reading Is Fundamentalist.

re: #153 reine.de.tout

Notice that an unlawful combatant has engaged been accused of engaging in in armed conflict in violation of International Humanitarian Law.

It often sems to be forgotten (and very rarely ever mentioned) that an unlawful combatant has violated international law.

re: #169 philosophus invidius

sorry, meant to remove the block quote.

re: #166 reine.de.tout

Good grief!
I'm glad to see he's facing criminal charges in that, I hope they throw the book at him.

I worked for a government agency, and in my mind - for a public employee - there are very few things more heinous than violating the public trust in any way, and particularly in a way where one uses his/her public position to enrich himself or his friends.

In my mind as well.

re: #166 reine.de.tout

Good grief!
I'm glad to see he's facing criminal charges in that, I hope they throw the book at him.

I worked for a government agency, and in my mind - for a public employee - there are very few things more heinous than violating the public trust in any way, and particularly in a way where one uses his/her public position to enrich himself or his friends.

sounds like Murtha and his House cronies under investigation

And right on queue the family of the Detroit Imam who got in a gunfight with the FBI and was killed is calling for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. Who could have seen that coming? Islamic leader's family urges investigation into his death - He was shot 18 times, they say

As Muslims prepare for a funeral today in Detroit for Islamic leader Luqman Ameen Abdullah, his family and a coalition of Muslim organizations are calling for an independent investigation into his death in a reported shootout with FBI agents in Dearborn.

Yada yada disproportionate response yada.. This is my favorite part of the story. They handcuffed him after shooting him 18 times (allegedly) and were more worried about trying to save the FBI dog than the Imam.

Omar Regan, 34, one of Abdullah's sons, said his family was told by authorities that after he was shot 18 times, Abdullah was handcuffed and placed on a stretcher. He complained that the FBI airlifted a police dog that had been shot while no medical helicopter was brought in for his father.

Happy Halloween everyone!

The boogeyman's gonna get ya! Boogeyman, boogeyman!

Did I miss the poetry portion of the thread?

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

It's that time of year again...
Time for the 5th annual Denver Gorilla Run.
This year they are expecting over 1000! A new world record.

re: #166 reine.de.tout

Good grief!
I'm glad to see he's facing criminal charges in that, I hope they throw the book at him.

I worked for a government agency, and in my mind - for a public employee - there are very few things more heinous than violating the public trust in any way, and particularly in a way where one uses his/her public position to enrich himself or his friends.

Morning.

There was a TV series episode based on this not too long ago. One of the more popular detective/legal shows. However this type of thing does make me question the competence of many many many people in the city government assuming they had nothing to do with the scheme.

re: #162 philosophus invidius

I don't deny that we cannot turn the whole fight against terrorism into a criminal investigation. The problem is that the designation "enemy combatant" is itself not clearly defined in law. By nature, it does not require proof of the sort that would be required in criminal law. But if we are having a global war on terrorism, then any non-citizen accused of terrorism could essentially be convicted without due process. That is troubling.

The main point here is not that they should be treated as innocent, but rather than we shouldn't just call them and treat them like animals. Maybe a few did nothing wrong.

it's an old argument I don't want to rehash...if they stay right where they are for another twenty five years, I'll be satisfied

re: #176 FrogMarch

It's that time of year again...
Time for the 5th annual Denver Gorilla Run.
This year they are expecting over 1000! A new world record.

It would not surprise me if Walter were in that race...
Walter...Have you dug out of the snow yet?

re: #178 albusteve

Sometimes old arguments are good ones. I think you can see the force of the argument without having to say that gitmo prisoners are entitled to all the same rights as one would have in a civil court.

I also don't see what would be so bad about treating the ones caught in Afghanistan as POWs. When the Taliban surrenders, then they can go home.

Greets and saluts from the NYC metro area. The weather here is overcast and gray, with drizzle putting a damper on my plans to go out and move leaves around. That will have to wait until tomorrow... maybe.

But as drab as things are here, they don't compare to the situation in Yemen. The US State Department has had to intervene in a sticky situation there.

Rising anti-Semitism has threatened the last remnants of the once thriving Jewish population. The State Department is helping relocate those last Jews to the US and Israel.

There are only about 350 Yemeni Jews living in Yemen. There were once hundreds of thousands. Most resettled to Israel during Operation Magic Carpet following Israel's independence because of pogroms and riots that killed dozens of Yemeni Jews.

Now, the last remnants are getting out of the country.

Think about that a moment. A population of 350 Jews can't survive in a Islamic country where Muslims outnumber Jews by more than 23 million. Where's the tolerance we hear so much about there?

re: #166 reine.de.tout

IIRC, one of the youths who was sentenced to one of those privately run detention centers by the crooked judge for some very minor crime committed suicide.

re: #173 mich-again

the feds got one right...they have priorities and they followed them

And here's a holiday poem.

If you are superstitious you'll never step on cracks.
When you see a ladder you will never walk beneath it.
And if you ever spill some salt you'll thrown some 'cross your back,
And carry' round a rabbit's foot just in case you need it.
You'll pick up any pin that you find lying on the ground,
And never, never, ever throw your hat upon the bed,
Or open an umbrella when you are in the house.
You'll bite your tongue each time you say
A thing you shouldn't have said.
You'll hold your breath and cross your fingers
Walkin' by a graveyard,
And number thirteen's never gonna do you any good.
Black cats will all look vicious, if you're superstitious,
But I'm not superstitious (knock on wood).

-Shel Silverstein

re: #180 philosophus invidius

Sometimes old arguments are good ones. I think you can see the force of the argument without having to say that gitmo prisoners are entitled to all the same rights as one would have in a civil court.

I also don't see what would be so bad about treating the ones caught in Afghanistan as POWs. When the Taliban surrenders, then they can go home.

better enlarge Gitmo then...the Taliban will never surrender, but I could live with that idea

re: #176 FrogMarch

It's that time of year again...
Time for the 5th annual Denver Gorilla Run.
This year they are expecting over 1000! A new world record.

That's just - I don't know what to say. I though the high heel race in DC (transvestites in high heels running, a couple of days before Halloween) was pretty unique, but that's pretty interesting. Love the photo of the dogs in gorilla costumes.

re: #181 lawhawk

I'm glad they are getting out. May they find great happiness in their new homes.

***
Dawn breaks on the burnt-over San Gabriel Mountains of California. Towercam, Pacific time zone.

***

Good morning all.

re: #179 HoosierHoops

It would not surprise me if Walter were in that race...
Walter...Have you dug out of the snow yet?

I think Walter works at the theater on weekends? I hope he's not stuck somewhere. Actually - we had a lot of nice melting yesterday with the warm chinook winds.

I'm heading down later to watch. My guy is in it.

re: #169 philosophus invidius

accused of, absolutely correct.

Wasn't there a process set up to deal with the Gitmo detainees?
Whatever happened to that?

re: #186 Mad Al-Jaffee

That's just - I don't know what to say. I though the high heel race in DC (transvestites in high heels running, a couple of days before Halloween) was pretty unique, but that's pretty interesting. Love the photo of the dogs in gorilla costumes.

those jolly, fun loving Americans...dissing gorillas like that

re: #182 mich-again

IIRC, one of the youths who was sentenced to one of those privately run detention centers by the crooked judge for some very minor crime committed suicide.

That's on that judge's conscience, then. And I hope it haunts him

re: #189 reine.de.tout

accused of, absolutely correct.

Wasn't there a process set up to deal with the Gitmo detainees?
Whatever happened to that?

BO has a better solution...he just hasn't thought of it yet

re: #185 albusteve

They can die there of old age; they will be political footballs all the while courtesy of the immature political squabblers in the USA.

re: #192 albusteve

BO has a better solution...he just hasn't thought of it yet

my point exactly . . .

re: #179 HoosierHoops

It would not surprise me if Walter were in that race...
Walter...Have you dug out of the snow yet?

I think Halloween (as celebrated by adults) is a pretentious holiday which seems to serve the overly vain need that a lot of people have now a days to scream "look at me."

Ron Paul's frightening Halloween Tale- For Patriots

Rep. Ron Paul, the 11-term Republican congressman from Texas, who mobilized millions of supporters and about $35 million for his unsuccessful presidential run last year, has added the federal government's faltering flu immunization program to his list of things worthy of denunciation.

A medical doctor himself, Paul, who at 74 is older even than John McCain, sees the Obama administration's oft-delayed H1Ni1 swine flu immunization plan as typical of many government-run programs -- poorly planned, overloaded, inefficient, too expensive, late and quite possibly not even necessary.

Just another government grab for more federal power, as he puts it in a video (see it just below here), newly-posted for supporters by his Campaign for Liberty. Paul calls this year's vaccine distribution "a total failure" because some 120 million doses were to have been available by mid-October and only about 10% of that were.

Paul says reports of 1,000 U.S. deaths from the H1N1 may be true but...

...come from the same federal government running the vaccine program and remain unverified.

Booga booga!

re: #190 albusteve

those jolly, fun loving Americans...dissing gorillas like that

I have to admit I was kind of upset when I checked out the link - I thought it would be real gorillas in a race before I saw the pictures.

re: #195 Walter L. Newton

I think Halloween (as celebrated by adults) is a pretentious holiday which seems to serve the overly vain need that a lot of people have now a days to scream "look at me."

And here I thought it was just an excuse for a party.

re: #177 Naso Tang

Morning.

There was a TV series episode based on this not too long ago. One of the more popular detective/legal shows. However this type of thing does make me question the competence of many many many people in the city government assuming they had nothing to do with the scheme.

There are usually some sort of signs that a person is behaving dishonorably and in this case, criminally. Sometimes they are so subtle it's hard to pick up on; but they're there.

re: #195 Walter L. Newton

I think Halloween (as celebrated by adults) is a pretentious holiday which seems to serve the overly vain need that a lot of people have now a days to scream "look at me."

Kind of like theater?

re: #195 Walter L. Newton

I think Halloween (as celebrated by adults) is a pretentious holiday which seems to serve the overly vain need that a lot of people have now a days to scream "look at me."

so what are you going as this year?...a scaly old curmudgeon?

re: #181 lawhawk

Greets and saluts from the NYC metro area. The weather here is overcast and gray, with drizzle putting a damper on my plans to go out and move leaves around. That will have to wait until tomorrow... maybe.

But as drab as things are here, they don't compare to the situation in Yemen. The US State Department has had to intervene in a sticky situation there.

Rising anti-Semitism has threatened the last remnants of the once thriving Jewish population. The State Department is helping relocate those last Jews to the US and Israel.

There are only about 350 Yemeni Jews living in Yemen. There were once hundreds of thousands. Most resettled to Israel during Operation Magic Carpet following Israel's independence because of pogroms and riots that killed dozens of Yemeni Jews.

Now, the last remnants are getting out of the country.

Think about that a moment. A population of 350 Jews can't survive in a Islamic country where Muslims outnumber Jews by more than 23 million. Where's the tolerance we hear so much about there?

These disgusting anti-Semitic genocidal situations are the proof of the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish State and the non-negotiable need to preserve it as a homeland for the Jewish people.

re: #191 reine.de.tout

My question is where was the oversight? How could this go on for so long without someone stepping in? Its not just the two crooked judges who are at fault, but their superiors' fault as well for letting this BS go on for so long. People above them in the hierarchy should be removed from their office as well for their gross incompetence.

re: #186 Mad Al-Jaffee

That's just - I don't know what to say. I though the high heel race in DC (transvestites in high heels running, a couple of days before Halloween) was pretty unique, but that's pretty interesting. Love the photo of the dogs in gorilla costumes.

It's for charity. I like the idea of mixing teh crazy with the charity.

re: #196 Sharmuta

Ron Paul's frightening Halloween Tale- For Patriots

Booga booga!

"Things Worthy of Denunciation". There has to be a Lizard use for that
phrase.

Michael Steele: Doug Hoffman win is a GOP win

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Friday that a victory by Doug Hoffman, the third-party candidate in the Nov. 3 New York special election, is a win for the GOP.

[Link: www.politico.com...]

re: #195 Walter L. Newton

I think Halloween (as celebrated by adults) is a pretentious holiday which seems to serve the overly vain need that a lot of people have now a days to scream "look at me."

Jeez Walter.. Glad to see you are ok...
You actors get to pretend to be someone else every night.. We vain people only get to pretend once a year...
*wink*

re: #206 Conservative Moonbat

Michael Steele: Doug Hoffman win is a GOP win

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Friday that a victory by Doug Hoffman, the third-party candidate in the Nov. 3 New York special election, is a win for the GOP.

[Link: www.politico.com...]

Sounds like the religious right bullied him some more.

re: #206 Conservative Moonbat

Michael Steele: Doug Hoffman win is a GOP win

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Friday that a victory by Doug Hoffman, the third-party candidate in the Nov. 3 New York special election, is a win for the GOP.

[Link: www.politico.com...]

Flying a Zero into a carrier is a win for Mitsubishi?

re: #208 Sharmuta

Sounds like the religious right bullied him some more.

I'm just getting a kick out out of the "If the GOP candidate loses, it's a win for the GOP" illogic.

re: #206 Conservative Moonbat

Michael Steele: Doug Hoffman win is a GOP win

Now there is a fine example of pretzel logic.

re: #208 Sharmuta

Explain then George Pataki's support for Hoffman? Pataki was a weak-kneed GOPer who is in part responsible for the demise of the GOP in the state (wait, maybe that is the reason that he's now supporting Hoffman?).

Pataki must be reading tea-leaves, as is Steele and all the rest who don't want NY-23 to go to the Democrats because of an internecine fight between GOPers and conservatives, even if Hoffman isn't a resident of the district he's hoping to represent.

re: #210 Conservative Moonbat

Man I'm tempted to post the Whig party info after reading that.

The new bar I went to last night would have made Michael Jackson happy. And I mean the late beer guru, not the late pop star. They have 55 draught beers, 5 of them in casks, and a menu with 500 bottles. I'm glad we got there early and found a table because by around 6:30 it was wall to wall people. There were people lining up outside to get in when we left.

Good times, and I got to hang out with a beer geek friend who's heading out of town next week.

re: #212 lawhawk

Interestingly enough, I was just looking at this article:

Third party challenges in NJ, NY are warning sign

But the impact of those candidacies on the high-profile contests points to an anti-incumbent, anti-establishment sentiment that could be a prevailing theme in the 2010 congressional elections and beyond.

"What it says is the public is looking for less self-interested parties and candidates who can reflect the needs of a very frustrated public," said Douglas Astolfi, a history professor at Florida's St. Leo University. "We have two wars and we're in a recession that neither party seems to address in any positive way. There's a deep sense that government has abandoned the common man. People are frustrated and angry."

I think this is part of the process of cleaning house, and in a few election cycles, we'll hopefully see an improved GOP.

re: #181 lawhawk

...

Think about that a moment. A population of 350 Jews can't survive in a Islamic country where Muslims outnumber Jews by more than 23 million. Where's the tolerance we hear so much about there?

Tragically, it seems tolerance is a one way street.

Palin says 'not now' to Iowa invite

An Iowa social conservative group said Friday that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin declined its invitation to headline a fall fundraiser in Iowa next month, but noted the Republican's desire to address members another time.

Palin, mentioned as a potential 2012 presidential prospect, turned down the offer to make what would be her first appearance since last year's election in the leadoff presidential caucus state, citing her long-planned national tour to promote her memoir.

"We extended our invitation knowing she would be in the middle of her book tour and the chances of her being able to accept any invitations were extremely slim," policy center spokesman Bryan English said in a news release.

That was not the optimistic tone the group's chairman, former state Rep. Danny Carroll, expressed on Wednesday. Carroll said he thought Palin would accept and that only a few details needed to be worked out before she could be confirmed.

In the meantime, some Iowa Republican activists had complained the policy center and a pro-Palin group based in Washington, D.C. were raising money for her to attend the fundraiser.

Hmm.

re: #143 philosophus invidius

Not everyone No one at GITMO has been convicted of a crime.

But that's the problem.

GITMO has 1) people who are innocent 2) people who may be guilty, may be innocent, and 3) people who are definitely guilty.

The massive fuckup and the reason why they've been held for years without trial, and the reason why it is such a civil liberties and judicial nightmare is because the evidence gathering and the prosecution were so completely bungled. That's why all these people have been held in limbo for years without charge or trial.

The Obama admin is trying to introduce a new system, whereby dangerous detainees can be held even without conviction or beyond the term assignedl. That's to cover the GITMO detainees that are in that third category (definitely guilty), but can't be successfully prosecuted.

I'm a bit distracted at the moment but can give links later.

re: #215 Sharmuta

Interestingly enough, I was just looking at this article:

Third party challenges in NJ, NY are warning sign

I think this is part of the process of cleaning house, and in a few election cycles, we'll hopefully see an improved GOP.

I don't clean my house with gasoline and railroad flares.

re: #217 Sharmuta

Palin says 'not now' to Iowa invite

In the meantime, some Iowa Republican activists had complained the policy center and a pro-Palin group based in Washington, D.C. were raising money for her to attend the fundraiser.

Here is more on that:

A conservative Iowa group’s effort to lure Sarah Palin to its banquet next month has had an unintended effect: Rather than exciting conservatives about the prospect of a visit from the former Alaska governor, the group’s plan to raise a six-figure sum to bring her to the state has GOP activists recoiling at the thought of paying to land a politician's speaking appearance.

The Iowa Family Policy Center’s effort to cobble together $100,000 for Palin would represent a striking departure from customary practice in the first-in-the-nation state, these Republicans say, noting that a generation of White House hopefuls has paid their own way to boost their party and presidential ambitions.

Seems a little like astroturfing.

re: #219 Decatur Deb

I don't clean my house with gasoline and railroad flares.

To tell the truth- I think we should make an exception this time...

re: #203 mich-again

My question is where was the oversight? How could this go on for so long without someone stepping in? Its not just the two crooked judges who are at fault, but their superiors' fault as well for letting this BS go on for so long. People above them in the hierarchy should be removed from their office as well for their gross incompetence.

agreed!

re: #219 Decatur Deb

I don't clean my house with gasoline and railroad flares.

Consider it a bug bomb, maybe. :)

Massive yard raking task awaits me. ugh. Well, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step so I better get moving.

re: #167 albusteve

The 29-year-old doctor wants an apology and a change in CareNow's policy.

good grief...one drip at a time
[Link: www.foxnews.com...]

Would they forbid a Jewish man to wear a yamulke? A Sikh a turban?

re: #216 FrogMarch

...

Tragically, it seems tolerance is a one way street.

Iran had the smarts to showcase its Jews being good little dhimmis.

re: #207 HoosierHoops

Jeez Walter.. Glad to see you are ok...
You actors get to pretend to be someone else every night.. We vain people only get to pretend once a year...
*wink*

Fine, but we had 417 drunk "only get to pretend once a year" adults arrested last halloween... that's a problem in my mind.

re: #182 mich-again

IIRC, one of the youths who was sentenced to one of those privately run detention centers by the crooked judge for some very minor crime committed suicide.

Many committed VERY minor crimes.

re: #225 MandyManners

Would they forbid a Jewish man to wear a yamulke? A Sikh a turban?

If there were unlimited petro-billions behind the lobbying effort, as well as a threat of violence hovering in the background, possibly not.

re: #225 MandyManners

Would they forbid a Jewish man to wear a yamulke? A Sikh a turban?

Or, would they refuse to hire them in the first place (which seems to be what happened here - no hire unless she complies with the dress code).

Is this a similar case to the Home Depot incident with the guy wanting to wear a pin in violation of the employer's dress code?

If an employer has a dress code that an employee (or potential employee) does not want to or cannot comply with, then I think the person should seek employment elsewhere. Or, comply with the dress code.

re: #227 Walter L. Newton

Fine, but we had 417 drunk "only get to pretend once a year" adults arrested last halloween... that's a problem in my mind.

Addendum to my statement above : Drunk DRIVING adults. Maybe arrested early in the evening, when children are trick and treating ont he streets, some with kids in their car.

I can do without that.

re: #210 Conservative Moonbat

I'm just getting a kick out out of the "If the GOP candidate loses, it's a win for the GOP" illogic.

LOL. Don't you know how progressive and liberal blogs have always mocked that spin for two years now? For years, every repub defeat was spun as 'this is bad news for Dems!" Concern trolling the Dems was (and is) rampant. Here's an example of when it became a mockery meme:

"This is great news...for McCain!"

"This will benefit the GOP!"

Not exactly a Halloween song, but I hope it'll do.

There ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
I got bills to pay; I got mouths to feed
There ain't nothing in this life for free
I can't slow down; I can't hold back
Although you know I wish I could
There ain't no rest for the wicked
Til we close our eyes for good

re: #230 reine.de.tout

Or, would they refuse to hire them in the first place (which seems to be what happened here - no hire unless she complies with the dress code).

Is this a similar case to the Home Depot incident with the guy wanting to wear a pin in violation of the employer's dress code?

If an employer has a dress code that an employee (or potential employee) does not want to or cannot comply with, then I think the person should seek employment elsewhere. Or, comply with the dress code.

Why is that so hard for some people to understand.

re: #196 Sharmuta

Paul says reports of 1,000 U.S. deaths from the H1N1 may be true but...

...come from the same federal government running the vaccine program and remain unverified.

As a member of that same government, wouldn't it be Paul's job to verify the information?

But wait - since Paul's part of the Federal government, how can we trust him? Has everything he says been verified?

My head hurts.

re: #218 iceweasel

Yes. I think the "enemy combatant" is a useful category. But GWB has stripped it of all credibility.

Apologize if it's been posted, but Dede Scozzafava just dropped out of the race.

[Link: www.politico.com...]

re: #235 SixDegrees

As a member of that same government, wouldn't it be Paul's job to verify the information?

But wait - since Paul's part of the Federal government, how can we trust him? Has everything he says been verified?

My head hurts.

Add two more layers of tin foil and call back tomorrow.

re: #226 The Sanity Inspector

Iran had the smarts to showcase its Jews being good little dhimmis.

"The 40 Iranians landed in Israel on Tuesday after a secret journey to the Jewish state. No details about their route of exit from Iran were given, but it was assumed they came through a third country."

So the 40 Jews cannot travel openly. but they are safe!
*ok*.

"Yehiel Eckstein, a rabbi who founded the fellowship, said each immigrant receives $10,000 from the group to help get them started in Israel. He has warned that the situation facing Iranian Jews is critical, because of the attitude of Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map.""

"Though Iran doesn't recognize Israel, and Iranian citizens are not legally authorized to travel to the Jewish state, Morsathegh insisted Jews in Iran are not in danger."

*ok*

re: #213 Ojoe

Man I'm tempted to post the Whig party info after reading that.

Whig party? What's that?
/

re: #237 Stanley Sea

Apologize if it's been posted, but Dede Scozzafava just dropped out of the race.

[Link: www.politico.com...]

The bullies will be so happy they managed to push her out.

re: #230 reine.de.tout

Or, would they refuse to hire them in the first place (which seems to be what happened here - no hire unless she complies with the dress code).

Is this a similar case to the Home Depot incident with the guy wanting to wear a pin in violation of the employer's dress code?

If an employer has a dress code that an employee (or potential employee) does not want to or cannot comply with, then I think the person should seek employment elsewhere. Or, comply with the dress code.

Answering my own question, now that I've thought about it. It is different, in that in the Home Depot incident, there was no religious requirement that the guy wear the pin; whereas in this case, the headscarf is a requirement of her religious beliefs.

I wonder why they have a "no headgear" requirement at this place?

re: #229 The Sanity Inspector

If there were unlimited petro-billions behind the lobbying effort, as well as a threat of violence hovering in the background, possibly not.

I don't see it that way. I see it as a First Amendment issue.

re: #227 Walter L. Newton

Fine, but we had 417 drunk "only get to pretend once a year" adults arrested last halloween... that's a problem in my mind.

I hear ya bro..
In Indiana if you are a convicted sex offender you must go to a meeting from 6 to 9pm tonight...I really like that idea...The streets are safer and if they don't go to the meeting they go to jail...
I think it should be a national policy

re: #230 reine.de.tout

Or, would they refuse to hire them in the first place (which seems to be what happened here - no hire unless she complies with the dress code).

Is this a similar case to the Home Depot incident with the guy wanting to wear a pin in violation of the employer's dress code?

If an employer has a dress code that an employee (or potential employee) does not want to or cannot comply with, then I think the person should seek employment elsewhere. Or, comply with the dress code.

I can't find the link right now but, he was fired for refusing to come into work for six days.

Breaking: Scozzafava Drops Out of NY-23 Race

Dede Scozzafava (R) announced "that she is suspending her campaign for the 23rd Congressional District and releasing all her supporters," the Watertown Daily Times reports.

However, she has not thrown her support to either Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, or Bill Owens (D)