Two Great Qualities in Life

Patience and wisdom:



May you be blessed with both.

Republi-CON Memorial Day CONtroversy

"In 1983, President Reagan was at a summit meeting, and the deputy secretary of defense -- not even the veep! -- placed the wreath. Nine years later, President George H.W. Bush passed off the wreath to Vice President Dan Quayle (who had used family connections to get a slot in the National Guard during the days of the Vietnam War draft). And in 2007, Vice President Dick Cheney took on the wreath mission, while President George W. Bush was in Texas, perhaps clearing brush." Read Politics Daily, The Right Wing's Memorial Day Attack on Obama.

The Memorial Day CONtroversy is just part of the Republi-con's never-ending campaign of fear, anger, and hatred.

Fact-Free Palin

UPDATE II: "Between surreal appearances from Wasilla as the caged pundit of Fox News and quick, splashy landings in the lower 48 states, Palin has shown she still has the attention span of a hummingbird on a nectar jag. She does not do basic homework. Never has. The result is a string of endorsements for people whose lives are living contradictions of their stated philosophies. . .

But in deciding to get rich quick, the demi-governor has ditched whatever grounding she may have had in what Bush aides dismissed as the “reality-based community,” and lost her way in the Last Frontier State. Her brand is toast there, as well."

Read The New York Times, The Palin Brand.


UPDATE: "A question for fellow reporters and editors: At what point do Sarah Palin's attacks and smears become so vile and absurd that they no longer merit attention?" Read the Washington Post, Is there a Sarah Palin vileness/absurdity threshold?, which comments on Sarah Palin's strange, unprofessional and paranoid grudge.

Is Palin's learning curve is flat? Read the Washington Post, Sarah Palin's fact-free commentary on Paul and BP. From the article:

First, there was Palin on Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul, whose candidacy she had championed. Anchor Chris Wallace asked straightforward questions: Was Paul right or wrong in his view that the 1964 Civil Rights Act went too far in banning discrimination in private establishments? What did Palin make of the controversy? He got typically Palinesque answers, rambling and aggrieved:

"I think there is certainly a double standard at play here. When Rand Paul had anticipated that he'd be able to engage in a discussion, he being a libertarian-leaning constitutional conservative, being able to engage in a discussion with a TV character, a media personality, who perhaps had an agenda in asking the question and then interpreting his answer the way that she did, he wanted to talk about, evidently, some hypotheticals as it applies to impacts on the Civil Rights Act, as it impacts our Constitution. So he was given the opportunity finally to clarify, and unequivocally he has stated that he supports the Civil Rights Act."

Then there was Palin's best-defense-is-an-untrue-offense response to questions about the oil spill in the Gulf. The cheerleader for "drill, baby, drill" suggested that President Obama was in the pocket of Big Oil:

"The oil companies who have so supported President Obama in his campaign and are supportive of him now -- I don't know why the question isn't asked by the mainstream media and by others if there's any connection with the contributions made to President Obama and his administration and the support by the oil companies to the administration. If there's any connection there to President Obama taking so doggone long to get in there, to dive in there, and grasp the complexity and the potential tragedy that we are seeing here in the Gulf of Mexico."

Facts are stubborn things. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the McCain campaign -- that would be the McCain-Palin campaign -- received $2.4 million from oil and gas interests to Obama's $900,000. BP employees did give more to the Obama campaign ($71,051) than to McCain's ($36,649), but this was a pittance in the context of Obama's fundraising.

Why does Republi-con created reality surprise anyone?

Senator 'Sexy Bitch'

"Today, let’s play Political Kingmaker.

Pretend you’re the Republican leadership in a smallish state with an open United States Senate seat. The opposition is running a popular, longtime officeholder whose sense of inevitability was shaken by recent revelations that he had referred to himself as a Vietnam War veteran when he isn’t one.

Your own options are:

A) A well regarded former congressman who is a decorated Vietnam War veteran.

B) A political novice who made her fortune building up an entertainment business that specialized in blood, seminaked women and scripted subplots featuring rape, adultery and familial violence. In which the candidate, her husband and children played themselves. Also, the family yacht is named Sexy Bitch.

Well, obviously, you go for the yacht owner."

Read The New York Times, Who Wants to Elect a Millionaire?

The CONspriacy Game

Xenophobic patriotism, conspiracy theories (even discussion of the secret ownership of the Federal Reserve), and a narrative of victimhood by hard-line pundits and loud political parties with ties to fundementalist religion. No, not the Republi-cons and the U.S., Islam and Pakistan. Read The New York, U.S. Is a Top Villain in Pakistan’s Conspiracy Talk.

The CONspiracy game's the same no matter the country or religion.

The Great Law of Change

Edmund Burke once said: "We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature." But "America has never settled whether its governing form of reason is one of radical abstraction or humility and gradualism." Read The New York Times, Two Theories of Change.

"Today, if you look around American politics you see self-described conservative radicals who seek to sweep away 100 years of history and return government to its preindustrial role. You see self-confident Democratic technocrats who have tremendous faith in the power of government officials to use reason to control and reorganize complex systems. You see polemicists of the left and right practicing a highly abstract and ideological Jacobin style of politics.

The children of the British Enlightenment are in retreat. Yet there is the stubborn fact of human nature. The Scots were right, and the French were wrong. And out of that truth grows a style of change, a style that emphasizes modesty, gradualism and balance."

The editorial is about a "superb dissertation by Yuval Levin at the University of Chicago called The Great Law of Change." (If anyone has a link, let me know by leaving a comment.)

Faking It!

"If the human psyche were a big map, nestled somewhere between the sea of cheating and the valley of lying, you'd come to the kingdom of faking it" Listen to Freakonomics Radio, Faking It.

Also, read the book, Faking It.

And if you want to know, read Freakonomics, Who’s More Likely to Fake It in the Bedroom?

Angry Voters

Why are voters angry? Read The New York Times, The Story of an Angry Voter.

What do recent primary election foretell? Read The New York Times, Angry Boomers and Other Election Clues.

A Devoted Husband

What more can I say:

Class on Thursday (Vice Friday) at NoBullU on WEBY

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!!

NoBullU will broadcast Thursday from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: should Mark O'Brien give the commencement speech at Pace High School?; the local bad boy Commissioner and the pretty dead blonde, and his impeachment charges; and

Nation and international: what do recent primary election foretell, health care lawsuit update; Republi-CON 'adultery' hilarity; monetize out-of-wedlock teen pregnancy; and oil spill fallout to date: serious reporting or media fear-mongering and Republi-CON 'less government' hypocrisy.

But I'll discuss anything. (Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events!

Republi-CON 'Adultery' Hilarity

UPDATE: Regarding Florida's ban on gay adoption, in November 2008, a Florida trial court declared the law unconstitutional. The Judge "wrote that Dr. Rekers was 'motivated by his strong ideological and theological convictions that are not consistent with the science,' and not 'credible.'" McCollum appealed that decision, denouncing "the court’s 'wholesale disregard' of testimony by Dr. Rekers and another expert, calling the decision 'arbitrary,' stressing Dr. Rekers’ qualifications and stating that 'the trial court entirely discredited him based on his religion.'" Read The New York Times, Scandal Stirs Legal Questions in Anti-Gay Cases.

Who need science, Republi-cons rely on fear, anger, and hatred, as well as self-loathing closeted hypocrites, to advance their political careers.

Giving new meaning to the phrase: do as I say, not as I do, "Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), who will resign from Congress as a result of an affair with a female staffer, filmed a video interview about abstinence only education with that same staffer." Read Politico, Souder and staffer in 'abstinence only' video.

This follows the story of George Rekers, a married, 61-year-old Baptist minister and clinical psychologist with a bent for “curing” homosexuality, who co-founded the Family Research Council "was caught by Miami New Times last month in the company of a 20-year-old male escort at Miami International Airport." Read The New York Times, A Heaven-Sent Rent Boy.

BTW, Rekers was "the 'expert' that Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican who is running for governor, got the state to pay $120,000 to testify in support of Florida's ban on gay adoption." Read the St. Petersburg Times, Rentboys, Cadillacs and scandals, oh my!

For a "guide to some of the more notable public embarrassments over the last four decades and how individual politicians weathered the storm," see the Washington Post, A History of Political Sex Scandals.

"Of all wars, only culture wars offer the hope of sheer, unadulterated hilarity. Sex and hypocrisy were staples of farce long before America became a nation, and they never go out of style."

Is America Too Prosperous?

UPDATE II: "People all over America are discussing freedom's future. In short, they are worried. In fact, many are actually talking about State secession. In coffee shops and cafes, and around dining room tables, millions of people are speaking favorably of states breaking away from the union. Not since the turn of the twentieth century have this many people thought (and spoken) this favorably about the prospect of a State (or group of states) exiting the union. In my mind, this is a good thing." Or so says Chuck Baldwin, Breakup Of U.S. Is Inevitable.

Around your dining room table, are you speaking favorably of states breaking away from the union?

Of course, prophets of doom have been entertaining and enriching themselves since time immortal. Read The New York Times, Doomsayers Beware, a Bright Future Beckons.


UPDATE: Is it the end for the U.S.? Read Chuck Baldwin, U.S. To Break Up Soon? He references the Wall Street Journal, As if Things Weren't Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S., which includes a predicted map of the new 'Divided States':




Fear, anger, hatred -- the Republi-cons will try anything to get reelected.

Is it true that "that great nations start out tough-minded and energetic. Toughness and energy lead to wealth and power. Wealth and power lead to affluence and luxury. Affluence and luxury lead to decadence, corruption and decline?" Read The New York Times, The Next Culture War.

The Beginning of the Too Big to Fail Era

"Every crisis — from the global economy to national security — seems to make the powerful more powerful." Read The New York Times, The Great Consolidation.

Justice, or Not, in NW Florida

UPDATE VIII: Except in the case of murder, juvenile offenders may not be sentenced to life without chance of parole. Read the Washington Post, Supreme Court rules out some life sentences for juveniles.

The court dismissed the case of Joe Sullivan, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a rape committed at 13, because of procedural problems. “Sullivan will probably be able to challenge his sentence, however, because of the ruling in Graham v. Florida. “


UPDATE VII: With no consensus on the age to drink, fight or rent a DVD, the Supreme Court considers if a convict can be too young for life in prison. Read The New York Times, How Old Is Old Enough?


UPDATE VI: Should a court take into account the age of young offenders who could face life without parole? Read The New York Times, Justices Consider the Role of Age in Life Sentences.


UPDATE V: Is life without parole for a crime committed by a 13-year old 'cruel and unusual? The Supreme Court will consider that question. Read the Washington Post, Justices will scrutinize life sentences for youths.

An interesting fact from the article, of the "111 people are serving life sentences without parole for crimes they committed as juveniles that did not result in a death, according to one report; 77 of them are locked up in Florida."

If you wonder how plicies on sentencing for juveniles vary among states, see the Washington Post, What states allow.


UPDATE IV: The Supreme Court accepted the case and will consider whether sentencing a juvenile to life without the possibility of parole is cruel and unusual punishment. Read The New York Times, Justices Agree to Take Up Sentencing for Young Offenders.


UPDATE III: Also read a recent update on the King boys at Pensacola News Journal, Derek King nears release.


UPDATE II: For more about the case, read Pensacola News Journal, Cruel and unusual sentence? Unlike The New York Times article, the PNJ article discusses Sullivan's criminal and behavioral history, which included a "long criminal record" for among other things, an assault on a counselor at the Lakeview Center and killing a dog during a burglary.


UPDATE: Remember, a person is not guilty just because of an arrest, or even after a jury verdict of guilt. Listen or read NPR, Family Of Man Cleared By DNA Still Seeks Justice. You might also read John Grisham, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town.

Justice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, fairness and equity.

So read The New York Times, Defining ‘Cruel and Unusual’ When Offender Is 13.

Then compare Joe Sullivan's case with that of the King boys.

Alex and Derek King were 12-and-13-years-old, respectively, when they killed their father on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, 2001, with a baseball bat, in his Cantonment home near Pensacola, then set the house afire.

After the boys were convicted of second-degree murder, for which they could have been sentenced to 22 years to life in prison, an Escambia County Circuit Court granted a motion to throw out the convictions and ordered mediation. Yes, mediation in a murder case.

After a week of mediation the State agreed that in exchange for a plea to third-degree murder, Alex would serve seven years in prison and Derek would serve eight years.

After the case the court-appointed mediator, Bill Eddins, an attorney in private practice at the time, said the plea deal was intended to provide structure for the boys, whose mother left them when they were young. He is quoted as saying "They have had instability in their life, it became very important to give them structure and stability."

FYI, Eddins is now the State Attorney for 1st Judicial Circuit of Florida, which includes Pensacola. Makes you wonder what he might say about sentencing a 13-year-old to life for rape.

Tell me, justice, or not, in NW Florida?

The Party Purge

UPDATE II: "Has the Republican Party become more extreme, or is the country just beginning to notice?" Read The New York Times, Going to Extreme.


UPDATE: How's that purge coming along? Read the Washington Post, GOP's Utah and Maine conventions show a party coming unglued.

The purge is on in the Republi-con party. But no recent GOP president was conservative enough for today's party. Read Newsweek, Even Reagan Wasn’t a Reagan Republican.

According to the article, the most conservative recent GOP President: George H.W. Bush. His purity rating: 5/10 (with 10 being perfect pure).

After the British Election

An interesting article: "The fiscal future of the developed world looks bleak, but the British coalition should give us hope." Read The New York Times, Glimmers of Hope.

Will the U.S. follow the British example?

Class on Thursday (Vice Friday Now) at NoBullU on WEBY

UPDATE II: For a primer on oil reserves, click here.


UPDATE: As discussed during the program, click here for the names of the individials who die in the oil rig explosion.

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!!

NoBullU will broadcast Thursday from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: no booze on the beach, is it deja prohibition?; the local bad boy Commissioner and the pretty dead blonde; robotix coming to a mailbox near you; Pace High School H. Frank Lay Stadium or not; the teachers sue, part II; are Morning Mike and Bobby sexists or a chauvinists; and

Nation and international: the Party Purge; told ya so re the health care lawsuit; Red Families v. Blue Families; who you callin a Neanderthal; the death of fairy tale government budgets and spending; know your terrorist; and oil spill fallout to date: anxiety, paranoia, ambulance chasing and political grandstanding, and Republi-CON 'less government' hypocrisy; as ye sow, so shall ye reap; would $500k have saved $1.6B?; why not bomb the spill? and other extreme solutions.

But I'll discuss anything. (Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events!

The Death of Fairy Tale Government Budgets and Spending

UPDATE: More comparisons. Read The New York Times, In Greek Debt Crisis, Some See Parallels to U.S.

The graph show that the government deficit situation is worse in the U.S.

"Sitting in America, it’s hard to grasp the importance of the British elections and the Greek riots. Nothing to do with us, right? Well, I’d pay attention to the drama playing out here. It may be coming to a theater near you." Read The New York Times, Root Canal Politics.

Without spending cuts and tax increases, this fairy tale will have an unhappy ending.

Who Wants to Be A Terrorist

When it comes to terrorism, some think that ignorance is bliss. Not true:

"So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself."

"The Times Square bomb suspect didn't create his "jihadist ideology" out of thin air." Read The New York Times, The Making of a Terrorist.

Red Families v. Blue Families

Since "the sexual revolution overturned the old order of single-earner households, early marriages, and strong stigmas against divorce and unwed motherhood":

Blue families = marital success and material prosperity.

Red families = teen childbirth, shotgun marriages and high divorce rates.

And the difference -- sex education, contraception, and abortion.

Is culturally conservative 'red America' "stuck trying to sustain an outdated social model?"

Read The New York Times, Red Family, Blue Family.

Why Is America Great?, Questioning the Status Quo

The capacity to learn and adapt in the face of adversity.

One example, "[t]he Army’s implementation of a new counterinsurgency strategy shows that institutions don’t have to stay wedded to the status quo." Read The New York Times, Leading With Two Minds.

The U.S. military is especially good at critical examination of the status quo.

Obama the Clueless

UPDATE II: As I've said before, Obama should cut the pay of federal government workers. Read USA Today, Federal workers earning double their private counterparts.


UPDATE: What should Obama have done when he took office. Given it to us straight like British Prime Minister David Cameron. He has said that Britain’s financial situation is “even worse than we thought.” Read The New York Times, Cameron Warns Britons of ‘Decades’ of Austerity.

Obama just doesn't get it. The U.S. of A. is bankrupt. Read the Washington Post, Senate rejects bonus Social Security payments.

Instead of a $250 bonus payment to people on Social Security, he should be proposing pay/payment cuts, as much as 50%, as part of the effort to balance the budget, as I've suggested since early 2009.

Class on Thursday (Vice Friday Now) at NoBullU on WEBY

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!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: oil spill fallout to date: anxiety, paranoia, ambulance chasing and political grandstanding, and Republi-CON 'less government' hypocrisy; would $500k have saved $1.6B?; why not bomb the spill?; and the teachers sue, part II; and

Nation and international: how much would you bid for your very own portrait of Crist (it might be historically significant, Crist is currently leading in 3-way race); the new Republi-con elixir - take two aspirin and bring me a chicken in the morning; and NC beach town says no thong you, could this be a promotional opportunity for local beaches?

But I'll discuss anything. (Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events!

Bye, Bye America, When You Buy, Buy From China

The Capitol Steps perform "Buy, Buy American Pie" from their album "Campaign and Suffering":

Fla. 8153

Have they discovered the Holy Grail of supermarket tomatodom? Read the Washington Post, Does Jay Scott hold the future of decent store-bought tomatoes in his hands?

I'm gettin hungry just thinkin about it!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

UPDATE XI: How much would you bid for your very own portrait of Crist? Read the Pensacola News Journal, O'Brien's O'pinions, Crist portrait on sale as GOP cuts losses.

Is the Republi-con party of Florida a poor loser?


UPDATE X: Is Crist a bumbler -- or a victim of a purity purge underway in the Republi-con party? Read the Washington Post, Cast-off Crist goes it alone. And can he win with no party affiliation? Read the Washington Post, Crist just might resurrect his Senate campaign.

BTW, there is a new face in the Florida race, a billionaire real estate developer. Read the Washington Post, Jeff Greene enters the Florida Senate race.

Let's not forget the McCain Mutiny. Earlier this week:

"Jon Stewart called Arizona the “the meth lab of democracy.” A few days ago, the governor signed the instantly infamous “show me your papers” law, allowing authorities to stop and question anyone who looks Hispanic. Another new measure lets people carry concealed weapons without a permit, following on the heels of the new-found freedom to pack heat in bars and restaurants, something that was outlawed in much of the Old West. And the state house has just approved a bill that would require candidates for high office to show a birth certificate.

The birther bill is a sop to the flat-earthers who believe — without a shred of evidence, even after all the hard work of hard-right opposition-research — that our president was not born in the U.S.A.

“It suggests that Arizona is a place where any crackpot whim can be enshrined into law.” That was the verdict from the sensibly conservative Arizona Republic, the state’s leading newspaper, which had also urged the Republican governor, Jan Brewer, to veto the immigration bill that could foster a police state. She signed it, of course.

Stewart, the Mark Twain of our day with a New Jersey quirk or two, got it right with his meth lab jab. But Arizona is more than a laboratory for intemperate times: this place is a warning of what a state can look like when it’s run by talk-radio demagogues and their television cohorts.

The crackpot laws owe their genesis to the crackpots who dominate Republican politics, who in turn cannot get elected without the backing of crackpot media."

And Florida and Arizona are not the only interesting races. Read the Washington Post, Utah Conservatives sing chorus of 'Bye bye Bennett' with glee.

Thanks to the Republi-con, we live in interesting times.


UPDATE IX: Most expect Crist to announce he will run as an independent (actually No Party Affiliation in Florida). If so "Florida will once again become a gawk-worthy stage of American politics, where the country’s desires, conflicts and direction will dramatically play out." Read The New York Times, Breaking Down a 3-Way Race in Florida.

And there are questions whether he can make a go of it. Read the Washington Post, The questions Charlie Crist must answer -- and fast.


UPDATE VIII: Will he or won't he? We will know tomorrow. Read USA Today, Republican or independent? Crist to announce Thursday.


UPDATE VII: Is it time to hug a moderate? Read the Washington Post, Charlie Crist needs a hug.

And in that other Republi-con slug fest, some say McCain is sacrificing his principles in his primary election battle with a "radio host endorsed by border vigilantes." Read The New York Times, Come Back, John McCain.


UPDATE VI: What should Crist do, remain in the GOP primary, drop out, or go independent? Read USA Today, Florida voters split on Crist's next move.

And to understand how the decision might affect the 2010 Florida Senate race, see Pollster.com, Florida Senate: Playing 'What If.'

Morning Joe says "Florida is a state where an Independent can win a statewide race if he has the money and name recognition to mount a strong campaign."

UPDATE V: It appears Crist will run as an independent. Rick's Blog reports that Crist has dropped any mention of the Republican Party from his campaign website.


UPDATE IV: Not lookin good for Crist and the Republi-con Party. Read the Washington Post, Who's distancing himself from Gov. Charlie Crist today? and Everybody hates Crist in the GOP.


UPDATE III: Read CBS News, Charlie Crist Pulls TV Ads, Increasing Speculation About Campaign's Future and Rick's Blog, Scarborough thinks Crist can win as I.


UPDATE II: Now it is Friday, April 30, 2010 after a veto spurred speculation may abandon the party to run for Senate as an independent. Read The New York Times, Florida Governor Splits With G.O.P. on Teacher Pay.

A recent poll shows Rubio beating Crist in the GOP primary, with 56 percent of the vote to 33 percent. But in a three-way race in the general election, Crist would get 32 percent of the vote, compared with 30 percent for Rubio and 24 percent for Meek. Crist must decide by April 30 if he will remain in the Republican primary or take his chances as an independent. He cannot switch after the Aug. 24 primary


UPDATE: The politician former known as the Maverick now says that he's not really a maverick, but just a good ol' Republi-con. Read CBS News, John McCain: I'm not a Maverick.

Why the change? Because of The McCain Mutiny.

Arizona and Florida are two 2010 primary elections to watch. Read the Washington Post, For Charlie Crist, dark days in the Sunshine State primary and GOP Senate contest heats up in Arizona.

Both primaries are August 24, 2010.

Casting Biblical Sins

From an email:

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan.

James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia

I've been unable to verify authenticity or authorship.

He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.

Bartering Chicken for Health Care

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.

Her idea for containing health-care costs -- chickens for check-ups. Read the Washington Post, Courtesy of Sue Lowden: A chicken in every doctor's pot.

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:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Indecision 2010 Midterm Elections - Sue Lowden
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

The Republi-con solution for any problem that ails you, health insurance included, forget about mandates and confusing plans, just trade a chicken.

Class on Thursday (Vice the Usual Friday) at NoBullU on WEBY

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!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: the good ol' boys rule in Bubbaville, USA and is it better to be a dog than a black man in the South, and

Nation and international: what did Crist do?, Palin v. Truman, countdown to dismissal, are you ready to protest, Comrade Mark's Republi-CON fairy tales, the new Republi-con elixir - take two aspirin and bring me a chicken in the morning, and NC beach town says no thong you, could this be a promotional opportunity for local beaches?

But I'll discuss anything. (Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events!

Comrade Mark's Republi-CON Fairy Tales

UPDATE VI: From the Washington Post:



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."

Read the Washington Post, Want to save capitalism? Regulate it.


UPDATE V: Blame Congress for the meltdown, it was caused by deregualtion and a lack of oversight. Read The New York Times, Meet the Real Villain of the Financial Crisis.

"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic."


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."

BTW, synthetic C.D.O.’s are really just credit default swaps, which in plain terms is just a guarantee or insurance on the underlying asset.

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.

Taxpayers were suckered big time.


UPDATE II: Watch a great animated editorial cartoon on the report that Goldman Sachs pocketed a profit of $3.3 billion last quarter at the expense of the little guys.


UPDATE: "The Goldman Sachs fraud suit illustrates how the big banks have abandoned their mission." Read The New York Times, Gambling With the Economy, When Wall Street Deals Resemble Casino Wagers, and Goldman’s Stacked Bet.

But don't worry, it was another great quarter for the Banksters, courtesy of Main Street. Read The New York Times, You’re Welcome, Wall Street.

And from the Washington Post, Hedge Fun:

After some quiet, the Republi-con party faithful are out spreading myths and engaging in Republi-con revisionist 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:

Problem, Causes and Professor NoBull's Solution for the Economic Mess,
More Articles About How We Got Into, and How We Might Fix, the Economic Mess,
Was Wall Street Just a Ponzi Scheme?,
Who is Responsible for the Economic Mess, Part Deux,
Was Wall Street Just a Ponzi Scheme, Part II,
Economic Mess for Dummies,
The Fed Enabled a Ponzi Scheme,
Economic Mess for Non-Dummies,
Shame on the Government,
Who is Responsible for the Economic Mess?,
Can You Say Sucker, and
With Washington Bankrupt, Banksters Now Loot Main Street

For addition information about how "much of the financial industry has become a racket — a game in which a handful of people are lavishly paid to mislead and exploit consumers and investors," read:

The New York Times, Looters in Loafers,
The New York Times, What Goldman’s Conduct Reveals,
ProPublica, The Magnetar Trade: How One Hedge Fund Helped Keep the Bubble Going,
Vanity Fair, Betting on the Blind Side, and
This American Life, Inside Job.

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."

For a sad but true brief recap, watch:

Does Anybody Really Care?

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:

"After reviewing the video evidence in this incident, I believe that the pursuit did expose the subject to unreasonable risk of harm or injury. At times in the pursuit, Officer Ard drove his cruiser so close to the suspect’s bike that it would have been difficult if not impossible for him to stop if the suspect fell from the bike. I also found it disturbing that Officer Ard attempted to tase the suspect on a bike as he rode next to him. If this action would have been successful, it is very possible that the suspect would have sustained serious injuries from the fall."

Why was this review not discussed during the corner's inquest, or mentioned in the court's ruling?

Sounds like adequate evidence to find probable cause to charge the officer with manslaughter (Sec. 782.07, Fla. Stat.)? Or vehicular homicide (Sec. 782.071)?

Can you say whitewash.


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:




UPDATE V: History teaches everything, including the future.

What does history teach about the Steen case. Read the Independent News, A Cycle of Injustice? A 1974 Death Reflects Present-Day Frustrations with Steen Case.


UPDATE IV: Yes people care -- if a dog is killed. Read the Pensacola News Journal, Marine's arraignment set March 31 in dog strangulation.

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."

Read The Voyager, ACLU: Coroner’s inquest system flawed.


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?

Time will tell if this inquest is a .


UPDATE: A gun was found in the pocket of the kid. According to an article in the Pensacola News Journal, Teen's final moments shown in videos:

An "investigator cut the pocket and removed a. 380 caliber handgun that was not registered to Steen, nor was it reported stolen.

Tracy Love, an FDLE fingerprint analyst, said that after a battery of five tests, she was unable to recover a single fingerprint from the gun, the magazine or the bullets.

The gun had seven bullets in the magazine and one in the chamber."How you get a gun in the pocket without getting fingerprints on it is a question we all wish to seek the answer to," Watson said after the hearing. "I'm not going to argue about the gun because, like I said in the beginning, what happened after the fact is not relevant. What we're concerned about is what happened before he was killed.""

(Watson is the Steen family attorney.)

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.

Should the officer be charged with manslaughter (Sec. 782.07, Fla. Stat.)? Or vehicular homicide (Sec. 782.071)?

Of course, no one really cares cause he was just a black kid.

Heaven, Hell and the Congressman

An oldie but goodie, from a friend:

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.. .

Today you voted."

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

UPDATE II: Another story about a local good ol' boy profiting at the expense of the taxpayers. Read First Serve Magazine, Roger Scott Tennis, A Victim of Good Ol’ Boy Politics?


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.

Rumor is that the Governor will "suspend [Valentino] because of the indictment" and "appoint either Dave Murzin or Holly Benson" to replace him until the criminal charge is resolved.

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:

"On a personal note, I can see why good people don’t run for office.” - Pensacola News Journal, Gene Valentino to face grand jury over meeting

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.

Cheer Up Monday

From a friend, a little pun humor:

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.

Happy Monday!

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

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!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: stupid is indicted, first comes the lawsuit, now two graduations at two local high schools and

Nation and international: what should Crist do?, countdown to dismissal, are you ready to protest, and Comrade Mark's Republi-CON fairy tales.

But I'll discuss anything. (Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events!

Does Money Buy Happiness?

UPDATE II: If not Veronica or Betty, then is Archie gay?. Read the Washington Post, 'BETTY or VERONICA...or KEVIN?': First gay character enrolls at Archie's Riverdale.


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?



Read the Washington Post, After 70 Years of Courtship, Archie Chooses . . . .

Next up, Mary Ann or Ginger? Given a choice, who would you marry?



If you can't decide, read the book.

Do you care?

This Post is For All You Birthers Out There

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.

You might remember that the Grand Poobah of Birthers, Taitz was recently and unceremoniously denied permission to intervene in the health care lawsuit.

I wonder if Pastor Poppins will now rally support for a national 'birther bill.'

Their bitterness blinds them to the truth, Obama was born in the U.S.A.

This one is from the Pensacola News Journal, by a lawyer who makes way too much money, and is worth posting in whole:

July 29, 2009
Grown-ups in GOP fail to control 'birthers"
Mike Papantonio

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.