UPDATE: Lowden is a wealthy gambling executive. She leads the Republican field in the primary campaign for the right to challenge the Democratic incumbent, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. She's a former Nevada state senator, a former head of the state GOP, a former television anchorwoman and a former Miss New Jersey.
The Colbert Report launches Indecision 2010 Midtern Election coverage with a report on Nevada Senate candidate Sue Lowdon's proposal to institute a barter system for health care:
Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!
Fabulous Fab is Fabrice Tourre, a Goldman Sachs trader involved in a deal that has prompted civil fraud charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission. In a January 29, 2007, email to a woman he was dating, Fabulous Fab described a Goldman Sachs financial product as follows:
"When I think that I had some input into the creation of this product - which by the way is a product of pure intellectual masturbation, the type of thing which you invent telling yourself: 'Well, what if we created a "thing," which has no purpose, which is absolutely conceptual and highly theoretical and which nobody knows how to price?' - it sickens the heart to see it shot down in mid-flight.... It's a little like Frankenstein turning against his own inventor."
UPDATE IV: "The biggest bummer to arise from the allegations that the revered and feared Wall Street puppet master Goldman Sachs had played us all for patsies is this: the dial on the Wall Street capital-formation machine, the engine that was supposed to be the driving force of the greatest economic system on earth, was purposely set to junk — worthless, synthetic junk. " Read Time, The Case Against Goldman Sachs.
UPDATE III: For more proof that Wall Street just used Main Street mortgages to gamble the economy into ruin, read The New York Times, Questions for Banks That Put Together Deals, which states:
"The C.D.O. business has been a vital engine in the money machine at many firms for much of the last decade.
Big investors became addicted to the extra yield. Rating agencies earned windfall profits from evaluating the securities. Investment banks enjoyed hefty fees from ready buyers of the assets. And C.D.O. dealmakers racked up huge bonuses, regardless of whether their products later imploded.
If the limitless appetite for these so-called structured products provided much of the easy money that fueled the housing boom, it also contributed to its bust. What began as a financial innovation lauding the benefits of diversified portfolios of corporate investments morphed into one giant bet on the American housing market.
To lure investors who wanted higher returns, bankers increasingly stuffed C.D.O.’s with riskier assets like subprime mortgage securities, rather than traditional corporate bonds.
They bought their own mortgage companies to feed their loan packaging machines and relaxed the standards on the types of assets they would accept."
It appears that Goldman and other investment institutions (not banks in the traditional sense) may have structured and sold the guarantee or insurance on the underlying asset without disclosure of losses, accounting irregularities and possible conflicts of interest on the underlying assets. Goldman then got a little of the action with a side bet against the asset(by purchasing the synthetic C.D.O.’s/swaps).
Which is why I suggested that the economic recovery plan should have included legislation that invalidated the swaps.
After some quiet, the Republi-con party faithful are out spreading myths and engaging in Republi-conrevisionist history (such as Comrade Mark, longtime Republi-con party loyalist, on Friday's show) . It wasn't Carter and the Community Reinvestment Act that nearly destroyed the economy, it was Republi-con deregulation and opposition to government oversight. Read the details in these previous posts:
The Vanity Fair article is an excerpt from The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, a book which profiles people who shorted the real-estate bubble. One of these individuals was Michael Burry, who realized "in May 2003 that the real-estate bubble was being driven ever higher by the irrational behavior of mortgage lenders who were extending easy credit." Since he couldn't short the mortgages in the traditional fashion without substantial downside exposure, Burry convinced Goldman Sachs to create credit-default swaps on the subprime-mortgage bonds, so that the "downside was defined and certain, and the upside was many multiples of it." "As early as 2004, if you looked at the numbers, you could clearly see the decline in lending standards. In Burry’s view, standards had not just fallen but hit bottom. The bottom even had a name: the interest-only negative-amortizing adjustable-rate subprime mortgage." The book describes the sheer ignorance of the mavens of Wall Street:
"The price of insurance was driven not by any independent analysis but by the ratings placed on the bond by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. If he wanted to buy insurance on the supposedly riskless triple-A-rated tranche, he might pay 20 basis points (0.20 percent); on the riskier, A-rated tranches, he might pay 50 basis points (0.50 percent); and on the even less safe, triple-B-rated tranches, 200 basis points—that is, 2 percent. (A basis point is one-hundredth of one percentage point.) The triple-B-rated tranches—the ones that would be worth zero if the underlying mortgage pool experienced a loss of just 7 percent—were what he was after. He felt this to be a very conservative bet, which he was able, through analysis, to turn into even more of a sure thing. Anyone who even glanced at the prospectuses could see that there were many critical differences between one triple-B bond and the next—the percentage of interest-only loans contained in their underlying pool of mortgages, for example. He set out to cherry-pick the absolute worst ones and was a bit worried that the investment banks would catch on to just how much he knew about specific mortgage bonds, and adjust their prices.
Once again they shocked and delighted him: Goldman Sachs e-mailed him a great long list of crappy mortgage bonds to choose from. “This was shocking to me, actually,” he says. “They were all priced according to the lowest rating from one of the big-three ratings agencies.” He could pick from the list without alerting them to the depth of his knowledge. It was as if you could buy flood insurance on the house in the valley for the same price as flood insurance on the house on the mountaintop.
The market made no sense, but that didn’t stop other Wall Street firms from jumping into it, in part because Mike Burry was pestering them. For weeks he hounded Bank of America until they agreed to sell him $5 million in credit-default swaps. Twenty minutes after they sent their e-mail confirming the trade, they received another back from Burry: “So can we do another?” In a few weeks Mike Burry bought several hundred million dollars in credit-default swaps from half a dozen banks, in chunks of $5 million. None of the sellers appeared to care very much which bonds they were insuring. He found one mortgage pool that was 100 percent floating-rate negative-amortizing mortgages—where the borrowers could choose the option of not paying any interest at all and simply accumulate a bigger and bigger debt until, presumably, they defaulted on it. Goldman Sachs not only sold him insurance on the pool but sent him a little note congratulating him on being the first person, on Wall Street or off, ever to buy insurance on that particular item. “I’m educating the experts here,” Burry crowed in an e-mail."
UPDATE VIII: Compare the Steen case and video (below), to the case of a bycyclist pushed to the ground by a New York City police office, for seemingly no reason. That officer was prosecuted and convicted of lying to cover-up the incident. Read The New York Times, Ex-Officer Guilty in Shove of Bicyclist. Here is the video of that incident:
UPDATE VII: An internal review of the actions of the officer that caused the death of 17-year-old Victor Steen stated:
UPDATE VII: Seems that the police officer's actions were a violation of the Pensacola Police Department policy. As a result of Steen's death, the officer was suspended for 80 hours without pay. Read Rick's Blog, Official PPD statement on Officer Ard.
Was the policy violation discussed during the corner's inquest, or mentioned in the ruling?
UPDATE VI: The verdict of the Coroner’s inquest is in. His death the result of over zealous enforcement of a statute making it a non-criminal traffic offense to ride a bike at night without a light. Read it and decide for yourself whether the outcome was justified:
People even protested at his first appearance in court on Wednesday.
UPDATE III: For more on the Steen case, read the Independent News, The Pursuit Of Justice.
So what was the purpose of a coroner’s inquest. It is "a political shield."
"[S]ince 1988 at least 12 coroner’s inquests have been conducted in Escambia County in cases involving the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Two of those 12 cases resulted in a finding that officers contributed to the victim’s death. However, the state attorney did not initiate a prosecution in either case."
UPDATE II: Today's inquest testimony is the the officer didn't have time to stop. So does that mean that it is not his fault, or that he was following too closely? Read the Pensacola News Journal, Investigator: Ard could not have stopped.
If you hit the car ahead of you, would the excuse "I didn't have time to stop" exonerate you?
How does a gun get into a pocket without getting fingerprints on it?
After Hurricane Katrina, near tha Danziger Bridge in eastern New Orleans, five people were "walking to get food and supplies, and . . . two [others] were on their way to a family member’s dentistry office when they were fired upon by police officers. Four were seriously injured." Two were killed. It was immediately apparent that the shooting was unjustified. Moments later a police Lieutenant arrived at the scene and "he and the other officers began to plot a cover-up, planting a gun near the site to make the shootings appear justified."
I hope there has been further investigation of the 'clean' gun issue.
One dead black kid after the police use deadly force without justification. Watch the video:
Running from the police is not justification for using deadly force. And the officer used deadly force twice. The second use was hitting the kid with the vehicle, which was likely unintentional. But the first use was firing the taser at a person riding a bicycle.
Although there is no reason to believe that the officer intended to kill the kid, it seems that the risk of serious injury or death is likely where the police use a taser on someone riding a bicycle. And it appears that nothing the office knew during the chase justified the use of deadly force.
While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.
His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.
"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."
"No problem, just let me in," says the man.
"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."
"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator.
"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.
They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.
Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...
The elevator goes up, up, up and the door r eopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
"Now it's time to visit heaven."
So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."
The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.
Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.
The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.
"I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning.. .
UPDATE: The grand jury decided which side of that statement Valentino was on when they indicted him on a misdemeanor charge of soliciting a campaign contribution in his county office. Read the Pensacola News Journal, Grand jury indicts Gene Valentino.
Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino, who is facing a grand jury over alleged improper solicitation of contributions for his re-election campaign, had the following to say:
It is alleged that Valentino illegally solicited campaign funds from an Escambia County contractor just before the the Commission voted to rebid a $1.7 million drainage project the contractor lost.
I wonder which side of that statement he thinks he is on.
Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine. A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking. Dijon vu - the same mustard as before. Practice safe eating - always use condiments Shotgun wedding - A case of wife or death. A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy. A hangover is the wrath of grapes. Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play. Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion. Reading while sunbathing makes you well red. When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I. A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired. What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead give away.) Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion. If you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress. The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it. Local Area Network in Australia - the LAN down under. Every calendar's days are numbered. A lot of money is tainted - It taint yours and it taint mine. A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat He had a photographic memory that was never developed. A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large Once you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses. Acupuncture is a jab well done.
Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!
UPDATE: Turns out that Archie marries them both in alternate realities as part of a slick marketing scheme. Read The New York Times, Archie’s Destiny, as Shaped by Robert Frost.
Brunette or blonde? Shallow, conniving, materialistic, but rich, or wholesome, cheery and kind? Did I say rich -- as in $8.6 billion rich?
After nearly 70 years, Archie pops the question. Will it be Veronica or Betty? Who would you choose?
UPDATE: Those delusional birthers are still at it -- six states have 'birther bills' moving through the legislature, include Arizona, Indiana, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Read the Washington Post, Arizona birthers: No clue, but plenty of company.
Several years ago, I tried a case with a Texas lawyer who used a code to track potential jurors that he wanted to eliminate from his jury during courtroom jury selection. Next to each potential juror, he put letters and numbers that described his attitude about that potential juror.
I noticed that next to some names he wrote the words "googly eyes!" Every lawyer uses their special codes in trial, but I had never run across the term "googly eyes." He explained to me that a potential juror with "googly eyes" is someone who probably believes that Elvis Presley is still alive.
They are the ones who have seen a UFO and probably know someone who has been abducted by aliens. In casual conversation, they are likely to tell you that the Apollo moon landings were staged on a Hollywood movie set. Today, it is likely that potential jurors are making it onto that lawyer's "googly eye" list if they attended more than one Sarah Palin political rally or if they dressed up like Paul Revere or Martha Washington during a tea party protest.
People probably qualify for his "googly eye" list if they spend 10 minutes a week watching the Glen Beck crazy hour. Beck, after all, is the King of Googly Eyes.
Here is a standard I'm going to use to add names to my "googly eye" list when I ask potential jurors questions these days. It is this: Are they Obama-birther conspiracy theorists? Do they believe Lou Dobbs, who tells them that Obama is a citizen of Indonesia who has lived in the United States for 48 years with a forged birth certificate?
Do they seriously accept the idea that Obama is not eligible to be president?
Fringe Democrats looked equally ridiculous when they suggested that John McCain was not eligible to be president because he was born in Panama.
Fortunately, the grown-ups in the Democratic leadership put a quick end to that self-humiliation process and the issue disappeared, along with the few wing-nuts who raised the issue.
But there are too few grown-ups left around the GOP House to gain control over the Glen Becks and the Lou Dobbses who now control dialogue for Republicans. Because of that, completely sane Republicans have repeatedly fallen victim to these "googly-eyed" messengers who surface with their political party talking points.
The Obama birth certificate issue originated with a racist anti-Semite named Andy Martin. Martin, who characterizes himself as an Internet populist, has such a creepy background that Fox News apologized for allowing him to appear in its programming.
They were as appalled as anyone would be when they read his blogs characterizing a hugely respected federal judge as a "crooked slimy Jew who has a history of lying and thieving common to members of his race." So in the end, a head case like Martin launches the "birther" message and a TV personality like Lou Dobbs gives it credibility to where it sounds like a legitimate Republican talking point.
At the same time, you can bet there is a Texas lawyer using his "googly eye" code to make certain that anyone goofy enough to believe it never gets close to a jury box.
The birthers think that Obama's failure to respond is proof that their silly claim(s) are correct. I've tried to warn them that the failure to respond is a shrewd plan on Obama's part to keep the Republi-cons occupied and allow them to discredit themselves with a majority of the public.
But they just won't listen. There is no reasoning with a Republi-con.
Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!
Two former Jay teachers who had sex with students each were sentenced to 15 months in state prison today. Read the Pensacola News Journal, Ex-teachers get jail
UPDATE: Who are the Teabaggers? Angry older white Republican men, generally. Take a look at the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, Polling the Tea Party.
Does the Tea Party rage against the machine echo the 60's radicalism from the opposite end of the political spectrum? Read The New York Times, The Wal-Mart Hippies.
Since the beginning of the Republic, various forms of millennial religious doctrines, of which dispensational pre-millennialism is the most recent, have shaped U.S. national security strategy. As the dominant form of millennialism in the U.S. evolves, it drives changes in U.S. security policy and subsequent commitment of the instruments of national power. Millennial ideas contribute to a common American understanding of international relations that guide our thinking irrespective of individual religious or political affiliation. Millennialism has great explanatory value, significant policy implications, and creates potential vulnerabilities that adversaries may exploit.
In the simplest usage of the word, millennialism refers to any belief system, religious or secular, which anticipates a purification of society or the world through dramatic and sweeping change. In the U.S. today, the most well-known and influential form of millennialism is a religious variant known in formal, theological parlance as dispensational pre-millennialism. This contemporary form of millennialism took shape during the 1970s and has significantly shaped current U.S. security policy. Dispensational pre-millennialism is loosely based on depictions of battle between the forces of good and evil in the biblical Book of Revelation. In the U.S., dispensational pre-millennialism contends that in the very near future Jesus Christ will ‘rapture,’ or remove his church from the Earth. A period of intense tribulations and battles will follow, culminating with a cataclysmic defeat of Satan. Jesus would then establish an earthly kingdom for 1,000 years – the millennium. Today, the theological doctrines of dispensational pre-millennialism contribute significantly to American culture. This has resulted in a pervasive sense of determinism and pessimism that has significant implications for U.S. security policy around the world.
Military leaders, planners and strategists require greater understanding of American millennial thought. Millennialism shapes both American culture and U.S. government policy. While most Americans are influenced to some degree by the ideas of pre-millennialism, many are unaware of the philosophical or theological underpinnings. Military leaders charged with interpreting policy into strategy and acting on behalf of the nation on the international stage cannot afford to remain ignorant of the effects of pre-millennialism. Due to a general lack of awareness of millennialism and an uneasy reticence to discuss religious factors, understanding and analysis of our own policies and motives is often deficient. Additionally, the cultural imprint that derives from millennialism impairs our understanding of the words, actions and motives of other actors on the world stage. These factors can be problematic for any military leader or planner attempting to achieve U.S. Government policy objectives through strategy, operations and programs.
UPDATE IV: "The God of History bounds the Confederacy in its own chains." Read the declarations off secession and the words of the Vice-President of the Confederacy at The Atlantic, The Ghost of Bobby Lee.
Try as they might, Republi-con can't deny history.
UPDATE III: Confederate History Month celebrates the "fight over freedom or the Constitution or states' rights. But the "right" that was being fought over was the ability to own human beings, compel their labor, buy and sell them as if they were livestock, exploit them sexually and torture or kill them if they tried to escape." Read the Washington Post, Haley Barbour's 'diddly' sense of slavery's history.
Confederate History Month -- just more Republi-con revisionist history.
I wonder if this will become an issue in the 2010 Arizona and Florida primary elections. Hey McCain and Hayward and Crist and Rubio, will you sign proclamations for Confederate History Month?
UPDATE II: With major Tea party rallies planned for April 15th, a new group is preparing to disrupt the movement. "[S]ick and tired of that loose affiliation of racists, homophobes, and morons; who constitute the fake grass-roots movement which calls itself "The Tea Party,"" Crash The Tea Party intends to infiltrate Tea Party groups "in an effort to propagate their pre-existing propensity for paranoia and suspicion . . . [and] exaggerate their least appealing qualities (misspelled protest signs, wild claims in TV inter views, etc.)."
First the Tea Party, now the Coffee Party, for those who want to give "voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government. We recognize that the federal government is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans. As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them."
"Uttering a taboo word in public is a great hierarchy-buster." Vice Presidents do it. Even Navy sailors are known to utter a profanity or three. "For those who use them, swear words are linked to emotion in a visceral way."
Memory was something you lost with age An application was for employment A program was a TV show A cursor used profanity A keyboard was a piano A web was a spider's home A virus was the flu A CD was a bank account A hard drive was a long trip on the road A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
And if you had a 3.5 inch floppy. You just hoped nobody ever found out!?!
For the women:
With time, women gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when the re is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy.
Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, Holy crap, look how smart I am!
Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!
"The Arts Council of Northwest Florida misappropriated funds by paying its expenses with money it was supposed to give to local arts organizations, the State Attorney's Office said.
The State Attorney's Office announced Thursday that it was charging the now-defunct council with two counts of making false official statements. No official associated with the group was charged."
Read the press release, report (page 2), and information (page 4) from the State Attorney's Office charging the 'council' with two counts for making false official statements:
What is the point of the prosecution. And what if no one appears to represent 'the now-defunct council,' figuratively I mean. Why would anyone hire a lawyer?
Talk about a waste of time. So what is the real purpose?
The Santa Rosa County Commission unanimously approved a schedule of user fees for the new Navarre Fishing Pier this morning. That includes annual passes for: adult, $240; seniors, $225, and youth, $200.
Originally, the proposed fee schedule included a family pass for $500, but pier manager Dorothy Slye pulled that idea off the schedule because of the potential complication such a pass could create, including what constitutes a family.
Not such an easy question to answer anymore?
Tune in tomorrow, and we'll try to help the Commission answer the question.
The "nation's biggest banks are ripping off American cities with the same predatory deals that brought down Greece." Read Rolling Stone, Looting Main Street.
Who needs foreign enemies when ya got the Banksters, with help from their friends the Republi-cons, preying on tax payers and looting the future. Don't you just love deregulation!
WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting a shooting (they called it indiscriminate slaying) of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff. Reuters had been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of the attack. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-site, clearly shows the shooting (again they say unprovoked slaying) of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded.
WikiLeaks calls it collateral murder. What do you think?
What would you think if a foreign country did that in an American city/town? Is it necessary to point out the harm done to world opinion?
UPDATE III: "On Good Friday, the Pope's personal preacher suggested in his sermon that criticism of the Pope reminded him of shameful aspects of anti-Semitism." Read or listen to, NPR, 'Churchgate': The Scandal That Won't Go Away.
UPDATE II: "Why is the Catholic Church more prone to self-pity than self-reflection?" Read The New York Times, Devil of a Scandal.
UPDATE: "The Catholic Church, which gave up its credibility for Lent, can’t hide behind smoke and mystique as it faces a cascade of child sexual abuse cases." Read The New York Times, Should There Be an Inquisition for the Pope?
"As an archbishop in Germany, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope, expended more energy pursuing theological dissidents than sexual predators." Read The New York Times, Doctrine Preoccupied Benedict as Archbishop.
In his latest column, Baldwin appears to condone killing cops. Read The Hutaree Militia Raid, in which he references and approves of an "excellent column entitled “Casus Belli.” In that blog posting, the writer states "it is not necessarily a crime to kill a police officer."
The writer then cites a very, very old case to argue that a person is "not obliged to submit to an unlawful arrest, and he "had the right to use such force as was absolutely necessary to resist an attempted illegal arrest...." Quoting John Bad Elk v. The United States.
BEWARE, it is a crime to resist an arrest with force, even an illegal arrest.
All I need to know I learned from the Easter Bunny:
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Everyone needs a friend who is all ears. There's no such thing as too much candy. All work and no play can make you a basket case. A cute tail attracts a lot of attention. Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day. Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits. Some body parts should be floppy. Keep your paws off of other people's jelly beans. Good things come in small, sugar coated packages. The grass is always greener in someone else's basket. To show your true colors, you have to come out of the shell.
The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.
Usually on Fridays you can listen to me, the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- no political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!
I can't make it today but I'll be back next week. Until the next show, post a comment or two.
UPDATE III: BBQ RULES : We'll be entering the BBQ season shortly. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity. When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
Routine...
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.
Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
More routine...
(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat.
Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
More routine...
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.
(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed 'her night off' and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women!
UPDATE II: Reposted for Super Bowl Sunday.
Also, think fat, salt and crunch AKA fried pigskins (actually pork fat). Read The New York Times, For the Big Game? Why, Pigskins.
UPDATE: Manly BBQ needs a Man's Grill! Now this is a BBQ guaranteed to get everyone's attention. It should be towed with the barrel facing backwards, then you wouldn't have to worry about anyone tailgating you! My guess is the owner is from Texas!!!!!!
Ok, ya don't like French, but this ain't French cooking:
Looks yummy.
Called "The Bacon Explosion," but modestly called by its inventors "the BBQ Sausage Recipe of all Recipes." It has swept the Internet blogs and I blog so I thought I'd let ya know.
Would you like to listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- no political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- just straight talk, straight at you, and without the bull, 5 days a week?
If so I have over five years experience doing a weekly show and I'd like more air time, two hours a week is too little when there are so many problems and so much Republi-con and Naive-ocrat ignorance. If you know of a radio station that needs a host, post a reply.
This blog is my application, for a reference call 1330 AM WEBY and ask for Mike.
But don't bother unless the radio station listeners want a lively discussion and debate of the issues, and can handle the truth.
Cause I'm a gosh darn, fersure, you betcha maverick.
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