Whoopi Goldberg is saying that Roman Polanski didn't commit "rape-rape". Noted.
He drugged a 13 year old girl and forced her to have vaginal, anal & oral sex. But that doesn't constitute "rape-rape"? I guess there are different standards for the denizens in Hollyweird than the rest of us.
Goldberg is living proof of why no one should listen to actors/actresses when they're not speaking their scripted lines. BTW, that includes the conservative ones also.
Some people really need to get over themselves;
Dallas woman fuming over smoking neighbor at complex
By SCOTT FARWELL / The Dallas Morning News
In an age when smoking has been outlawed in most public places – government buildings, bars and pool halls – a person's home is one of the few places you can puff in peace.
A Dallas woman has filed a lawsuit seeking six figures from a former neighbor and landlord for damage she says was caused by cigarette smoke wafting through adjoining walls of her high-end townhome.
"Smoking is not a right, it's a privilege," said Chris Daniel, a retired nurse. "I'm sorry that people smoke. I think it's foolish, but when it comes into my house and hurts my health and my daughter's health and our belongings, it's a different issue."
The case is being watched by townhouse industry groups across the area.
A manager and attorney for Estancia Townhomes, a 52-building community near Prestonwood Country Club in North Dallas, said it's unlikely the Daniels sustained any smoke damage. There is a solid, two-hour fire wall from the foundation to the roof between each of the homes.
And even if some smell did seep through, the Daniels renewed their lease at Estancia – where smoking is permitted – six months after they say the problem began.
"Why do people file lawsuits?" asked Ginger Tye, an attorney representing the property managers and owners. "They're asking for money damages."
The next-door smoker, Rebecca Williams, declined comment.
Chris Daniel and her daughter, Cary, say in the lawsuit that a construction defect is allowing smoke to migrate between the units.
After a year of stinging eyes, breathing difficulty and sinus pain, they moved out of Estancia and into the Homewood Suites in Addison. Last week, movers wearing surgical masks loaded trucks with their belongings.
The Daniels said furniture will need to be reupholstered, artwork restored and closets full of clothing dry cleaned. The bills are still piling up.
"There's nothing in our home that was ready made. I picked out fabrics, everything was custom made and everything was spotless," said Chris Daniel.
"It's not like our worldly goods are the most important things in our life, but you know what? I don't expect them to be damaged."
Some multifamily communities have followed the lead of hotels and car-rental companies – designating nonsmoking rooms or buildings. The Glass House, a 21-story high-rise in Dallas' Uptown, markets itself as a smoke-free property.
Unfamiliar territory
Kathy Carlton, director of government affairs for the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas, said she's never heard of a case such as the one filed by the Daniels.
She said most people who are highly sensitive to cigarette smoke don't move into a community or a building where it's allowed.
"Generally, this stuff is the property owners' prerogative, and people either live by the rules or move on down the street," Carlton said.
"If you have a pet, you look for a place that takes pets. If you hate pets, you look for a place that doesn't allow them. People have choices."
The Daniels said the freedom to choose cuts both ways.
Yes, people may be entitled to smoke in their home – but others are equally entitled to live in a clean and healthy environment.
The right to swing your fist, they said, ends when it meets my nose.
"This lease says I have a right to a habitable place, this lease says I have a right to quiet enjoyment, this lease says I have a right to safe living," said Chris Daniel, referring to court documents.
"And I did have that ... until someone moved in who did not care about her neighbor."
The Daniels lived at Estancia for four years. Today, after a final walkthrough of their home with an attorney and managers, they will hand over the keys.
Nicole Lott, property director at Estancia, said it's been a long year of acrimony.
Managers replaced air filters repeatedly, installed sealant-type electrical plates and – at the Daniels' request – used an industrial-grade roofing sealant to caulk pipes under their kitchen cabinet.
When that didn't work, managers tried to negotiate a move for both tenants within the community.
Restraining order
Williams, the smoker, finally moved to another unit in June after a judge issued a temporary restraining order forbidding her from lighting up in her home.
"We've done more for these people than we've ever done for anyone else," Lott said. "I don't think it's possible to satisfy them."
Chris Daniel also filed a complaint under the Texas Fair Housing Act, alleging that her sensitivity to cigarette smoke qualifies her for protection set aside for people with disabilities.
The complaint is being reviewed by Dallas' Fair Housing Office.
First Assistant City Attorney Chris Bowers said a garden-variety reaction to cigarette smoke – puffy eyes, runny nose, coughing – would probably not meet the standard set by the law, a severe limitation of a major life activity.
"Not just anybody will be able to say smoking has that effect, and that's one of the things our Fair Housing Office will investigate," he said.
"It's safe to say most people do not suffer the degree of impairment this person alleges from cigarette smoke."
Chris Daniel has been treated by an allergist and an internist, according to court records, and was prescribed two inhalers.
Dr. Barbara Stark Baxter, a clinical associate professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center, wrote that Daniels "qualifies as disabled under the Texas Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act."
Her attorney, John Clark Long V, said his clients were essentially driven from their home by cigarette smoke.
He illustrated the case this way:
"It was like living life in an ashtray you can never clean."
As with many former smokers I can't stand the habit. I quit after having both parents contract lung cancer, my mother survived while my father didn't. It's a dumb habit and one that justifies this country NEVER, EVER having socialized health care. Why should I pay for the effects of your pack-a-day habit? (By the same token, you shouldn't pay for the effects from my being about 50 lbs. overweight. What's good for the goose...)
But come on, this lawsuit is beyond bizarre. FWIW, I DO believe smoke seeped from one apartment to the other. I unfortunately had the experience of working as a apt. complex maintenance tech some years back. We had a similar problem between two tenants that was ultimately resolved by the nonsmoker being moved free of charge by yours truly and the porter after management stepped in and did a little ego salving and mediation. Both parties were happy, everything was resolved by adults acting like adults and life moved on.
I really think this retired nurse is in serious need of getting a life. Don't like your neighbor's exercise of their right to smoke at home? MOVE!!
Then again, after thinking more on this story, I'd bet a dollar to a donut these fools figured this was an easy way to squeeze some money out of the apartment complex. There doesn't even have to be any collusion for this from the nurse's doctor, as a nurse she'd know all the symptoms to fake to have herself declared disabled.
What a pair of jerks this woman and her daughter are!
1st Lt. Joseph D. Helton
Hometown: Monroe, Georgia, U.S.
Age: 24 years old
Died: September 8, 2009 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Air Force, 6th Security Forces Squadron, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.
Incident: Died near Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive devise.
The following is taken from The Walton Tribune, a local paper near Monroe, GA.;
Keenan Byrd brought his three children to Broad Street in Monroe Tuesday to see a hero.
That hero was fallen airman 1st Lt. Joseph D. Helton, a 2003 Monroe Area High School graduate who was killed in action in Iraq Sept. 8.
“We just need them to know there are people fighting for our country and freedom in another country and some lost their lives fighting for it,” Byrd said.
Byrd and his family were four of the thousands who lined the streets to pay respect for Helton.
A procession carrying the Monroe native left from Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville, taking the slow trip through the streets of Grayson and Loganville before arriving at Meadows Funeral Home in Monroe.
The 24-year-old U.S. Air Force Academy honor graduate of 2007 was killed near Baghdad when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Just before the plane carrying the young soldier landed at Briscoe
Field, a gentle rain began falling. A protective line of American Legion and Patriot Guard riders shielded the family from view as the body was loaded into the hearse. The procession, led by members of many local law enforcement agencies and the riders, then began the journey from Lawrenceville to Monroe.
At many intervals along the way, residents lined the street, standing with flags and umbrellas as the rains started to fall. As the procession passed through Grayson, some who were driving by saw the patriotism along Highway 20 and stopped to join the ranks. As they waited, Walgreen’s handed out water. Most did not know the airman, but it was out of respect they took part in honoring the Monroe resident.
“To me, it is the least I can do to honor a fallen comrade,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Seals, of Grayson, who returned from a tour of active duty in 2007 and is an active reserve.
“As a GI, its important,” said Ken Johnson, of Loganville, who struggled to hold back tears. “I want my son to understand patriotism, to show respect for the flag, respect for soldiers and for his country.”
Johnson was there with his son Landen, 7, and his wife, Jan, a teacher at the nearby school who said this would help as her kindergarten class was covering patriotism next week and she wanted to add the experience to the lesson.
“This is a moment everyone wants to cherish,” said Grayson Mayor Jim Hinkle. “These people give their lives for us and we must honor them. After 28 years in the Marine Corps, I have an affinity with this airman. It’s touching.”
As the procession passed by the Loganville American Legion Post 233, Commander Bobby Boss was unable to control his emotions.
“I’m sorry,” a choked up Boss said. “It’s the respect shown that gets to me — that’s so important. And the loss — that is terrible.”
“He was just so young, just so young,” said Post 233 Women’s Auxiliary member Ruby Mitchell.
This sentiment was echoed by fellow Women’s Auxiliary member Jean Kelly.
“He was too young. So many kids like him go over there and sacrifice for us,” Kelly said through her tears. “He wanted to go back. He said he wanted to go back and finish the job so others won’t have to.”
Kelly said Helton was one of the soldiers supported by Soldiers’ Connection, an organization out of the American Legion Post 233 that sends care packages to soldiers serving in the combat zone.
“He came and spoke to us — to thank us for our support — when he was home before going back on that second tour,” Kelly said. “He was one of the sweetest kids I’ve ever met. He gave his life for us.”
In Monroe, Judy Walker stood under an awning waiting for the procession. Her son Ted and daughter Heather went to school with Helton — her son-in-law is currently fighting in Afghanistan.
“I think it is important to show we support the family and the cause,” Walker said. “Especially the family.”
Funeral services were held for Helton in Monroe Wednesday and Thursday another procession led the young fallen hero to his final resting place at the National Cemetery in Canton.
God rest his soul, may his sacrifice not be forgotten.
The shape of things to come? Found this via Breitbart.com;
SAN DIEGO (AP) - A California woman has settled a lawsuit against her former doctors who denied her artificial insemination based on her sexual orientation.
Guadalupe Benitez and spouse Joanne Clark sued doctors at North Coast Women's Medical Group in Vista for discrimination in 2001. California's highest court last year barred the Christian doctors from invoking religious beliefs, ruling state law prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination extends to the medical profession. (So you can forget about your beliefs doc, they're trumped by some pervert's "rights")
Benitez's attorneys released a joint statement by the two sides Tuesday. It says they settled the case for an undisclosed sum of money. The doctors say they want gays and lesbians to feel welcome in their practice. (CYA, very understandable in this instance.)
One of the doctors referred Benitez to another fertility specialist and she gave birth to three children. (I feel sorry for the kids. IVF is playing God and often with disasterous effects. Check out the high incidence of birth defects among IVF kids. To top that off, their home life isn't exactly a Norman Rockwell portrait.)
ARLINGTON, Tennessee, September 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Tennessee man is facing a double murder charge after his girlfriend and her unborn child were shot to death, in what police say was the conclusion to the couple's disagreement over getting an abortion.
Shelby County detectives say they believe Tarence Nelson, 26, shot schoolteacher Tonya Johnson, 35, as a result of an argument over whether Johnson should abort the child, who was at eight months' gestation. Johnson was found in her home by neighbors who said she had bullet wounds to the right abdomen, chest, and the back of her head.
Those who discovered Johnson say they and paramedics attempted without success to save the mother and baby's life.
Neighbor John Ingram told a local news station that Nelson's intent to kill the child was obvious by her wounds. "It looked like he was intent on killing both of them," he told WMC-TV. "I think it should be a double homicide, the baby was ready to come."
Detectives have agreed that Nelson will be charged with first-degree murder of both Johnson and her unborn child.
In 2004, President George W. Bush signed into law the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which recognizes a child in the womb as a legal victim if he or she is killed or injured in an act of violence against the mother.
Is it my overheated brain or are we seeing an example of doublethink at it's finest, i.e. when an abortion is performed there is no unborn baby getting killed but when someone shoots a woman in her womb it becomes a murdered child?
This seems to show how warped we've become, we'll do all sorts of mental gymnastics justifying this instead of just calling a spade a spade.
Evil always tries to make things complicated by citing "nuance" and "gray areas", I'd guess this is more of the same.
Staff Sgt. Murphrey leaves behind a wife and two children.
The following was taken from the San Angelo Times;
CLYDE — On his last visit home, Staff Sgt. Michael Chance Murphrey hinted that he didn’t think he would come home from Afghanistan.
“He had lost a good buddy over there in July, and he told me he had a bad gut feeling,” said his youngest sister, Krisa Johnson, 21, of Fort Carson, Colo.
A U.S. flag flew at half-staff Tuesday at his sister’s home in Clyde, a traditional family gathering place. He was killed in action in Afghanistan on Sunday.
Murphrey, 25, died in the Waza Khawa North District of Paktika Province, killed by an improvised explosive device while on a dismounted patrol, according to U.S. Army officials.
He was described as an outstanding and loving hero by family and friends. He was a husband, father, son and brother, and uncle to 12 nieces and nephews.
The family received a visit from two military personnel early Monday, who first broke the news to Murphrey’s wife, Ashley Murphrey, in Georgia on Sunday night.
His death was a painful blow for his entire family, still in shock Tuesday, including his oldest sister, Jeanie Rutherford, and his mother and father, Elvie and Evelyn Murphrey, all of Clyde.
“My mom was holding his picture early Monday and saying he was going to call,” Jeanie Rutherford said.
Family members recalled with sadness his last two-week visit home in late July and early August.
“He just wanted to stay out here,” Jeanie Rutherford said. “He was taking in anything he could.”
Murphrey married his wife, Ashley Martin, in 2005, and the couple had two children, Jaden, 4, and Cameron, 10 months.
“It is so sad for his children,” Jeanie Rutherford said. “He loved his children so.”
A 2003 graduate of Snyder High School, Murphrey ran track and played football from grades nine through 12. Remembered as an accomplished athlete, he was named to the first team all-district football at defensive end and defensive tackle. He also ran hurdles and the 400 meters in track.
“I became head football coach during his junior year but coached him in track from the ninth grade,” said head coach and athletic director Chad Rogers. “He was a good kid who never got in trouble — it is a tough loss.”
Rogers said the mood at Snyder High School was gloomy Monday as news of Murphrey’s death made the rounds.
But those who remembered him Tuesday recalled a fun-loving person who wasn’t afraid to try daring feats such as skydiving.
The family took him skydiving for his 17th birthday, and after that, he decided he wanted to be an Army paratrooper.
“We were all together that day — it was one of the greatest days of our lives,” Jeanie Rutherford said.
Johnson agreed.
“He was a stunt man; he loved riding motorcycles and four-wheelers,” he said. “He was passionate about anything he ever did.”
Fishing was another passion, and Murphrey “loved to deep sea fish,” said Adam Rutherford, his brother-in-law.
His best friend, Brad English, played football and ran track with Murphrey and said the two did everything together before he was deployed.
“He was pretty much like my big brother,” said English, 23, of Snyder. “He was always happy and would do anything for anybody.”
His other sibling, Wendy Stehouwer of Waxahachie, recalled meeting her brother at Fort Bragg several years ago when he returned from Iraq.
“He was loving, and we loved him back,” Stehouwer said.
She added that even though the family is grieving, they are not angry with the Army.
“He believed in being in the Army and serving his country,” Stehouwer said. “He knew what he signed up for.”
Even so, Murphrey had begun to make plans for when he got out of the service.
“He said he wanted to move the family to Austin and go to school,” Adam Rutherford said.
Murphrey’s body was to be in Dover, Del., by Tuesday night. Then it will be flown to Dyess Air Force Base. The service, under the direction of Bailey-Howard Funeral Home in Clyde, is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 16.
Murphrey was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division at Forward Operating Base Sharnana. The brigade is home-based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
He joined the Army in October 2003, served at Fort Bragg, N.C., and arrived at Fort Richardson in April 2008.
Murphrey was on his third tour of duty after enlisting in the Army in 2003. He did two tours in Iraq and was deployed to Afghanistan in March, family members said.
He earned six medals of valor during his three tours.
Found this at the site for the Alliance Defense Fund, evidently it's no longer acceptable for Christmas ornaments to look like Christmas ornaments;
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys sent a letter to federal and state officials, including Arizona Governor Janice Brewer Monday, calling for them to stop enforcing a requirement prohibiting the state’s schoolchildren from expressing religious viewpoints through Christmas themes while decorating ornaments for the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree. Arizona was chosen this year to present 4,000 handcrafted ornaments made by elementary, middle-school, and high-school students to decorate Washington, D.C.’s annual Christmas tree.
“Banning Christmas from the Capitol Christmas tree is just absurd. Christian students shouldn’t be discriminated against for expressing their religious beliefs,” said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Jonathan Scruggs. “The First Amendment does not allow government officials to exclude schoolchildren’s ornaments for the capitol’s Christmas tree merely because they communicate a religious viewpoint.”
On behalf of a mother whose son strongly desires to submit three ornaments for the tree, ADF attorneys sent a letter to state and federal officials demanding that they abandon the prohibition of religious viewpoints so that the child may participate in the unique opportunity. One of the ornaments will read “Merry Christmas,” another will say “Happy Birthday, Jesus,” and the third will portray a manger scene with the baby Jesus. Each of these ornaments will also honor Arizona, using as a theme the state’s history, geography, or motto, “Ditat Deus,” which means “God Enriches.” ADF attorneys indicate in the letter that they will take legal action if officials do not comply by October 4, the day before the deadline to submit ornaments for consideration.
“It is well established that expression of religious beliefs is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” the letter reads. “Religious expression is speech and is entitled to the same level of protection as other kinds of speech... Even expression that comes through symbols, such as ornaments…”
Arizona was given the special privilege this year to provide Washington, D.C., with the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree. Students from elementary, middle, and high schools were given criteria to construct and decorate 4,000 handcrafted ornaments for the 65-foot tree as a coordinated effort with the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, the Apache Natural Resources Conservation District, the Arizona Public Education Department, students, businesses, and the community.
Guidelines for the ornaments include specifications for their size, weight, composition, and the directive that “Ornaments cannot reflect a religious or political theme… Instead share your interpretation of our theme ‘Arizona’s Gift, from the Grand Canyon State.’” It is also stated that the ornaments “will provide wonderful opportunities for Arizona school children to demonstrate what Arizona means to them… Whether they represent our world-renowned landscapes, our diverse cultures, or other aspects of our state, the ornaments will help convey the particular beauty that is Arizona.” But, if students want to convey that Arizona has a religious significance to them, they are denied the opportunity offered to students with non-religious views.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
From the Wall Street Journal via Pewsitter;
This year, President Barack Obama has signed a slew of proclamations recognizing everything from “Equal Pay Day” to “National Maritime Day” to “Irish-American Heritage Month.” Over the years, presidents have signed thousands of them.
Some of the topics are celebratory. Others, like last week’s Gold Star Mother’s and Families’ Day, in recognition of fallen troops’ survivors, are somber.
Today, however, Obama is taking Family Day as an opportunity to make the kind of statement you didn’t hear from the Bush White House. “Whether children are raised by two parents, a single parent, grandparents, a same-sex couple, or a guardian, families encourage us to do our best and enable us to accomplish great things.” (So a same-sex couple is casually inserted into the list of more traditional forms of family, as if it's no big deal. What crap.)
The Bush administration’s Family Day proclamations tended to emphasize “healthy marriages and responsible fatherhood.”
Of course, presidents have always tried to use their ceremonial functions to send social messages — and same-sex parents have been trying to get the president’s attention ever since some activists brought their children to the Bush White House’s Easter Egg Roll in 2006. The Obamas, sensitive to criticism that the administration has not acted on key gay-rights issues, officially invited gay families to their holiday event earlier this year. (Whoop-dee-dew, aren't we so politically sensitive. Wonder when he'll invite the families of active duty military to something like this? Yeah, I know that was a stupid question.)
(h/t to Chapomatic for this one)
Click on this link, just watching can tire you out.
When clicking on the link you'll be asked to login prior to viewing the film. That isn't necessary. Evidently it's for receiving credit only.
http://www.thedoorpost.com/hope/film/?film=4dd298f102c77b625cf37a9e7744ac68
B.O. can fly over to Sweden to pitch for the 2016 Olympics to take place in Chicago but has only met with his top military man in Afghanistan once? Something is wrong with this picture, last time I checked we had no Americans being killed in the Olympics.
Notre Dame's President trying to peddle a prolife image is like a prostitute promoting her virtue. It would be funny if not so pathetic.
Notice how the war in both Iraq and Afghanistan have been relegated to the back pages the past several months? You can bet your sweet ass the military do!
Our culture has become deadened to the most outrageous acts as shown by a "sting" revealing ACORN officials willing to aid and abet the prostitution of underage foreign girls. In a country with a healthy regard for what is right the outrage would be deafening, we unfortunately muster only whispers about it. God help us.
I really am uneasy about the next few years, all it would take would be a major catastrophe for justification of martial law imposition. I believe our freedoms wouldn't be lost but the fighting involved in keeping them would forever scar this nation.
As uneasy as the next few years make me, I'm just as "edgy" about whoever succeeds B.O. He has a good chance of being totally ineffective at a time when we need strong leadership. The Wiemar Republic was ineffective when Germany needed strong leadership, they got that leadership by electing Hitler. We could go down the same road very easily. For anyone not believing it could happen, I recommend reading "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis. Oh yes it could!
Some time ago I heard that the reason God didn't want the Jews mingling with the inhabitants of Canna was He found their practices of infanticide abhorrent. For that reason Joshua was instructed to have all inhabitants killed with no mercy. Assuming that was the case, will we see a more righteous nation arise in the near future and kick our baby killing asses off the pages of history?
Last of all, I see that Sarah Palin's memoirs are coming out on Nov. 17. Anyone who thinks that woman will go quietly into the good night of public politics has their head up their ass. IMO she's here to stay and the Powers That Be need to get used to that idea.
The following was taken from the Washington Times;
EDITORIAL: At the president's pleasure
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
A teacher was told by a 15-year-old high school sophomore that he was having homosexual sex with an "older man." At the very least, statutory rape occurred. Fox News reported that the teacher violated a state law requiring that he report the abuse. That former teacher, Kevin Jennings, is President Obama's "safe school czar." It's getting hard to keep track of all of this president's problematic appointments. Clearly, the process for vetting White House employees has broken down.
In this one case in which Mr. Jennings had a real chance to protect a young boy from a sexual predator, he not only failed to do what the law required but actually encouraged the relationship.
According to Mr. Jennings' own description in a new audiotape discovered by Fox News, the 15-year-old boy met the "older man" in a "bus station bathroom" and was taken to the older man's home that night. When some details about the case became public, Mr. Jennings threatened to sue another teacher who called his failure to report the statutory rape "unethical." Mr. Jennings' defenders asserted that there was no evidence that he was aware the student had sex with the older man.
However, the new audiotape contradicts this claim. In 2000, Mr. Jennings gave a talk to the Iowa chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, an advocacy group that promotes homosexuality in schools. On the tape, Mr. Jennings recollected that he told the student to make sure "to use a condom" when he was with the older man. That he actively encouraged the relationship is reinforced by Mr. Jennings' own description in his 1994 book, "One Teacher in 10." In that account, the teacher boasts how he allayed the student's concerns about the relationship to such a degree that the 15-year-old "left my office with a smile on his face that I would see every time I saw him on the campus for the next two years, until he graduated."
Mr. Jennings' denials about these events reveal a lack of remorse. He has not admitted that he made mistakes in this case, and he now refuses to answer any questions about the scandal. Don't forget, this is a presidential appointee we're talking about. Mr. Obama should make clear what his standards are for public servants serving at the pleasure of the president. Encouraging and covering up man-boy sexual activity are serious offenses. The White House should force Mr. Jennings to come clean.
Mr. Jennings has made extremely radical statements promoting homosexuality in schools and about his utter contempt for religion that render him unsuitable for a prestigious White House appointment. His job in the Obama administration is to ensure student safety, and this scandal directly calls into question his ability to perform that job. Mr. Jennings and Obama administration officials refuse to answer any questions about this newly discovered evidence. A lot of Americans want answers about this guy and how he was approved for a job in the White House.
This guy Jennings is getting a pass from the MSM, you can bet that if he'd been wearing a Roman Collar and nominated for this post by G.W. Bush the old media would be singing like the Temptations. Instead it's kind of a "ho-hum" story on the back page until it gets the Van Jones treatment from the likes of Glenn Beck and the blogosphere. I sincerely hope that happens.
SOUTH BEND, Indiana, September 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The attorney representing the pro-lifers arrested while protesting Obama at Notre Dame today repeated his request that the judge in the case, who is married to a pro-abortion Notre Dame professor, be removed from the case.
Attorney Tom Dixon's motion provides detailed support for his assertion in a previous recusal motion that there exists sufficient actual and perceived bias that Judge Jenny Pitts Manier, the judge assigned to the "ND 88" case, is required by Indiana state law to recuse herself in the matter. Dixon states that ever since Judge Manier has known her husband, Professor Edward Manier, he has been a well-known and outspoken advocate of the pro-abortion position.
As his views were well-known and have largely defined his identity at Notre Dame, Dixon argues, it seems implausible that Judge Manier could claim to be unaware of his views on the "ND 88" case, which stem from "the single biggest controversy in the history of the University of Notre Dame."
The case surrounds the arrest of 88 pro-lifers from across America who were charged with trespassing after peacefully witnessing against the presence of President Obama at Notre Dame The university awarded Obama with the commencement speech and an honorary law degree on May 17 of this year. Arrestees were singled out for carrying pro-life messages onto campus - including images of aborted children, a large cross, and images of Mary - while several other trespassers with pro-Obama or pro-Notre Dame signage were allowed to roam the campus.
Dixon argues that the career of Judge Manier's husband at Notre Dame was largely defined by the very same controversies which prompted the pro-lifers to travel across America to ultimately land in the St. Joseph County court room. In Indiana, a judge must recuse himself or herself from a case in the event of actual or perceived bias.
In the original recusal motion in August, Dixon says that Judge Manier refused to answer whether her husband had ever written on the topic of abortion, saying only, "I'm not my husband."
Dixon highlights several ways in which actual and perceived bias exists in the "ND 88" case. In addition to several writings revealing his pro-abortion beliefs, the professor donated "a significant sum of money" to Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign, as well as additional donations to other pro-abortion rights candidates in the United States.
Manier, a supporter of the production of "The Vagina Monologues" on Notre Dame's campus, also attacked Pope Paul Paul VI's pro-life encyclical Humanae Vitae as "intellectually stillborn."
"When one analyzes Edward Manier's political contributions to pro abortion candidates and Political Action Committee, when one reads Edward Manier's writings referencing members of the Christian right, calling them 'fundamentalist mullahs' and 'jackleg preachers,'" Dixon writes, "it is hard to comprehend how Judge Manier could derive from her husband's writings the notion that he has no interest in the outcome of these cases."
Last week, University of Notre Dame law professor emeritus Charles Rice issued an open letter to University president Fr. John Jenkins, saying that the school's attempts at reconstructing a pro-life image were a "mockery" while yet refusing to request leniency for the 88 pro-lifers awaiting trial.
FWIW, I've felt that the 88 people arrested probably deserved it. Seriously, they were trespassing. End of story. The selective enforcement of the law should be addressed but crying "victim" in this case is counter productive, ESPECIALLY when they carried signs showing aborted fetuses. That last is just idiocy, it backfires on the prolife folks more often than not.
But the bottom line is that when you break the law you should be arrested. Period. No matter what the justification, Justice should be blind in this. If it means anything, I'd have gladly gone to Notre Dame that day myself and protested had it been possible. I'd also have had a full expectation of being jailed for my troubles. Big boys know the rules and play by them.
Having said all that, I also believe it's ridiculous for Notre Dame to push for prosecution of these people. The protesters were speaking the truth when they questioned just how "Catholic" the university could be if it was honoring B.O., our most proabort Commander-in-Chief. Taking these folks to trial is wrong and stupid, especially when Notre Dame is trying to foster a prolife image these days.
But one thing is always true about evil, it's characterized by stupidity more often than not. So I'm sure the prosecution of these protesters will continue, the judge will have to be forcibly removed from the case OR we'll see any convictions overturned in a court of appeals.
One positive benefit will be the continued attention on the issue of abortion in this country. Another will be the reemphasis of Catholic doctrine in regards to killing the unborn.
Just my opinion.
I'm adding a few posts to my Sunday R.I.P standard, just more info on the heroic servicemembers we've lost. God rest their souls. 
Name: Army Sgt. 1st Class Duane A. Thornsbury
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Age: 30
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From: Bridgeport, W. Va.
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Assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, Fort Carson, Colo.
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Incident: Army Sgt. 1st Class Duane A. Thornsbury died Sept.12 in Baghdad of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover.
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Died: September 12, 2009
Thornsbury was a native of Clinton, Md., who grew up in Bridgeport and enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves in 1996.
He was a member of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force and earned his Green Beret as a weapons sergeant in 2006.
Not only does the nanny state get to pour any garbage they want into our children's heads, they evidently can decide who we have watch over them. Found this via Pewsitter.com ;
MIDDLEVILLE, Mich. (WZZM) - A West Michigan woman says the state is threatening her with fines and possibly jail time for babysitting her neighbors' children.
Lisa Snyder of Middleville says her neighborhood school bus stop is right in front of her home. It arrives after her neighbors need to be at work, so she watches three of their children for 15-40 minutes until the bus comes.
The Department of Human Services received a complaint that Snyder was operating an illegal child care home. DHS contacted Snyder and told her to get licensed, stop watching her neighbors' kids, or face the consequences. (Why couldn't they have just told the busybody who lodged the complaint to get stuffed? I'll opine further on that later.)
"It's ridiculous." says Snyder. "We are friends helping friends!" She added that she accepts no money for babysitting. (So why would she need a license?)
Mindy Rose, who leaves her 5-year-old with Snyder, agrees. "She's a friend... I trust her."
State Representative Brian Calley is drafting legislation that would exempt people who agree to care for non-dependent children from daycare rules as long as they're not engaged in a business.
"We have babysitting police running around this state violating people, threatening to put them in jail or fine them $1,000 for helping their neighbor (that) is truly outrageous" says Rep. Calley.
A DHS spokesperson would not comment on the specifics of the case but says they have no choice but to comply with state law, which is designed to protect Michigan children. (Horseshit! They have to comply if there's a violation. Determining THAT is a judgment call.)
As they say, "Follow the money". In this case look for whoever would benefit the most for this ridiculous action on the part of the state. When you find that person, start looking for who they may have influence over.
IMHO we'll see more of this in other states as time goes on.
KILLED IN ACTION: SEPTEMBER 6 - 12, 2009
Please pray for the peaceful repose of the souls of those who served our nation with honor, and remember also those who mourn their loss.
Sgt. 1st Class Duane A. Thornsbury, 30, WV
1st Lt. Joseph D. Helton, 24, GA
Pfc. Thomas F. Lyons, 20, NV
Pfc. Zachary T. Myers, 21, OH
Staff Sgt. Shannon Smith, 31, OH
Staff Sgt. Nekl B. Allen, 29, NY
Staff Sgt. Bryan D. Berky, 25, FL
Spc. Daniel L. Cox, 23, KS
Sgt. Tyler A. Juden, 23, KS
Pfc. Matthew M. Martinek, 20, IL
Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Fowlkes, 20, SC
1st Lt. Tyler E. Parten, 24, AR
Pfc. Piotr Marciniak, 30, Poland
Cpl. John Harrison, 29, UK
Gunnery Sgt. Edwin W. Johnson Jr., 31, GA
1st Lt. Michael E. Johnson, 25, VA
Staff Sgt. Aaron M. Kenefick, 30, GA
Petty Officer 3rd Class James R. Layton, 22, CA
Pvt. Artur Pyc, 27, Poland
Sgt. Maj. Mark Leijsen, 44, Netherlands
Cpl. Jean-François Drouin, 31, Canada
Sgt. Randy M. Haney, 27, FL
Staff Sgt. Michael C. Murphrey, 25, TX
Maj. Yannick Pépin, Canada
May the souls of the faithful departed,through the mercy of God, rest in peace.Amen.
BALTIMORE (AP) - Community activist group ACORN is suing the makers of a hidden-camera video that showed employees of its Baltimore office giving tax advice to a man posing as a pimp and a woman posing as a prostitute.
The liberal group contends that the audio portion of the video was obtained illegally because Maryland requires two-party consent to create sound recordings.
The two employees seen in the video were fired after it was posted online. The lawsuit says the employees, Tonja Thompson and Shera Williams, suffered "extreme emotional distress."
The multimillion-dollar lawsuit seeks damages from James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles, who played the pimp and prostitute in the videos, and from conservative columnist Andrew Breitbart, who posted the videos on his Web site.
Yeah stupid, that's right. Go sue the whistleblowers and keep this story in the public eye that much longer. SHEESH! How dumb do these fools get?
Found this at the Wall Street Journal vis Lucianne.com:
Energy Secretary Chu: A teaching moment (AP)
Speaking on the sidelines of a smart grid conference in Washington, Dr. Chu said he didn’t think average folks had the know-how or will to to change their behavior enough to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. ( I hate it when a public official speaks of his employers in a condescending tone.)
“The American public…just like your teenage kids, aren’t acting in a way that they should act,” Dr. Chu said. “The American public has to really understand in their core how important this issue is.” (In that case, the Energy Department has a few renegade teens of its own.) (Gee, I'd have sworn my old man died 32 years ago. Guess I was wrong.)
The administration aims to teach them—literally. The Environmental Protection Agency is focusing on real children. Partnering with the Parent Teacher Organization, the agency earlier this month launched a cross-country tour of 6,000 schools to teach students about climate change and energy efficiency. (We wonder why Jack and Jill can't read/write/count past ten without removing their shoes? Here's the reason, they're spending too much time being brainwashed with this shit.)
“We’re showing people across the country how energy efficiency can be part of what they do every day,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “Confronting climate change, saving money on our utility bills, and reducing our use of heavily-polluting energy can be as easy as making a few small changes.” (I REALLY, REALLY hate it when public officials speak of their employers in a condescending tone!)
Still, Secretary Chu said he didn’t think that the public would throw the same political temper tantrum over climate legislation has has happened with the healthcare debate.
Asked if he expected a town-hall style pushback, Dr. Chu said he was optimistic the public would buy the administration’s arguments that energy efficiency and caps on greenhouse-gas emissions will spark an economic rebound. (Uh-huh. Turn off the lights and your wallet starts to swell. Noted.)
“I don’t think so…maybe I’m optimistic, but there’s very little debate” that a new green energy economy will bring economic prosperity, Mr. Chu told reporters. (No debate possible when dissenters are marginalized or shouted down. Doesn't mean everyone is in agreement.)
Don’t look now, but there’s actually quite a lot of debate as to the economic merits of the new green-energy economy. Whether that will spell a healthcare-style revolt against the energy and climate bill stewing in the Senate is another question. (We can only hope.)
An update: Energy Department spokesman Dan Leistikow added: “Secretary Chu was not comparing the public to teenagers. He was saying that we need to educate teenagers about ways to save energy. He also recognized the need to educate the broader public about how important clean energy industries are to our competitive position in the global economy. He believes public officials do have an obligation to make their case to the American people on major legislation, and that’s what he’s doing.” (Oh for the love of Pete, someone tell these fools not to piss on the public's back and then try selling it as rainwater.)
I really don't need anyone "educating" my kids on how to live properly, thats my job and mine alone. If they get anything from that in their schools it will be only regarding their physical wellbeing, not their way of living. This sounds like the "get 'em while they're young" mindset in action.
These public servants should be reminded they're just that, servants employed by the general public. I doubt many folks appreciate the hired help criticizing how they live.
...in the state of Washington. Found this at Breitbart.com;
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A criminally insane killer from eastern Washington is on the run after escaping during a field trip to the county fair that his mental hospital organized. (Are the inmates running that asylum?)
Why such a dangerous person was out in public was a question many, including Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, were asking as authorities searched for Phillip Arnold Paul.
Authorities at Eastern State Hospital, where Paul is a patient, are being criticized for allowing him to visit the fair despite his violent criminal past and a history of trying to escape. (Ya think?)
"Why was he allowed to take such a trip?" the governor said Friday. "Why did they go to a location that was so heavily populated with families?" (Hey Gov, homocidal maniacs are people too!)
Authorities believed Paul, 47, was headed for the Sunnyside, Wash., area where his parents and many siblings live. (I'll bet they're sleeping well tonight, or not.)
Paul was committed after he was acquitted by reason of insanity in the 1987 slaying of an elderly woman, whose body he soaked in gasoline to throw off search dogs. Paul buried the woman's remains in her flower garden. (Yep, crazy as a shithouse rat. Shoulda been locked up with no chance of getting out.)
In 1991, Paul walked away during a day trip to a Washington lake and was later captured. He attacked a sheriff's deputy in the jail booking area, knocking him unconscious, and was convicted of first-degree escape and second-degree assault. (So he has a history of trying to escape and these fools STILL took him to the fair?)
Spokane County sheriff's officials were told Paul had $50 when he escaped Thursday—enough money to buy a bus ticket, said sheriff's spokesman Dave Reagan.
Paul also had time, according to a union that said hospital administrators waited nearly two hours before calling law enforcement. The union said workers alerted their superiors minutes after discovering Paul's escape.
"They believe he was an extreme escape risk and the administration should never have allowed him on the field trip," a statement from the Washington Federation of State Employees said. "The workers have unsuccessfully fought to stop the outings for murderers, rapists and pedophiles committed to the hospital as criminally insane." (All of which tells me this isn't the only dangerous nutjob checking out corn dogs and cotton candy.)
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich also insisted there was a two-hour delay before law enforcement were alerted, while Susan Dreyfus, secretary of the Department of Social and Health Services, said it was not clear how long it took.
Paul is a white male, 5-foot-8, 220 pounds, with brownish-gray hair, blue eyes, and a goatee. At the time of his escape, Paul was wearing a red windbreaker jacket, with a T-shirt and jeans.
Paul has been on and off a variety of medications over the years, and also been in and out of institutions, his brother Tom Paul said.
"He is in a bad mental state," his brother, Tom Paul, told The Associated Press. "Why would they load him on a bus and take him to a fair?" (Because they're idiots.)
Thirty-one patients from the mental hospital were on the trip Thursday with 11 staff members. Dreyfus said she did not know how many of those had violent criminal backgrounds. (Lovely.)
Patients must be cleared by a treatment team before they can go on trips to stores, parks, and other sites, said Dr. Rob Henry, director of forensic services at Eastern State. They wear street clothing and staff members are required to keep each patient within eyesight at all times. (Why in hell aren't they shackled to them if they MUST go out?)
Henry said trips to the fair were an annual event. The last escape from the forensic unit occurred in 1992, he said. (Uh-huh. Was that the last escape attempt or the last SUCCESSFUL ONE?)
It is possible a 15-day review, which will be in part conducted by the state Department of Corrections, will end such outings, Dreyfus said. She has ordered an investigation that includes both state mental hospitals. (Possible? Possible? These people are just as nutso as their patients and just as dangerous if they're exposing the general public to danger in such a blase fashion!)
The state Department of Social and Health Services, meanwhile, has ordered an immediate end to trips like the one taken Thursday to the fair and launched an investigation into the practice.
Paul had a normal childhood in Sunnyside, 200 miles southwest of Spokane, his brother said.
But he started acting strangely as a high school student, his brother said, and he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Paul was living in a halfway house in Spokane last year, but ended up back at the hospital in a very agitated state, Tom Paul said. Hospital officials said Paul hadn't exhibited violent behavior in years. They argued in the past that he should be released, but his petition for release was rejected in 2003. (What. A. Crock. If he killed someone and is found not guilty by reason of insanity he should NEVER, EVER be let out of the loonybin. Period. End of story.)
The sheriff's office said Friday that Paul's medication should keep him stable for 14 days. (Terrific, glad I don't live in Washington. But that doesn't mean something similar isn't happening here in Texas. Sad to say but sometimes you'd think this state was having an invasion of the liberal bodysnatchers. I'm not joking either. Thank God for the 2nd Amendment.)
Because neither of the two major ones is really representing traditional Judeo/Christian values. Here's an example found on The Columbus Dispatch website via Pewsitter;
Steele says abortion-rigths candidates OK
Despite the strong anti-abortion position in the Republican National Committee's platform, Chairman Michael Steele said last week that the party must be open to candidates who favor abortion rights.
In a brief interview Thursday in Grandview's Knotty Pine restaurant after rallying partisans against President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, Steele said that GOP candidates' views on abortion should reflect the views of the communities in which they live. Reminded that he was standing in the 15th Congressional District, known as a moderate swing district, Steele was asked if there is room in the party for a pro-abortion rights candidate such as Steve Stivers, who is favored to win the GOP nomination next year to challenge incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy.
"There absolutely is, there absolutely is," Steele said. "The key thing right now -- and I think this is true for Republicans across the country -- is to have leadership that reflects the communities I live in, where we're from. As we get ready for the battles that lie ahead from this district to all the districts surrounding the state, that you're going to find those candidates emerge and rise up who reflect those values in those communities, and that's a very important step for the party to take, I think, and I'm looking forward to help lead that charge in the future."
Told of Steele's comments, Michael Gonadakis, executive director of Ohio Right to Life, said, "I'm scratching my head, because I believe Republican candidates should relfect the views of the Republican platform."
Gonadakis acknowledged that it would be difficult to reflect the views of a community, because every community includes citizens with different views about abortion -- although he said a survey by his organization indicated that a majority of Ohioans, including those in the 15th district, oppose abortion rights.
Stivers narrowly lost the 15th District race against Kilroy in 2008, in part because two third party candidates, including one who emphasized his anti-abortion stance, combined to garner about nine percent of the votes. Ohio Right to Life did not endorse Stivers in 2008. Gonadakis said Ohio Right to Life's political action committee, with approval from the organization's board of trustees, will decide whether to issue a 2010 endorsement in the 15th District.
"We're sad the party hasn't identified a pro-life candidate when there are other candidates they can support," he said.
David B. Ryon, formerly a candidate for Hilliard mayor, has filed paperwork to challenge Stivers in the GOP primary next May. In a press release, Ryon said the party should not nominate "a pro-murder candidate."
Those of us who have voted Republican in the past may want to let the bastards know our feelings. Here's Steele's Facebook page address; http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Steele-RNC-Chairman/108882372385#/pages/Michael-Steele-RNC-Chairman/108882372385?v=info, here's the address for the GOP website; http://www.gop.com/splashpage/index.aspx
I remember "back in the day" when my parents would make sure I was properly dressed with lunch box in hand and pack me off to school, secure in the knowledge my little brain was being properly schooled in a completely innocuous manner.
Those were the days and it'll be a while before we see them again;
San Francisco, Calif., Sep 18, 2009 / 06:12 am (CNA).- A homosexual activist group is claiming that groups at dozens of high schools and middle schools in California, including at least one Catholic school, have signed up to show and discuss its explicit films. The films include one in which a boy “comes out” by wearing his mother’s bikini.
Another film uses Native American spirituality to depict lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people as being “two-spirit” people.
Parts of the discussion materials encourage students to question whether religious and cultural celebrations such as bar mitzvahs wrongly discourage homosexual and transgender lifestyles, the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) reports.
PJI said it was not clear whether the films are being shown predominantly during class time or in meetings of LGBT student clubs.
“They are clearly being marketed for showing in class and in school assemblies,” PJI says in a press release.
The films and accompanying school materials are being distributed by Youth in Motion, a partnership between the Gay-Straight Alliance Network and the LGBT media group Frameline.
“Our goal is to give student activists and teachers new tools to educate their peers about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history and culture (and have fun doing it!). And we believe that an inclusive curriculum is one step to creating truly safe and welcoming schools,” Youth in Motion says on its website.
Trying to draw on the controversy of Proposition 8 in California, Youth in Motion promotes its videos on “hot topics” such as “marriage equality.”
The group claims over 250 schools have registered for the program.
The list of registered schools includes high schools throughout California and some middle and junior high schools. At least one elementary school is on the list. Many of the schools are located in the Bay Area and Southern California, but the Sacramento area and small communities are also affected.
Notre Dame High School, a Catholic girl’s school in Belmont, Calif. sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, is on the list of schools registered for the Youth in Motion curriculum.
“PJI will continue to investigate whether any opt-out laws are being violated by the showing of these films,” said PJI president Brad Dacus. “Any parents whose opt-out requests are denied by their child's school should contact PJI immediately.”
Found this at the Washington Post website via Lucianne.com.
Honest to God, nobody can make this stuff up. Just imagine if Laura Bush had gone out shopping in this fashion, the MSM would be singing like the Temptations;
Hi-Ho, the Derry-O
By Dana Milbank
Friday, September 18, 2009
Let's say you're preparing dinner and you realize with dismay that you don't have any certified organic Tuscan kale. What to do? (I'm all ears as this is an everyday predicament in the Subvet household. Seriously, just where does one go to get good Tuscan kale on such short notice?)
Here's how Michelle Obama handled this very predicament Thursday afternoon:
The Secret Service and the D.C. police brought in three dozen vehicles and shut down H Street, Vermont Avenue, two lanes of I Street and an entrance to the McPherson Square Metro station. They swept the area, in front of the Department of Veterans Affairs, with bomb-sniffing dogs and installed magnetometers in the middle of the street, put up barricades to keep pedestrians out, and took positions with binoculars atop trucks. Though the produce stand was only a block or so from the White House, the first lady hopped into her armored limousine and pulled into the market amid the wail of sirens. (I don't suppose she could have just had the White House cook nip out and grab some greens? Nope, it wouldn't allow her to rub elbows with the hoi polloi. Gotta keep that "common touch".)
Then, and only then, could Obama purchase her leafy greens. "Now it's time to buy some food," she told several hundred people who came to watch. "Let's shop!"
Cowbells were rung. Somebody put a lei of marigolds around Obama's neck. (Yeah, I get that same reception when I walk into WalMart.) The first lady picked up a straw basket and headed for the "Farm at Sunnyside" tent, where she loaded up with organic Asian pears, cherry tomatoes, multicolored potatoes, free-range eggs and, yes, two bunches of Tuscan kale. She left the produce with an aide, who paid the cashier as Obama made her way back to the limousine.
There's nothing like the simple pleasures of a farm stand to return us to our agrarian roots. (Doncha love living the simple life?)
The first lady had encouraged Freshfarm Markets, the group that runs popular farmers markets in Dupont Circle and elsewhere, to set up near the White House, and she helped get the approvals to shut down Vermont Avenue during rush hour on Thursdays. But the result was quite the opposite of a quaint farmers market. Considering all the logistics, each tomato she purchased had a carbon footprint of several tons. (I'm sure she'll buy some offsets from Al Gore.)
The promotion of organic and locally grown food, though an admirable cause, is a risky one for the Obamas, because there's a fine line between promoting healthful eating and sounding like a snob. The president, when he was a candidate in 2007, got in trouble in Iowa when he asked a crowd, "Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?" Iowans didn't have a Whole Foods. (How plebeian!)
For that reason, it's probably just as well that the first lady didn't stop by the Endless Summer Harvest tent yesterday. The Virginia farm had a sign offering "tender baby arugula" -- hydroponically grown, pesticide free -- and $5 for four ounces, which is $20 a pound. (What a bargain!)
Obama, in her brief speech to the vendors and patrons, handled the affordability issue by pointing out that people who pay with food stamps would get double the coupon value at the market. (They're probably lining up for blocks to get in now.) Even then, though, it's hard to imagine somebody using food stamps to buy what the market offered: $19 bison steak from Gunpowder Bison, (wonder how that tastes when you grind it up for hamburgers?) organic dandelion greens for $12 per pound from Blueberry Hill Vegetables, the Piedmont Reserve cheese from Everson Dairy at $29 a pound. Rounding out the potential shopping cart: $4 for a piece of "walnut dacquoise" (the who-da-wha-da-huh? Is that anything like a Ring Ding or HoHo?) from the Praline Bakery, $9 for a jumbo crab cake at Chris's Marketplace, $8 for a loaf of cranberry-walnut bread and $32 for a bolt of yarn. (Yep, I can just see this particular First Lady doing the artsy-craftsy thing. Only for a photo op.)
The first lady said the market would particularly appeal to federal employees in nearby buildings to "pick up some good stuff for dinner." (Hey Michelle, Domino's delivers!)Yet even they might think twice about spending $3 for a pint of potatoes when potatoes are on sale for 40 cents a pound at Giant. They could get nearly five dozen eggs at Giant for the $5 Obama spent for her dozen.
But whatever the socioeconomics, there can be no doubt that Obama brought some serious attention to her cause. Hundreds of people crowded the market entrance on I Street as police directed pedestrians to alternative subway entrances. Hundreds braved a light rain and gave a hearty cheer when Obama and her entourage took the stage. "I can't imagine there's been a day in the history of our country when people have been more excited about farmers markets," Mayor Adrian Fenty, Obama's warm-up act, told the crowd. (Give. Me. A. Break.)
The first lady, in gray slacks and blue sweater, marveled that the people were "so pumped up" despite the rain. "I have never seen so many people so excited about fruits and vegetables!" she said. (Must be the tender baby arugula.)
She spoke of the global reach of her cause: "The first thing world leaders, prime ministers, kings, queens ask me about is the White House garden. And then they ask about Bo." (You. Must. Be. Shitting. Me. Somehow I don't see Vladimir Putin checking out the tomatoes and squash.)
She spoke of the fuel fed to the world's most powerful man: "I've learned that when my family eats fresh food, healthy food, that it really affects how we feel, how we get through the day . . . whether there's a Cabinet meeting or whether we're just walking the dog." (Yeah, this article is affecting how I feel. Wish I'd skipped breakfast about now.)
And she spoke of her own culinary efforts: "There are times when putting together a healthy meal is harder than you might imagine." (Something I'm SURE you know all about. Noted.)
Particularly when it involves a soundstage, an interpreter for the deaf, three TV satellite trucks and the closing of part of downtown Washington. (Hey, deaf people shop too ya know!)
Three years, four months to go. Wonder if we'll make it?
Not that I really needed one. Found this via Lucianne.com ;
(CBS/AP) "The Newlywed Game" is bringing on its first gay couple.
It's a celebrity duo for the long-running game show, now on the GSN cable network. George Takei, who played Mr. Sulu on "Star Trek," will appear with his partner, Brad Altman. They just celebrated their first anniversary after being married in Los Angeles.
Takei and Altman have been together for 22 years, so they're nothing like the giggly young couples who appeared on the first version of the show.
The new edition of "The Newlywed Game" began airing on GSN a year ago and has been a ratings success. Singer Carnie Wilson has replaced Bob Eubanks as host.
A year ago, Takei and Altman visited "The Early Show" to talk about their wedding day. In an exclusive interview, they talked about the joys of being a newly married couple at long last and their concern over a ballot initiative to ban gay marriage in the state of California.
"George, how was the wedding? Was it everything you dreamed of?" asked co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez at that time.
"It was exquisite. It was magical," Takei said. "It's something we're going to remember for the rest our lives."
"Brad, you've been married two whole days. How is married life?" Rodriguez asked.
"It's great, but we've been busy sending out thank you e-mails to all of the musicians and singers and entertainers that helped make our wedding the best day of our lives," Altman said.
And as for the legal ramifications.
"It has made us equal to everybody and that makes a world of difference," Takei said. "We feel just fantastic."
"Give me some examples, Brad, of how it has made you equal in the eyes of the law," Rodriguez said.
"Well, it's like any -- we're a long-term well-established couple and been together more than 21 years and now in California we have marriage equality. Marriage is a fundamental right for all Californians and I'm legally -- George is my husband and it makes a world of difference."
I really don't care to watch a couple of fudgepacking fools extol the joys of their "marriage". Yes, I'm a bigot, and proud of it!
Here's a link to the Washington Post regarding how B.O. & Co. are fighting back these days;
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/15/AR2009091503697.html?hpid=topnews
This quote stood out, "... nothing is clean and nothing is simple," a senior administration official said..." Funny, I've had that same thought since Jan. 20.
The blog entry that pointed me to this story is listed below. I call attention to where the author has seen this sort of thing before:
Domine, da mihi hanc aquam!: B.O. rewrote school speech after the fuss#links#links
If you're feeling poetic I'd suggest stopping at Creative Minority Report for this article. Leave a comment showing you've been struck by your muse (or something).
That will be the next routine accusation, try proving you're not guilty of THAT one!
Washington D.C., Sep 16, 2009 / 03:34 am (CNA).- Charging that the traditional definition of marriage is “discriminatory,” U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) has announced that he will reintroduce a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). One critic of the measure is warning that it will lead to discrimation against those who support marriage between a man and a woman.
DOMA defines marriage for federal purposes and protects states that do not recognize same-sex “marriage” from being forced to do so. The Act was passed in 1996 by a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives of 342-67 and in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 85-14.
A September 15 statement from Rep. Nadler’s office characterized the legislation as one of the United States’ “most discriminatory laws,” accusing DOMA of singling out “legally married” same-sex couples for discriminatory treatment and denying them “critical” federal responsibilities and rights such as Social Security.
In its place, Rep. Nadler and 91 co-sponsors have proposed a “Respect for Marriage Act.” Rep. Nadler’s office said the act would repeal DOMA “in its entirety” but would only pertain to the recognition of marriage for the purposes of federal law.
It claims that marriage recognition under state law would continue to be decided by each state. However, it also claims to restore a historical approach of states determining whether to recognize a marriage under the principles of “comity” and “Full Faith and Credit.”
DOMA was passed in part because of concerns the “Full Faith and Credit” clause of the U.S. Constitution would force states to recognize homosexual “marriages” contracted in states which recognize the unions.
“In support of families throughout the nation, our legislation will extend to same-sex, legally married couples the same federal rights and recognition now offered to heterosexual married couples, nothing more, nothing less,” argued Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Co-Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus.
She said the repeal of DOMA was “a necessary step toward full equality for LGBT Americans.”
Rep. Nadler’s office said the legislation had been written with the cooperation of LGBT and civil rights “stakeholders and legislators.” The statement also noted that President Barack Obama has endorsed the repeal of DOMA on the grounds it is discriminatory and interferes with states’ rights.
However, a statement from the National Organization of Women criticized the Obama administration, saying the administration “strongly denounced and defended” DOMA.
“Rep. Nadler is doing what the Obama administration has failed to do: take a hard line on DOMA and say discrimination and bigotry do not belong in the law,” said NOW Executive Vice President Bonnie Grabenhofer.
Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), criticized the effort to repeal DOMA.
“The citizens of 39 states have worked hard to pass legislation and constitutional amendments to protect marriage as the union between one man and one woman,” she said. “DOMA ensures the integrity of our constitutional system and the will of Americans. DOMA reflects the reality that marriage provides unique benefits to individuals, children, and society which cannot be replicated by any other living arrangement.”
Wright remarked that the Defense of Marriage Act anticipated the “assault” that “homosexual activists” would inflict upon marriage, saying that the legislation honored “the will of the people.”
Shari Rendall, Director of Legislation and Public Policy at CWA, charged that homosexual activists and their congressional allies are making the “outrageous claim” that protecting marriage is a form of discrimination.
Rendall asserted that overturning marriage laws will result in “reverse discrimination” against those who believe marriage is between one man and one woman.
So I'd guess we'll next have affirmative action quotas for the PTO, etc. If there aren't enough gay married couples involved then there must be homophobia somewhere. Maybe someone will even try suing the various churches for promoting the Bible, after all you don't find many "same sex couples" mentioned there. Except as a lead-in to the destruction of Sodom.
