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| It's not enough, but it's a start. |
Fuck the NRA.
— Mike Monteiro (@Mike_FTW) August 5, 2012
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| Image via HuffPo |
'I think it's outrageous that we have young women who are serving our country and sacrificing their lives, and if they are raped and a pregnancy happens then they cannot utilize federal resources in order to have an abortion,' Rep. Davis told HuffPost. 'How can we tell a servicewoman that we would provide funding for her if she were sitting in a safe office in Washington, DC, but because she's fighting for our freedom in Afghanistan we tell her no? It's just not acceptable.'
Instances of rape in the armed services are alarmingly common: The Pentagon reported more than 3,000 cases in FY 2009, and the Department of Defense estimates that reported incidents only account for a small fraction of the sexual assaults that actually occur.
Davis said it is unclear exactly why the House Committee on Rules, led by Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), decided that the amendment did not deserve to be debated or get a vote.
Bryan Young
“Oh, come on!” Na shouts as his 11th shot caroms off a tree and almost hits him.
The Golf Channel broadcasters watching added to the sense of comedy.
“We could be here awhile,” one said as Na pursued his ball deeper into the forest.
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| At least no more stories would be written like the one yesterday. |
This is the point at which, as the writer's editor, I would send him an email. 'Dear James,' it would say. 'Thanks for getting this in! I have some concerns that we've only got quotes from people who are worried about the suspects ('The arrests have left many wondering who will be taken into custody next') and think the girl was asking for it, especially since, even if she actually begged for it, the fact that she is 11 makes the incident stupendously reprehensible (not to mention still illegal). We don't want anyone wrongly thinking you are being lazy or thoughtless or misogynist! Please advise if literally no other kinds of quotes are available because every single person who lives in Cleveland, Texas, is a monster.'When I linked the story yesterday, I didn't have to time to point out all the things wrong with the article itself, I focused on the horror of the act and insanity of the reactions in the town (as reported). The final question in the pull-quote perfectly encapsulates the question the article forces us to face.
But Woodmansee, who in 1982 tried to strangle the local paperboy and ended up confessing to killing Jason, wasn’t sentenced to forever. He got 40 years to serve.The victim's father says he'll kill Woodmansee if he's released.
Now, because of a prison reward system that shaves 10 days or more a month off inmates’ sentences for good behavior, the perpetrator of one of Rhode Island’s most detestable crimes is scheduled to be released 12 years sooner.
I have been able to visit Jason and his mother, Joice, at their gravesite with only love in my heart for them. But now I’m afraid to visit, now that the terrible memories are back to haunt me and my family. There is no forgiveness in me, only revenge.
Seven of those charged in the attack are high school students, including members of the basketball team. Those arrested range in age from middle school to 27. 'These guys knew she was in middle school,' said the girl's mother. 'She still loves stuffed teddy bears.' A lawyer for three defendants indicated the girl willingly had sex, saying: 'This is not a case of a child who was enslaved or taken advantage of.'If your opinion of humanity wasn't low enough already, it seems the police have suggested the family of the girl leave town because of the "mounting tensions."
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| Via Philly.com |
SCRANTON, Pa. - A former juvenile court judge was convicted Friday of racketeering in a case that accused him of sending youth offenders to for-profit detention centers in exchange for millions of dollars in illicit payments from the builder and owner of the lockups.OK, 'racketeering' and 'kickbacks,' sounds bad enough, but I think 'human trafficking,' if not 'slave-trading,' are more accurate descriptions of what this [expletive deleted] is guilty of. He was selling young people into captivity, for crying out loud.
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For Americans who don't think the welfare state riots of France or Greece can happen here, we recommend a look at the union and Democratic Party spectacle now unfolding in Wisconsin. Over the past few days, thousands have swarmed the state capital and airwaves to intimidate lawmakers and disrupt Governor Scott Walker's plan to level the playing field between taxpayers and government unions.Oh, Wall Street, you're so adorable. What you've done to the WI employee pension plan could best be described using violent sexual imagery, yet you still have the audacity to paint the workers as little better than anarchist rabble-rousers out to destroy the middle-class.
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| Image via Mother Jones |
A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of 'justifiable homicide' to include killings that are intended to prevent harm to a fetus—a move that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions. The Republican-backed legislation, House Bill 1171, has passed out of committee on a nine-to-three party-line vote, and is expected to face a floor vote in the state's GOP-dominated House of Representatives soon.I don't even ... words fail. Can we, as a society, worry less about the imaginary danger of Sharia law and maybe focus on the clear and present danger of Tea Party law.
'Right now, so-called gun-free zones, I think, ought to be renamed Victims Zones,' says State Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio), who is sponsoring a bill that would allow handguns on campuses. 'I just don't want to see a repeat in Texas of what happened at Virginia Tech.'I've given my opinion on this already. But fine, go ahead, do it. And the first time a kid shoots another kid by mistake during a crisis, or what they think is a crisis but isn't, when that victim dies and State Sen. Jeff Wentworth shrugs his shoulders and says, "hey, accidents happen, it's the price we pay for safety blah, blah, blah," I hope he is named as a defendant in the criminal trial along with the shooter -- and that Texas still executes people willy-nilly.
More than 20,000 Yemenis filled the streets of Sanaa on Thursday for a 'Day of Rage' rally, demanding a change in government and saying President Ali Abdullah Saleh's offer to step down in 2013 was not enough.There are peace marches and there are rage marches. I bet there's better music at rage marches. Whenever I think rage, I think ... Costanza.
(Newser) – A sled dog company employee who slaughtered around 100 huskies after tourism dried up has been receiving death threats, Canadian police say. Police and animal welfare authorities are investigating the killings, which came to light after the worker described the killings in grisly detail to obtain workman's compensation. The animals were killed in sight of other dogs before being dumped in a mass grave, the Province reports. The killing went on for two days, according to the compensation board's report.I am critical of cognitive dissonance where I see, there's no shortage of it in politics -- especially from the right, but we find it on the left as well. So, I find myself on the horns of a dilemma when I come across stories of animal suffering because I don't keep a vegetarian diet; I did for a while many years ago, but the lure of bacon with breakfast was too strong. (And I never stopped wearing leather.) I was a vegetarian in part because my roommate at the time was and it was, frankly, easy to keep a vegetarian diet while living with a good example. But I never preached it and never thought less of anyone who didn't. When asked why, I would, however, state my preference to not be a party to animal suffering, the extent I could control it. Obviously, my commitment to that principle wasn't the strongest.
(Newser) – South Dakota lawmakers have introduced a bill that would force all of the state’s citizens to buy a gun “to provide for the self defense of themselves and others.” (Wait, is it still self-defense if you’re defending others? Isn’t that just defense?) The law would apply to all adults age 21 or older, except for those legally prohibited from buying them, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. It leaves it to each individual to pick a gun “suitable to their temperament.”I will be very surprised if this passes. However, I'd like to talk to someone though who thinks requiring people to buy guns is a (Constitutional) good idea, but requiring people to buy health insurance is a (un-Constitutional) bad idea. And by "talk to him or her," I mean, "disconnect my house from the electric grid and power it instead off the Cognitive Dissonance Generator that passes for that person's brain."
You thought Parkinson’s was incurable? So did I. And I have it, as did John Paul II in his last years. But apparently not — if you know whom to pray to. Sister Marie Simon-Pierre of the Congregation of Little Sisters of Catholic Maternity Wards prayed to John Paul II. Then she woke up one morning, two months after the pope had died, and all of her symptoms were gone. According to the AP story, from all appearances, she remains symptom-free.I don't care what posthumous titles Catholics bestow upon John Paul. Whatever. It's the unmitigated gall of their rubbing the rest of our faces in the fact they are the leading opponents of stem cell research, which might lead to a real cure for real Parkinson's, that annoys me.
Of course, there is another possibility: Maybe she didn’t have Parkinson’s in the first place. There is no way to diagnose Parkinson’s for sure. You just eliminate other possibilities that are generally far worse, such as brain tumors, until Parkinson’s is the last malady standing and, often, a welcome one, considering the alternatives. But, according to the AP, “Vatican-appointed doctors” determined that “her cure had no scientific explanation.”
EAGLE, Colorado — A financial manager for wealthy clients will not face felony charges for a hit-and-run because it could jeopardize his job, prosecutors said Thursday.Sickening.
Martin Joel Erzinger, 52, faces two misdemeanor traffic charges stemming from a July 3 incident when he allegedly hit bicyclist Dr. Steven Milo from behind then sped away, according to court documents.
Jason Mustian
Sudan says that the slavery problem is not nearly as bad as Western activists make it out. It insists slavery has been wiped out in government-controlled areas, and now only exists in rebel-controlled territory. Talisman, which owns a share of the pipeline along with the national oil companies of China and Malaysia (see related story), points out the many good works it has done in Sudan and says things could be worse if it leaves. Those works include developing water wells, building roads and hospitals and providing an example of ethical Western corporate leadership in the war-torn south, it says. Sudan’s civil war has left more than 2 million dead. “If you eradicate poverty, you also eradicate one of the root causes of violence and human rights violations,” said Stuart McDowall, Talisman’s director general of Sudan public relations. “What we’re doing is addressing some of those basic needs.” [ABC News]
The memo, issued on May 7, 1999, reported that "… fulfilling the request of the Canadian Company (Talisman)… the armed forces will conduct cleaning up operations in all villages from Heglig to Pariang." ... Two days later, a major offensive was launched and villages from Heglig to Pariang were destroyed. A Canadian Foreign Ministry report described how civilians were killed, homes and whole villages destroyed, foodstocks looted or burned, humanitarian aid forced into flight. It is estimated the attacks reduced the overal population in the county by 50% -- all so that oil could be more easily extracted ... The complicity of oil development in the ongoing destruction by the radical Islamist regime in Khartoum of Christian, moderate Muslim and animist Civilian populations in Southern Sudan has been chronicled by Amnesty International, the UN, the Canadian foreign ministry, Human Rights Watch, and Christian Aid (UK).Ironic that we're having such a hard time fighting the War on Terror, the bad guys being so hard to find and all ... when it seems they're actually quite easily found listed on the NYSE [TLM].
