tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-106257102024-03-23T14:24:33.788-04:00618 Rants and RavesThis is my outlet for news, notes, and commentary on safety, security, crime, the legal system, politics, emergency medicine, emergency management, and whatever else pops into my mind...
NOTE: This site uses cookies from Google to deliver its services, to personalize ads and to analyze traffic. Information about your use of this site is shared with Google. By using this site, you agree to its use of cookies.Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.comBlogger656125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-12661078634104240012023-06-19T18:20:00.000-04:002023-06-19T18:20:18.627-04:00Return of the Hall of Shame<p> E<span style="font-size: medium;">very once in a while, I feel obliged to update and re-post this list of Republican sex offenders, since the GQP crowd keeps demanding the right to be our moral arbiters.</span></p><ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
aide <a href="http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view/2009_05_30_Former_Pa__state_senate_staffer_accused_of_child_sex_crime/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Alan David Berlin</span></a> was arrested on charges
that he wanted to engage in sex acts with a 15-year-old boy while dressed
in a panda costume.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
news producer <a href="http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/2009/02/fox-news-producer-busted-for-child-porn.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Aaron Bruns</span></a> was arrested on charges of
possessing child pornography.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
activist and former presidential campaign chairman <a href="http://coloradoindependent.com/20907/pueblo-manager-for-mccain-campaign-arrested-on-molestation-charges"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Jeffrey Claude Bartleson</span></a> was arrested on
charges of sexually molesting a 5-year old boy.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
activist and former chairman of the Christian County Republicans <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/fessenden.png"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Royce Fessenden</span></a> pleaded guilty to two
counts of first-degree child molestation and one count of second-degree
statutory sodomy. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
parole board officer and former legislator <a href="http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=753865&category=ALBANY&BCCode=&newsdate=12/26/2008"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">George C. (Chris) Ortloff</span></a> pleaded guilty
to attempting to lure 11- and 12-year-old girls to have sex with him. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
legislative aide <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/nyregion/17pornography.html?bl&ex=1224388800&en=7349c3908c52867d&ei=5087%0A"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Robert R. Groezinger</span></a> was arrested for
possessing child pornography. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
legislator <a href="http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=202855&format=html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Robert A. McKee</span></a> pleaded guilty to
possessing child pornography. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
legislator <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2008/08/blunt-kinder-call-on-muschany-to-resign/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Scott Muschany</span></a> was charged with molesting
a 14-year old girl. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
chief of staff <a href="http://www.newstribune.com/articles/2008/10/05/politics_and_elections/news/088news54aide.txt"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Eric Feltner</span></a> pleaded guilty to showing
pornography to a 13-year old girl. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
presidential campaign official <a href="http://rawstory.com/news/2007/ExRomney_aide_College_Republican_head_busted_0125.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Matthew Joseph Elliott </span></a>was convicted of
sexual exploitation of a child. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Party Chairman <a href="http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Wisconsin_GOP_chair_faces_charges_in_1014.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Donald Fleischman </span></a>was charged with two
counts of child enticement, two counts of contributing to the delinquency
of a child and a single charge of exposing himself to a child. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
prosecutor <a href="http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14132485/detail.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">John David Roy Atchison </span></a>was arrested for
soliciting sex from a 5-year old girl, then killed himself three weeks
later. At the time of his arrest, <st1:city w:st="on">Atchison</st1:city>
was an "assistant <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
attorney" <a href="http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title3/2musa.htm#3-2.200"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">appointed</span></a> by President Bush's attorney
general. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
city councilman <a href="http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2006/11/crossover_endor.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">John Bryan </span></a>killed himself after police
began <a href="http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=62840"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">investigating allegations</span></a> that he had
molested three girls, including two of his adopted daughters, ages 12 and
15. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
legislator <a href="http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail6162.cfm?Id=0,57158"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Ted Klaudt </span></a>was charged with raping girls
under the age of 16. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
city councilman <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Joseph_Monteleone.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Joseph Monteleone Jr. </span></a>was found guilty of
fondling underage girls. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
congressional aide <a href="http://blogs.ocweekly.com/blotter/rohrabacher-the-reg-the-accused-boy-molester/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Jeffrey Nielsen</span></a> was arrested for <a href="http://www.ocweekly.com/news/news/our-thing/25902/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">having sex</span></a> with a 14-year old boy. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
County Commissioner <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Patrick_Lee_McGuire.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Patrick Lee McGuire</span></a> surrendered to police
after allegedly molesting girls between the ages of 8 and 13. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
prosecutor <a href="http://www.komotv.com/news/4795006.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Larry Corrigan</span></a> was arrested for soliciting
sex from 13-year old girls. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Mayor <a href="http://www.wkbt.com/global/story.asp?s=4075665&ClientType=Print"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Jeffrey Kyle Randall</span></a> was sentenced to 275
days in jail for molesting two boys -- ages ten and 12 -- during a
six-year period. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
County Board Candidate <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Brent_Schepp2.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Brent Schepp</span></a> was charged with <a href="http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_287070749.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">molesting</span></a> a 14-year old girl and <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Brent_Schepp3.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">killed himself</span></a> three days later. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Congressman <a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/exclusive_the_s.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Mark Foley</span></a> abruptly resigned from Congress
after <a href="http://stopsexpredators.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">"sexually explicit"</span></a> emails
surfaced showing him flirting with a 16-year old boy. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
executive <a href="http://washingtontimes.com/metro/20061120-115903-8697r.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Randall Casseday</span></a> of the conservative
Washington Times newspaper pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from a 13-year
old girl on the internet. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
chairman of the Oregon Christian Coalition <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Lou_Beres.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Lou Beres</span></a> confessed to molesting a 13-year
old girl. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
County Constable <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Larry_Dale_Floyd2.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Larry Dale Floyd</span></a> pleaded <a href="http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/120106dnmetconstable.3e5d079f.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">guilty</span></a> to <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Larry_Dale_Floyd4.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">charges</span></a> of soliciting sex from an 8-year
old girl. Floyd has repeatedly won <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Larry_Dale_Floyd3.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">elections</span></a> for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Denton County</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place>,
constable. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
judge <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807E6DE1331F935A35752C0A9629C8B63" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Mark Pazuhanich</span></a>
pleaded <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Mark_Pazuhanich.htm" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">no contest</span></a> to
fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Party leader <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Bobby_Stumbo.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Bobby Stumbo</span></a> was arrested for having sex
with a 5-year old boy. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
petition drive manager <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/homepage/article_1158949.php"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Tom Randall</span></a> pleaded guilty to molesting
two girls under the age of 14, one of them the daughter of an associate in
the petition business. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
County Chairman <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Armando_Tebano2.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Armando Tebano</span></a> pleaded guilty to fondling
a 14-year-old <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Armando_Tebano.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">girl</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
teacher and former city councilman <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/John_Collins.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">John Collins</span></a> pleaded guilty to sexually
molesting 13 and 14 year old girls. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
campaign worker <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Mark_Seidensticker5.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Mark Seidensticker</span></a> is a convicted child
molester. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Mayor <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Giordano.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Philip Giordano</span></a> is serving a 37-year
sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Mayor <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Tom_Adams2.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Tom Adams</span></a> was arrested for distributing
child pornography over the internet.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Mayor <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/John_Gosek.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">John Gosek</span></a> was arrested on charges of
soliciting sex from two 15-year old girls.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
County Commissioner <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/David_Swartz.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">David Swartz</span></a> pleaded guilty to molesting
two girls under the age of 11 and was <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/David_Swartz2.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">sentenced</span></a> to 8 years in prison.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
legislator <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Edison_Misla_Aldarondo.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Edison Misla Aldarondo</span></a> was <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/misla.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">sentenced</span></a>
to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and
17. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Committeeman <a href="http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070619/NEWS/706190304/-1/NEWS01"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">John R. Curtin</span></a> was convicted of molesting
an underage teenage boy and sentenced to serve six to 18 months in prison.
<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
anti-abortion activist <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Howard_Scott_Heldreth1.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Howard Scott Heldreth</span></a> is a <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Howard_Scott_Heldreth2.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">convicted</span></a> child rapist in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Florida</st1:state></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
zoning supervisor, <a href="http://www.ksn.com/news/stories/7036051.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Boy Scout leader</span></a> and Lutheran church
president <a href="http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0502/28/lkl.01.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Dennis L. Rader</span></a> pleaded guilty to
performing a <a href="http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/unsolved/btk/33.html?sect=4"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">sexual act</span></a> on an 11-year old girl he
murdered. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
anti-abortion activist <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/morency2.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Nicholas Morency</span></a> pleaded guilty to
possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to
anybody who murders an abortion doctor. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
campaign consultant <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Tom_Shortridge.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Tom Shortridge</span></a> was sentenced to three
years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
racist pedophile and United States Senator <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3321483.stm" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Strom Thurmond</span></a> had sex with a 15-year old
black girl which produced a child.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
pastor <a href="http://www.theiowachannel.com/news/3976822/detail.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Mike Hintz</span></a>, whom
George W. Bush <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/10/20041004-7.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">commended</span></a> during the
2004 presidential <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/hintz_grassley.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">campaign</span></a>, surrendered to police after
admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
legislator <a href="http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=1913548" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Peter Dibble</span></a> pleaded
no contest to having an <a href="http://www.newschannel8.com/Global/story.asp?S=1749917" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">inappropriate</span></a> relationship with a
13-year-old girl.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
advertising consultant <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Carey_Lee_Cramer.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Carey Lee Cramer</span></a> was sentenced to six
years in prison for molesting two 8-year old girls, one of whom appeared
in an anti-Gore television commercial.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
fundraiser <a href="http://www.voxfux.com/features/bush_child_sex_coverup/franklin.htm" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Lawrence E. King, Jr.</span></a>
organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
lobbyist <a href="http://www.voxfux.com/features/bush_child_sex_coverup/franklin.htm" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Craig J. Spence</span></a>
organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Congressman <a href="http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/from_redirect/0,10987,1101890213-151183,00.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Donald "Buz" Lukens</span></a>
was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one
month in jail.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
fundraiser <a href="http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/2153721/detail.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Richard A. Delgaudio</span></a>
was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to
pose for sexual photos.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
activist <a href="http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/2002/03/26_Republican_Who_Like_Children.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Mark A. Grethen</span></a>
convicted on six counts of <a href="http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opncavtx/3244031.txt"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">sex crimes</span></a> involving children.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
campaign chairman <a href="http://blogs.salon.com/0002551/2003/12/08.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Randal David Ankeney</span></a>
pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child and was <a href="http://www.coloradoconfidential.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=4D86342CB24E8D0CE2C29C1D77C9DBB9?diaryId=749"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">arrested again</span></a> five years later on the
same charge.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Congressman <a href="http://archive.salon.com/col/cona/1998/10/05cona.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Dan Crane</span></a> had sex
with a female minor working as a congressional page.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
activist and Christian Coalition leader <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/02/opinion/journal-beverly-russell-s-prayers.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Beverly Russell</span></a>
admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Judge <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00914F93A550C718CDDAA0894DA404482" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Ronald C. Kline</span></a>
pleaded <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1585206.php"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">guilty</span></a> to possession of child pornography
on his home computer. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
congressman and anti-gay activist <a href="http://www.glinn.com/news/h122989a.htm" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Robert Bauman</span></a> was charged with having sex
with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Committee Chairman <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/jeffrey_patti.htm" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Jeffrey Patti</span></a> was arrested for
distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
activist <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/01/top10_2001_15.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Marty Glickman</span></a>
(a.k.a. "Republican Marty"), was taken into custody by <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Florida</st1:state></st1:place> police on
four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl and one
count of delivering the drug LSD.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
legislative aide <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/static/live/news/calreport/N2001-11-22-2300-0.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Howard L. Brooks</span></a> was
charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Senate candidate <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/hathaway1.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">John Hathaway</span></a> was accused of having sex
with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the
allegations were reported in the media.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
preacher <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Stephen_White.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Stephen White</span></a>, who demanded a return to
traditional values, was sentenced prison after offering $20 to a
14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
talk show host <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Jon%20Matthews.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Jon Matthews </span></a>pleaded <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Jon%20Matthews%20Guilty.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">guilty</span></a> to exposing his genitals to an 11
year old girl.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
anti-gay activist <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/kimmerling.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Earl "Butch" Kimmerling</span></a> was
sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he
attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Party leader <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Paul%20Ingram.htm" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Paul Ingram</span></a> pleaded
guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in
federal prison.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
election board official <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/3/5/161648.shtml" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Kevin Coan</span></a> was
sentenced to two years <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/kevin_coan.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">probation</span></a> for soliciting sex over the
internet from a 14-year old girl. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
politician <a href="http://www.thevitalvoice.com/2002/2002_1227/rathmann.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Andrew Buhr</span></a> was charged with two counts of
first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
legislator <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Keith_Westmoreland.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Keith Westmoreland</span></a> was arrested on seven
felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of
16 (i.e. exposing himself to children).<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
anti-abortion activist <a href="http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=7849" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">John Allen Burt</span></a> was
found <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/John_Allen_Burt3.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">guilty</span></a> of molesting a 15-year old <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/john_allen_burt.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">girl</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
County Councilman <a href="http://starbulletin.com/2000/07/20/news/briefs.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Keola Childs</span></a> pleaded guilty to molesting a
male child.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
activist <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/John_Butler2.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">John Butler</span></a> was charged with criminal
sexual assault on a teenage girl.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
candidate <a href="http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2002/Oct-30-Wed-2002/news/19951668.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Richard Gardner</span></a>
admitted to <a href="http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2002/Nov-11-Mon-2002/news/20019575.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">molesting</span></a> his two
daughters.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Councilman and former Marine <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Jack_Gardner2.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Jack W. Gardner</span></a> was convicted of <a href="http://5thestate.com/030628.htm" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">molesting</span></a>
a 13-year old girl.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
County Commissioner <a href="http://boothbayregister.maine.com/1999-04-15/barter_pleads_guilty.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Merrill Robert Barter</span></a>
pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
City Councilman <a href="http://www.thewgalchannel.com/news/4176008/detail.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr.</span></a> pleaded no contest
to <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Smeltzer4.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">raping</span></a> a 15 year-old girl and served
6-months in prison.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
activist <a href="http://blogs.salon.com/0002551/2003/12/08.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Parker J. Bena</span></a>
pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and
was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
parole board officer and former <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Colorado</st1:state></st1:place>
state representative, <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/schwarz.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Larry Jack Schwarz</span></a>, was fired after child
pornography was found in his possession.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
strategist and <st1:placename w:st="on">Citadel</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Military</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype>
graduate <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Vanderwall.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Robin Vanderwall</span></a> was convicted in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Virginia</st1:state></st1:place> on five
counts of soliciting <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/03/96.html" target=" "><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">sex</span></a> from boys and girls over the internet.
<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
city councilman <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Mark_Harris4.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Mark Harris</span></a>, who is described as a
"good military man" and "church goer," was convicted
of repeatedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 12
years in prison. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
businessman <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/grunseth.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Jon Grunseth</span></a> withdrew his candidacy for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Minnesota</st1:state></st1:place> governor
after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four
underage girls, including his daughter. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
campaign worker, police officer and self-proclaimed reverend <a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/06/gop_campaign_ma.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Steve Aiken</span></a> was convicted of having sex
with two underage girls.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
director of the "Young Republican Federation" <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Nicholas_Elizondo.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Nicholas Elizondo</span></a> molested his 6-year old
daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
president of the New York City Housing Development Corp. <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Russell_Harding.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Russell Harding</span></a> pleaded guilty to
possessing child pornography on his computer. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
benefactor of conservative Christian groups, <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/Richard_Dasen.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Richard A. Dasen Sr.</span></a>, was found <a href="http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/07/14/news/mtregional/news07.txt"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">guilty</span></a> of raping a 15-year old girl.
Dasen, 62, who is married with grown children and several grandchildren,
has allegedly told police that over the past decade he paid more than $1
million to have sex with a large number of young women. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican
Defense Secretary <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2004/7/14/193750/666"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Donald Rumsfeld</span></a> authorized the rape of
children in Iraqi prisons in order to humiliate their parents into
providing information about the anti-American insurgency. See excerpt of
one prisoner's report <a href="http://www.armchairsubversive.org/prisoner.jpg"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">here</span></a> and his full report <a href="http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/iraq/abughraib/151108.pdf"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">here</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ed
Schrock, Representative (Republican-Virginia) — Announced he would
terminate his 2004 attempt for a third term in Congress after allegedly
being caught on tape soliciting sex with men, despite having aggressively
opposed various gay-rights issues in Congress, such as same-sex marriage
and gays in the military.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Steven
C. LaTourette, Representative (Republican-Ohio) — was elected in 1994, and
had voted to impeach Bill Clinton for the Lewinsky scandal. He himself had
a long-term affair with his chief of staff, Jennifer Laptook, while he was
married. He married Laptook after his divorce. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Don
Sherwood, Representative (Republican-Pennsylvania) — failed to win
re-election following revelations of a five-year extramarital affair with
Cynthia Ore, who accused him of physically abusing her. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jeff
Gannon — A conservative blogger who did not qualify for a legitimate press
pass, but was routinely allowed to ask “softball” questions at White House
press conferences. Further scrutiny revealed that Gannon had posted naked
pictures of himself on multiple male escort websites. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mark
Foley, Representative (Republican-Florida) — Resigned his House seat when
accused of sending sexually explicit e-mails to teenage male congressional
pages. He was replaced by Tim Mahoney. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jim
Gibbons, Representative (Republican-Nevada) — was campaigning for Governor
when he walked waitress Chrissy Mazzeo to her car. She claimed he threw
her against a wall, and threatened to sexually assault her. He claimed she
tripped and he caught her. The civil lawsuit was settled with the payment
of $50,000 to Mazzeo. Six weeks later, he was elected governor.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">David
Vitter, Senator (Republican-Louisiana) — Took over the House seat of
former Congressman Robert Livingston, who resigned in 1999, following
revelations of an extramarital affair. At the time, Vitter stated, “I think
Livingston's stepping down makes a very powerful argument that (Bill)
Clinton should resign as well....” Vitter's name was then discovered in
the address book of Deborah Jeane Palfrey (the "D.C. Madam"). <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Randall
L. Tobias (Republican), Deputy Secretary of State and former "AIDS
Czar" appointed by George W. Bush — Stated that U.S. funds should be
denied to countries that permitted prostitution. He resigned on April 27,
2007, after confirming that he had been a customer of Deborah Jeane
Palfrey (the "D.C. Madam").<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Larry
Craig (Republican-Idaho), a U.S. Senator for 18 years — was arrested on
June 11, 2007, and charged with lewd conduct arising from his behavior in
a men's restroom at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vito
Fossella, Representative (Republican-New York) — was arrested for drunken
driving. Under questioning, the married Congressman and father of three
admitted to an affair with Laura Fay that produced a daughter.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">John
Ensign, Senator (Republican-Nevada) — Resigned his position as chairman of
the Senate Republican Policy Committee on June 16, 2009, after admitting
he had an affair with the wife of a close friend, both of whom were
working on his campaign. Under
investigation, he then resigned his Senate seat 20 months early in 2011.
In 1998, Senator Ensign had called for President Bill Clinton (Democrat)
to resign after admitting to sexual acts with Monica Lewinsky. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Chip
Pickering, Representative (Republican-Mississippi) — On July 16, 2009, it
was announced that his wife had filed an alienation of affection lawsuit
against a woman with whom Chip allegedly had an affair. The lawsuit
claimed the adulterous relationship ruined the Pickerings' marriage and
his political career. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mark
Sanford, Governor (Republican-South Carolina) — In June 2009, after having
disappeared from the state for nearly a week, Sanford publicly revealed
that he had engaged in an extramarital affair. Sanford had led his staff
to believe that he was going hiking on the Appalachian Trail, but actually
went to visit his mistress, Maria Belén Chapur, in Argentina. While the
scandal made national headlines, led to his censure by the South Carolina
General Assembly, and led to his resignation as chair of the Republican
Governors Association, Sanford did complete his second term as governor.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jack
Tarpley Camp Jr., (R) Judge of the U.S. District Court for the North
District of Georgia — Pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a felon's
possession of a controlled substance, and to two misdemeanors: illegally
giving a stripper his government-issued laptop, and possession of illegal
drugs. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 400 hours of community
service, and resignation from the bench. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mark
Souder, Representative (Republican-Indiana) — A staunch advocate of
abstinence and family values,[146][147] Souder resigned to avoid an ethics
investigation into his admitted extramarital affair with a female staffer.
<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Chris
Lee, Representative (Republican-New York) — Resigned hours after a news
report stated that he had sent a shirtless picture of himself flexing his
muscles to a woman via Craigslist, along with flirtatious e-mails. He did
not rely on a pseudonym or a false e-mail address, but used his official
Congressional e-mail for all communication. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Scott
DesJarlais, Representative (Republican-Tennessee) — Admitted under oath to
at least six affairs, including two affairs with his patients and staffers
while he was a physician at Grandview Medical Center in Jasper, TN.
Additionally, while running on a declared "pro-life"
(anti-abortion) platform, DesJarlais coerced his ex-wife into having two
abortions, and tried to persuade a mistress, who was his patient, into an
abortion as well.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vance
McAllister, Representative (Republican-Louisiana) — Although married and
the father of five, was caught on surveillance camera deeply kissing a
married staffer. Several prominent Republicans asked McAllister to resign.
<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Blake
Farenthold, Representative (Republican-Texas) — was reported to have paid
$84,000 of taxpayer money, via the House of Representatives Office of
Compliance, to settle a sexual harassment complaint from a former staffer.
Farenthold's former communications director, Lauren Greene, sued the
congressman in December 2014, and a settlement was reached in 2015. The
identity of Farenthold with respect to taxpayer involvement was made
public in 2017. This was the first documented case of taxpayer funds being
used to settle sexual harassment complaints against a member of Congress. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Dennis
Hastert, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
(Republican-Illinois) —Hastert admitted that he had sexually abused boys
while he worked as a high school wrestling coach decades earlier. [<i>Shades
of Gym Jordan</i>]<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Donald
Trump (Republican), the 45th President of the United States — was accused
of sexual assault by 25 women during the 2016 election, and he denied the
allegations. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tim
Murphy, Representative (Republican-Pennsylvania) — Had an extramarital
affair with Shannon Edwards, a 32-year-old forensic psychologist. The
self-identified "pro-life" (anti-abortion) Murphy asked Edwards
to have an abortion after she became pregnant. The information was
revealed as part of Edwards's divorce proceedings, and published by the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after it fought in Pennsylvania state court to
have the documents unsealed. Murphy resigned his seat in Congress.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Joe
Barton, Representative (Republican-Texas) — Acknowledged he took and
emailed nude photos of himself in 2015, following leaks of the photos in
November 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Trent
Franks, Representative (Republican-Arizona) — was investigated by the
House Ethics Commission about allegations of improper conduct. Before the
study concluded, Franks abruptly resigned. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pat
Meehan, Representative (Republican-Pennsylvania) — In January, 2018, it
was revealed that US Representative Pat Meehan used taxpayer funds to
settle a sexual harassment claim levied by a female staffer. He was
removed from the House Ethics Committee, but remained in office until he
resigned on April 27, 2018.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jim
Jordan, Representative (Republican-Ohio) — was accused of covering up and
failing to report sexual abuse of minors by former members of the Ohio
State University wrestling team by the team physician. There were multiple
victims during the period when Jordan was Assistant Coach of the team from
1987 to 1995. On February 12, 2020, allegations surfaced from one of those
former members that Jordan (was) "repeatedly crying and begging him
not to corroborate accounts of sexual abuse against the university’s
wrestling team doctor that occurred when Jordan was a coach."<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Roy S.
Moore, Republican candidate for the US Senate — was accused by nine women
of sexual contact and assault in the 1980s, when the women were teenaged
girls. Though Moore denied the allegations, he lost the election. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Alex
Kozinski (R) US Judge in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals appointed by
Republican Ronald Reagan, retired following allegations of sexual
misconduct from several women, including former clerks. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Madison
Cawthorn, Representative (Republican-North Carolina) — In August 2020,
during Cawthorn's campaign for Congress, several women accused him of
sexually aggressive behavior, sexual misconduct, and sexual assault. These
allegations arose once more in February 2021 after a BuzzFeed News
investigation found 20 people who said that Cawthorn had harassed his
female classmates during college. On May 4, 2022, a sex tape of Cawthorn
began circulating online. The video shows a naked Cawthorn, in bed with
another man, thrusting his genitals in the man's face. Cawthorn
acknowledged the film's veracity.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Matt
Gaetz, Representative (Republican-Florida) — In March 2021, reports
surfaced of a federal investigation into allegations that Gaetz had a
sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl in 2019. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tom
Reed, Representative (Republican-New York), was accused of sexual
harassment on March 19, 2021, by a lobbyist for an incident at a bar. In a
statement made on March 21, 2021, he apologized to her and said he would
not seek re-election in 2022. On May 10, 2022, he announced his
resignation on the House floor effective immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Van
Taylor, Representative (Republican-Texas) — In February 2022, days before
the primary election in Texas, counter-extremism activist Tania Joya
claimed that she and Taylor had an extramarital sexual affair in 2020 and
2021. Her allegations were circulated by the media. Taylor won a plurality
but not a majority in the primary, and faced a runoff election, but
suspended his campaign.[214] He formally withdrew from the runoff days
later.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol><p><br /></p>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-71368518061752840852023-06-07T14:08:00.000-04:002023-06-07T14:08:58.943-04:00Law Enforcement and Racism<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Much has been said over the years about how racism is endemic in the law enforcement world. As a former cop myself, I can tell you that probably 90% of the roughly one million police officers in this country have some extent of racial prejudice in them. This included myself.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Police spend the vast majority of their working days dealing with people whose lives are less than ideal. Many of the people we deal with have nothing, never had anything and probably never will have anything, except through crime. There is a myriad of causes:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Public schools in minority areas receive far less funding than those in affluent areas (partly based on property tax evaluations)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Lack of employment opportunities, especially meaningful employment</span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Insufficient infrastructure in cities (for example, no public transportation, making it impossible to get to work without a car, which many urban dwellers cannot afford</span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="background-color: #f0f2f5; color: #050505;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f0f2f5; color: #050505;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Unfortunately, close to 95% of police officers are extremely conservative, and support TFG and his odious beliefs. And it isn't going to change until American society recognizes the extent of the rot in the police culture, and roots it out.</span></span></p><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle" style="background-color: #f0f2f5; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">"Defunding" the police will solve nothing. What we need to do is INCREASE funding: more money for background checks, more money to attract appropriate recruits, more money for training and education, more money for Internal Affairs to get rid of the the trouble kids, more money to investigate, prosecute, and incarcerate the corrupt and venal cops.</span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle" style="background-color: #f0f2f5; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">If your police department has 100 officers, 95 of whom are crooked, you have a crooked police department. If your police department has 100 officers, and only five are crooked, but nobody does anything because: "thin blue line," you still have a crooked department.</span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle" style="background-color: #f0f2f5; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">"Blue lives matter"... so do black, brown, red, yellow, white, and purple with pink polka dots. But black America has been the target of so much hatred and violence that is it seems their lives DON'T matter. We can, ands MUST, change that mindset.</span></div></div>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-24204063897149549252023-06-07T14:01:00.001-04:002023-06-07T14:01:50.608-04:00I Am A Moron<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Apparently, I am a moron. I posted yesterday on Facebook about the fatal shooting at a high school graduation on Virginia. Seven people were shot, two of whom died. I said this:</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Another mass shooting in one of the slave states. Those fothermucking mouth-breathers love guns more than anything else, including their own children. </span></span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I was called a moron for saying that.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iPwqITWwwgLniqOcYBDVFwR4FeqPSN2hcVhyLZcikSl0Dn_WfBoIo_9_pLPvOKYwDi-ZBp7EzeX0UaK2LyefmFqsNEJOOuegVoamq6jRRaz7OjN-29-sq83waPjYaWW6-YAT_WHyRMb8gFoa7qKCb1ys36XTToaBL17o4cfMkrog1-E1v6I/s960/gun%20violence%20as%20of%2006-07-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iPwqITWwwgLniqOcYBDVFwR4FeqPSN2hcVhyLZcikSl0Dn_WfBoIo_9_pLPvOKYwDi-ZBp7EzeX0UaK2LyefmFqsNEJOOuegVoamq6jRRaz7OjN-29-sq83waPjYaWW6-YAT_WHyRMb8gFoa7qKCb1ys36XTToaBL17o4cfMkrog1-E1v6I/s320/gun%20violence%20as%20of%2006-07-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">As you can see, the majority of these incidents occur in Southern states. The "slave states."</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the past, I have used the term “slave states” to refer to
those states in the Southern US that seceded and formed the Confederate States
of America. Those states – South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina – seceded primarily
due to slavery. Several states specifically mention slavery (which they also referred
to as their “peculiar institution”) in their Articles of Secession:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mississippi: “Our position is
thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery-- the greatest material
interest of the world.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/b05a844e3d843566/Documents/23-06-07_Rant.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Texas: “We hold as undeniable
truths that the governments of the various States, and of the confederacy
itself, were established exclusively by the white race, for themselves and
their posterity; that the African race had no agency in their establishment;
that they were rightfully held and regarded as an inferior and dependent race,
and in that condition only could their existence in this country be rendered
beneficial or tolerable.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/b05a844e3d843566/Documents/23-06-07_Rant.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Virginia: “[T]he Federal
Government, having perverted said powers, not only to the injury of the people
of Virginia, but to the oppression of the Southern Slaveholding States.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/b05a844e3d843566/Documents/23-06-07_Rant.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Confederacy was, in large part, based on slavery and
racism. Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens proclaimed as much in his
“Cornerstone Speech,” saying:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“its foundations are laid, its
corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the
white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and
normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the
world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/b05a844e3d843566/Documents/23-06-07_Rant.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Even now, 158 years later, many Southerners refuse to
acknowledge that the South was soundly trounced, claiming that General Lee
surrendered “because he was a gentleman.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Today, in the Deep South<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/b05a844e3d843566/Documents/23-06-07_Rant.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>,
little has changed. Racism is still rampant, and the “N-word” is still in daily
use, still as a pejorative. Opportunities, educational and occupational, are
still severely limited for persons of color.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">But it’s not just racism. The South, especially the Deep
South, educational opportunities are limited, not just for blacks, but for all.
There is not the emphasis on education that is seen here in the North. Renaissance
man Isaac Asimov said, “Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding
its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion
that democracy means that <i>'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.</i>'”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/b05a844e3d843566/Documents/23-06-07_Rant.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Couple this with the deeply ingrained belief
in the Bible, and the recent growing influence of fundamentalist Christianity,
and one has a culture reveling in ignorance. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0W2AzW_K4eSgOJ6QY2LjqOzCTj_2RohMj0LzadRIjjDVtunJbjPqesNyDRKjmLjRB7dgFG0J3CxXaagvtRIi7lhP-MGPUEmZQC6HucTD1nWOE39SroU8f3ZYtsvFz91zGdXYl3a4sebQzS4o7TQuWDJbZL9fGSqEdBbKkSoXDxFhyZeei29w/s600/if%20I%20want%20science%20learning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0W2AzW_K4eSgOJ6QY2LjqOzCTj_2RohMj0LzadRIjjDVtunJbjPqesNyDRKjmLjRB7dgFG0J3CxXaagvtRIi7lhP-MGPUEmZQC6HucTD1nWOE39SroU8f3ZYtsvFz91zGdXYl3a4sebQzS4o7TQuWDJbZL9fGSqEdBbKkSoXDxFhyZeei29w/s320/if%20I%20want%20science%20learning.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Many fundamentalists use their faith as a cudgel, a tool to
oppress and suppress those with whom they disagree.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmrVBrGlf-09o7hoZrjfIkTH1gLNfA6T8cA3QEmpro60X7R75iZ1umxvEJuSI6JAgEf3Cgic8XXAly89scrAJuGLJ5cmQ-S5xIJDY7FTRZBzkrAeE0lgHNxClCwoNZCcIebZ9vv7RiC-IHs4bCPYnDLFUOJpkoRWfzMaJvvBEZT1kl1_rc-M/s900/freedom%20of%20religion.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="900" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmrVBrGlf-09o7hoZrjfIkTH1gLNfA6T8cA3QEmpro60X7R75iZ1umxvEJuSI6JAgEf3Cgic8XXAly89scrAJuGLJ5cmQ-S5xIJDY7FTRZBzkrAeE0lgHNxClCwoNZCcIebZ9vv7RiC-IHs4bCPYnDLFUOJpkoRWfzMaJvvBEZT1kl1_rc-M/s320/freedom%20of%20religion.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">They further claim the absolute authority to determine what
is “right” for the rest of society.</span><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1xWBrDgtDgSNgaE3lqbslUXjsSXBWZodkN-LvajaSxHRANpw25pFDQXsEoYt7-FTSZEyXrGbqaaculO4XnnVEr-TBRKus3QMn9QHhgVl9_M0EPwoeAb064AtYTr0QNiwGQRx2Il5REbGNtqNt4D6Uj_t-ukIHt98UVWe9UMNwzUcmtF9mBA/s480/ice%20cream%20in%20the%20park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1xWBrDgtDgSNgaE3lqbslUXjsSXBWZodkN-LvajaSxHRANpw25pFDQXsEoYt7-FTSZEyXrGbqaaculO4XnnVEr-TBRKus3QMn9QHhgVl9_M0EPwoeAb064AtYTr0QNiwGQRx2Il5REbGNtqNt4D6Uj_t-ukIHt98UVWe9UMNwzUcmtF9mBA/s320/ice%20cream%20in%20the%20park.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">This perversion of Christianity is quite similar to the perversion of Islam practiced by fundamentalist Muslims like the Taliban, al Qaeda, and the government of Iran. Both promote religious law over secular law; both severely limit the rights afforded to women and minorities; both hold anything other than heterosexual orientation to be an abomination; both believe that heresy is worthy of death.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Deep South also has an unholy infatuation with guns, granting inanimate firearms more rights, and broader-reaching rights, than are extended to people, especially children. Today, June 7, is the 158th day of 2023, yet according to gunviolencearchive.org, there have been 279 mass shootings (defined as four or more victims, excluding the shooter), with 118 children killed and 282 injured, and 660 teens killed and 1717 injured.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Despite this bloodshed, the NFRA and its bought-and-paid-for Congress refuses to enact even the most basic gun safety legislation, even when a majority of Americans support such laws as waiting periods and "red flag" laws. Political writer and military veteran Jim Wright has a <a href="https://www.stonekettle.com/2012/07/the-seven-stages-of-gun-violence.html" target="_blank">long essay</a> on gun violence and a <a href="https://www.stonekettle.com/p/stonekettle-stations-greatest-hits.html" target="_blank">series</a> he calls the "Bang Bang" series, a collection of essays on America's almost sexual fetish with firearms, and the repeated failure of Congress to do something -- <i>ANYTHING </i>-- to stop the carnage.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Remember "Joe the Plumber"? <span style="font-family: inherit;">After the 2014 Isla Vista killings, he proclaimed, "As harsh as this
sounds—your dead kids don't trump my Constitutional rights," a clear, unambiguous statement that gun rights are paramount, even over the right to live.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, the South, and especially the Deep South, has a history steeped in racism, hatred, and violence, compounded by its enthusiastic embrace of Christo-Fascist religious and political beliefs.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">If I'm a moron for putting the lives of human beings above the "right" of some redneck asshole to own as many guns as he can afford, and his "right" to kill "those people," so be it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Perhaps my commenter would prefer that I refer to the South as "the meth states"?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/b05a844e3d843566/Documents/23-06-07_Rant.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/declaration-causes-seceding-states#South_Carolina</p><p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/b05a844e3d843566/Documents/23-06-07_Rant.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></a>
Ibid </p></div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/b05a844e3d843566/Documents/23-06-07_Rant.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
ibid<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/b05a844e3d843566/Documents/23-06-07_Rant.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/cornerstone-speech<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/b05a844e3d843566/Documents/23-06-07_Rant.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Defined by Dictionary.com as South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi, and Louisiana<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/b05a844e3d843566/Documents/23-06-07_Rant.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/84250-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding-its-way-through; original emphasis<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-85462015308539086542023-03-26T11:03:00.003-04:002023-03-26T11:03:37.606-04:00Why I Can't Stand Drunks<p> First, let me clarify: "drunks," to me, are people who relish being intoxicated all day. They don't realize they have a problem, and they see no need to change. "Alcoholics," on the other hand, DO recognize their issues and are attempting to deal with them, either through groups like AA, or on their own. I have no problem with alcoholics, it's drunks I can't stand.</p><p>My father and both brothers were raging, nasty, mean, vicious drunks. They loved to get hammered and start fights. </p><p>The youngest, whom I shall refer to as "Dead Bro," got in donnybrooks in just about every bar in the area. He also had substance-abuse issues, and finally punched his own ticket with a fentanyl overdose. He had been fired from several previous jobs for drug use. His last employer paid for him to attend an in-patient rehab program, and left him on full salary for the four months, and he repaid them by going into the lunchroom and shooting up his first day back. He even knew the lunchroom had cameras.</p><p>The middle one, "AFKAMB" (or "Asshole Formerly Known As My Brother") was particularly nasty. He was a scrawny, wiry son of a bitch, and usually carried multiple knives (he told me one time that he had eleven on him that day). He was also covered in homemade tatts, and had hair and a beard out of ZZ Top. Like many other weasels, he was able to charm the hell out of the ladies, due to his "bad boy" persona. I heard from a mutual friend that AFKAMB has developed cancer after smoking since he was ten (he's 63 now), cirrhosis from consuming a bottle of vodka and a 30-pack of beer every two days, and both Hep C and HIV from his tatts. He also had a drug problem, but managed to quit that when Dead Bro checked out; now he sticks to marijuana. He was constantly stealing money from the old man by using his debit card for the vodka, beer, weed, and smokes.</p><p>The old man was a real winner: sloshed every day -- a half-gallon of bourbon in two days sloshed -- and yelling and throwing things and smashing things. He also demanded that we follow his rules, which changed from day-to-day. He always ate the exact same thing: two slices of toasted Pepperidge Farms Cinnamon Raisin swirl for breakfast, one Underwood's devilled ham sandwich for lunch (and he screamed if we referred to it as anything but "his cat food"), and Stauffer's Creamed Chipped Beef on toast.* He struck the old lady once, and she retaliated by going after him with a knife. He also said that AFKAMB was the "only reliable one," apparently based on his willingness to get drunk and watch football with the old man, even thought for the first five years in Maine, Linda and I were the only employed ones in the house, and we were the primary caregivers -- cooks, butler/maid, chauffeurs, etc. The old man was retired, the old lady hadn't worked for years because it was "beneath her station in life," and Dead Bro and AFKAMB had abysmal employment records. AFKAMB got arrested for going off on his last boss, when the boss fired AFKAMB for an elevated BAC and a hot piss test on his CDL physical after he (AFKAMB) slammed his truck into the back of a stopped car. After Linda became disabled, I was trying to support six people on one very small paycheck.</p><p>The old lady, who had delusions of grandeur, had to have one glass of wine per day, or she became an absolute maniac. Granted, she may have had a psychological addiction, rather than a physical addiction, but it was an addiction nevertheless. She was also a know-it-all, and tried to correct a woman's grammar in a garden center. The other woman argued, and the old lady said, rather snootily, "I majored in English at Smith College." Turned out the other woman was the <i>CHAIR </i>of the English Department at Smith! She also tried to correct doctors on their diagnoses and treatment recommendations, apparently because she had watched some BBC series featuring a doctor back in Queen Victoria's day.</p><p>Oh, yeah, and I used to drink myself into a stupor most nights. But I realized what it was doing to me and stopped. Not completely, but I am still working on the 12-pack of beer Linda and I bought when we moved to Waldo County in 2015 (four more bottles, and I'll have to buy more). I know when to say "when," and except in VERY rare circumstances, it's after one round.</p><p>All this is to explain why I refused to get involved with a woman who got upset with me when I refused to take her out to get drunk. She said she liked to "get lit" on Fridays and Saturdays, and wanted me to drive because she couldn't afford one more DUI. She said that, I turned and walked away.</p><p>To hell with the drunks.</p><p>If you're an alcoholic, and you're dealing with your demons, all the more power to you, and I will do anything I can for you. But if you're noting but a goddamned drunk, to hell with you.</p><p><br /></p><p>* the old man's lawyer tried to report me for elder abuse for feeding him the same thing every day. Fortunately, I had recordings -- both video and audio -- on him screaming what he wanted, and going off on me if I dared serve him something else. The DHHS investigator listened and watched, and closed the case right there, saying that I had his sympathy for dealing with such an asshole.</p>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-29473720588667309672023-03-25T12:45:00.000-04:002023-03-25T12:45:32.586-04:00The Youngest Victims<p> We are approaching the 108th anniversary of the <i>Eastland</i> disaster. The <i>Eastland</i>, a Great Lakes steamer, had been chartered as one of four or five vessels to ferry employees of Western Electric's Hawthorne Works plant near Chicago to Michigan City, MI, for an employee picnic (yes, they needed five vessels: that year, the Western Electric picnic would have hosted over <b>6500 </b>guests). The <i>Eastland </i>rolled over in the Chicago River, just before setting sail for Michigan. 844 passengers -- virtually all party attendees -- died.</p><p>As this was the biggest employee function of the year, Western Electric -- which had an enviable reputation for the way they treated their employees -- had told employees to bring not only the immediate family, but extended family and friends as well. As a result, a staggering number of victims were children. The most iconic image of the disaster is a shot of a Chicago fireman, anguish and horror etched on his face, carrying the body of a drowned child.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Q6TMUYg1Ddutalhy9SmNb---Hw8L6eNqOSb2ryFacozwhwEAMZR6fXGhmo2l6ol1SgUnxcjVgt-Xug2JG2G1xQ7A08ywhh0LyRcuHK-Sj7e7kPYwHX1oLC43XI6Gb4WS30j5-glplsu-Q_-BtZckiUFn84sclZ-RlUH5xSCwUXkTyynhKsQ/s613/eastland%20baby%20and%20fireman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Q6TMUYg1Ddutalhy9SmNb---Hw8L6eNqOSb2ryFacozwhwEAMZR6fXGhmo2l6ol1SgUnxcjVgt-Xug2JG2G1xQ7A08ywhh0LyRcuHK-Sj7e7kPYwHX1oLC43XI6Gb4WS30j5-glplsu-Q_-BtZckiUFn84sclZ-RlUH5xSCwUXkTyynhKsQ/s320/eastland%20baby%20and%20fireman.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In so many disasters, it is the youngest and most innocent victims who often become the eternal memorial of an incident.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">December 30, 1903, promised to be a winter day like any other in Chicago (a city which has seen more than its share of disasters). But then a stage light ignited a piece of scenery at the Iroquois Theatre, during a matinee performance of "Mr. Blue Beard," featuring the legendary Eddie Foy. By the time the fire was out, 602 people -- mostly women and children -- were dead, and another 250 were injured. Among the victims was Amy Holst, a seven-year-old whose brother, sister, and mother were also lost. One look at her picture, and you can tell she was a spitfire, and would have been raising pure hell with Chicago's boys in about 10 years.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzXPY9_rsC7O0poMUzgNnKY0B95mSEkY7US21M8dPoaSZC6qNgN1pawXSONXfvz4mgVHVrR70JewMFJpQunP9cDiB8VbTMsGO-chSgTxFq-TtwKY-UBwuCDfmtc2COLnI8Ursl3_FJA9EkoS_G6SFQxQ2E11o8PS5onkHQkaARqA5w1LfnqcA/s709/amy%20holst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="535" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzXPY9_rsC7O0poMUzgNnKY0B95mSEkY7US21M8dPoaSZC6qNgN1pawXSONXfvz4mgVHVrR70JewMFJpQunP9cDiB8VbTMsGO-chSgTxFq-TtwKY-UBwuCDfmtc2COLnI8Ursl3_FJA9EkoS_G6SFQxQ2E11o8PS5onkHQkaARqA5w1LfnqcA/s320/amy%20holst.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In December of 1958, a fire ripped through the Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago, killing 92 school children and three nuns. As that fire occurred in "modern" times, there were plenty of photographs to choose from, to show the horror of the situation. The most iconic is firefighter Richard Scheidt carrying the lifeless body of ten-year-old John Jajkowski. Again, the anguish and horror are plain to see.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjL7aHb5yUBzO8ENlOSh9_hrWKDX_FtDnI8rRvktyDVVVpAWuLq0vwp_olmPt7dc0793BgSGEmIJMawDK2-MeFUd0aVvQzitNJZ1mKdnbwcSD4yqBQZL9fAHMwXKpg86hW7Nq-sYr9423Ta7FWhlj5gVXyuVCODZNiw6iepNngNqdZMRcrUQ/s476/sm_CarryingJohnJajkowski.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjL7aHb5yUBzO8ENlOSh9_hrWKDX_FtDnI8rRvktyDVVVpAWuLq0vwp_olmPt7dc0793BgSGEmIJMawDK2-MeFUd0aVvQzitNJZ1mKdnbwcSD4yqBQZL9fAHMwXKpg86hW7Nq-sYr9423Ta7FWhlj5gVXyuVCODZNiw6iepNngNqdZMRcrUQ/s320/sm_CarryingJohnJajkowski.JPG" width="225" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The deadliest domestic terrorist attack in the United States was the April 19, 1995, attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, by anti-government extremists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. 168 people were killed, and 680 injured, but the image that is seared in our collective memory is Oklahoma City firefighter Chris Fields cradling the body of one-year-old Baylee Almon.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1HDnss-Fq6-V3AtTSc1AGEBRn_751a-CclGFE0q43sqn6sO9t5qJHGkUIWmdkY-oxy-D7csj6PbWbJmx_8KhilhEmNY4Oj7IZLvmkiiA13VfGNhLRcH1pwRKndhXYB77SHo5oHy4uGJ5IPryeclEyNW7BVDwCU0deNi_QRYNR63jpFHLAIw/s1920/Baylee%20Almon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1HDnss-Fq6-V3AtTSc1AGEBRn_751a-CclGFE0q43sqn6sO9t5qJHGkUIWmdkY-oxy-D7csj6PbWbJmx_8KhilhEmNY4Oj7IZLvmkiiA13VfGNhLRcH1pwRKndhXYB77SHo5oHy4uGJ5IPryeclEyNW7BVDwCU0deNi_QRYNR63jpFHLAIw/s320/Baylee%20Almon.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>These children, these <i>BABIES</i>, are seared into our memory for eternity, as symbols of the evil that pervades our lives. The image of innocence lost, of lives wasted, drives home the heartache of the scene.</p><p>Who knows what these children might have become? Might Amy have become a writer, possibly penning a novel to rival "Gone With The Wind"? Would John have been a doctor who discovered a cure for cancer? Maybe Baylee might have been the first woman President.</p><p>We'll never know.</p><p><br /></p><p>But because of their lost potential, these children -- and probably millions more -- live on in our memories, and as long as one person remembers, they never truly disappear.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><br /><p><br /></p>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-22337129467174363922021-04-26T12:14:00.002-04:002021-04-26T12:14:19.889-04:00Trouble Finding Police Recruits? Cry Me An Effin' River<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">The Philly Inquirer has an <a href="https://www.gov1.com/public-safety/articles/pds-nationwide-struggling-with-recruiting-crisis-surge-in-retirements-gwgcnLmXF1RsjCu0/?utm_source=Gov1+Update&utm_campaign=1f4cf14819-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_04_26_03_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b0170d1360-1f4cf14819-40001645" target="_blank">article</a> today on the city’s
problem with filling openings in its police department. Mike Neilon, spokesman
for the FOP Lodge 5 (the union) said, “All of that coming together is creating
some issues with finding the best and brightest to sign up to be Philadelphia
police officers,” he said.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The problem MAY be that “the best and the brightest” don’t
want to work in law enforcement, given the racism and hatred endemic in the
field. “The best and the brightest,” more or less by definition, want to
IMPROVE our country, not tear it apart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">In addition, current attempts to hold officers accountable
for their illegal acts, and the efforts to remove the “qualified immunity” that
shields them, coupled with the recent convictions of several officers who
decided to take the law into their own hands, is scaring off the bullies and racists
who would otherwise apply.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“Every action has a reaction. When you vilify every police
officer for every bad police officer’s decision, (people) don’t want to take
this job anymore,” said Pat Colligan, president of the New Jersey State
Policemen’s Benevolent Association, the state’s largest police union. </span></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">And until
the good cops start speaking out against the bad cops, society is going to continue
to distrust ALL cops.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“It’s been a very trying and difficult time to put on the
badge every day,” he added. Whether his difficulty is due to the criminal
actions of his fellow officers, or the fear they may be held accountable is
moot. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">People do not trust the police anymore, and with good
reason. The abuse of persons of color at the hands of the police has not
diminished. It has, in fact, increased, especially after president trump
implicitly approved of the violence and hatred in the field (remember when he
urged cops not to be “too gentle” with arrestees?).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The refusal of the police hierarchy to hold officers accountable
is also partially to blame. The refusal of department brass to control corrupt,
violent, criminal officers, simply encourages misbehavior. Good cops standing
with bad, to protect corrupt officers because of the “thin blue line” mentality
further alienates the public.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The illegal activities of the cops are nothing new; almost
50 years ago, a young NYPD detective testified before the Knapp Commission,
investigating police corruption in New York City, saying:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“The problem is that the atmosphere does not yet exist, in
which an honest police officer can act ... without fear of ridicule or reprisal
from fellow officers. Police corruption cannot exist unless it is at least
tolerated ... at higher levels in the department.” </span></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">That detective had been shot
in the face during a drug bust, possibly on the orders of his fellow officers,
who were afraid of his belief that cops should follow the law, just like everybody
else. The cop’s name, by the way, was Frank Serpico.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-45302415780638735982021-04-05T11:24:00.002-04:002021-04-05T11:24:51.870-04:00Drunks. Pfui.<p>I've had it with drunks.</p><p>I will not deal with them any more.</p><p>And I don't want to hear "alcoholism is a disease." No, it is NOT a disease, it is a choice. Nobody forces a person to drink. Nobody holds a gun to somebody's head and forces him to drink. A person gets up in the morning and pours himself a glass of orange juice. Adding vodka to the glass is a conscious choice.</p><p>Getting hammered every day is a conscious decision to avoid reality, to avoid life, and to avoid the consequences of one's actions.</p><p>I used to drink myself into a blind stupor on a regular basis, until I saw what it was doing to me, and what it was doing to those I loved. At that point, I made a conscious decision NOT to drink. And I have no superpowers. In fact, I probably have less willpower than most people. Yet I didn't need a twelve-step program, or sobriety coins, or any of that bullshit. I needed to start each day saying "I don't need to get smashed."</p><p>My father and both brothers were mean, nasty, vicious drunks, the kind who get drunk then look for excuses to start trouble.</p><p>My mother was less of an alcoholic, but an alcoholic nevertheless, in that she had a psychological addiction to alcohol. She never got falling-down drunk, but if she missed her one glass of wine at dinner, she was an absolute witch.</p><p>If you're a drunk, you can get out of my life now. I don't need your drama, your whining, your pleas for understanding. I don't need you trying to excuse your behavior by saying "I'm sick, I have an illness."</p><p>You don't have an illness. You are a weak, pathetic loser.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-86751418267231412702021-03-31T10:29:00.004-04:002021-03-31T10:29:28.597-04:00Facebook's Community Standards<p> Apparently, under Facebook's "Community Standards," it is perfectly acceptable for far-right, antigovernment extremists to call for the lynching of the Vice President and the Speaker of the House during an attempted coup.</p><p>But calling for the arrest and conviction of the Senate Minority Leader "promotes violence."</p><p>I have a pretty good idea who reported it, and that person will be blocked.</p>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-21106869878276463192021-03-04T14:59:00.000-05:002021-03-04T14:59:50.151-05:00Motor City Mayhem<p> The <a href="https://www.statter911.com/2021/03/02/detroit-fire-department-announces-plan-to-address-drinking-on-the-job/" target="_blank">Detroit Fire Department has had two DUI crashes</a> involving on-duty personnel in one one week. In the first incident, an intoxicated firefighter drove his rescue truck into a parked car. In the second, a command officer was found in his FD Suburban, hanging off an overpass.</p><p>The driver of the rescue truck, by the way, had been to a retirement "dinner party" where alcohol was being served. And we know what fire department retirement parties are like.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I8I0OcqhoNk" width="320" youtube-src-id="I8I0OcqhoNk"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>The city has announced plans to address the issue (and, surprisingly, it wasn't "well, then, let's get started").</p><p>They're going to bolster their Employee Assistance Program, which they scaled back in response to Covid-19, believing, apparently, that a deadly pandemic, isolation, travel restrictions, and reduced staffing due to illness, wouldn't put any additional strain on firefighters.</p><p>Oops.</p><p>Here's another suggestion: the first time sometime is caught OUI on duty, immediate enrollment in an in-patient drug or alcohol rehab program, OR six-month unpaid suspension, no outside work authorization, no benefits.</p><p>Second offense, fire the person. No ifs, ands, or buts.</p><p>I see no reason why my tax dollars should pay for $600,000 vehicles so these IDIOTS can act like idiots. Every firefighter I know has responded to drunk-driving crashes. Why do they feel THEY are exempt, from their law and/or from the consequences of their actions?</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-44110098534131675762021-03-04T13:19:00.000-05:002021-03-04T13:19:05.607-05:00Texas and Mi'sippi: Racing to the Shallow End of the Gene Pool<p> <span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/04/world/covid-19-coronavirus#texas-doubles-down-on-ending-restrictions-after-the-president-denounces-the-moves-by-some-states" target="_blank">Texas and Mi'sippi both lifted all Covid-related restrictions yesterday.</a> The two governors, both slack-jawed drooling idiot trumpers, took their actions "to show America that we don't need smart people tellin' us what to do. Us goobers kin make up our own minds." The dynamic had a second factor, though, in Texas: distracting the gullible morons from realizing that the state's refusal to join the national power grid, or upgrade their generation and distribution infrastructure, are the main reason last week's storm devastated the Lone <strike>Tooth</strike> Star Republic.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In about three weeks, of course, we'll see huge spikes in Covid rates in both states. And it would be karma beyond karma if one or both governors died of Covid contracted after they lift restrictions.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Texas' refusal to accept the fact that it is but ONE state among fifty doesn't sit well with the local mindset. They continue to think that because they effectively choose school books for the entire country -- which is a scandal all it's own, considering the choices they're forced on the rest of us -- they should rule all other aspects of society as well.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I believe that, back in December, they passed a non-binding referendum allowing the state to secede from the Union.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Fine. Go. We can do without the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Now that Molly Ivins is dead, I don't see that Texas really brings anything to the table anyway. Like EVERY OTHER red state, Texas receives more money from the Federal government than they send in, meaning that blue states are effectively subsidizing their disdain for us.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">At least Mi'sippi is smart enough -- barely -- to recognize that without huge infusions of Northern cash, their ante-bellum paradise would wither and die in about,,, oh, six months.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And if they DO secede, I don't see any need to send them any foreign aid, since they oppose it for others. And they can develop their own currency. And every piece of movable infrastructure down there should be moved north immediately. Build a giant wall along the border, which is what they've been begging for for the past five years anyway.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Ya wanna go? Fine. Go.</span></p>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-39884236684295844212021-03-02T18:42:00.005-05:002021-03-03T11:33:35.704-05:00Isolation and Quarantine<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">While doing some research on the issues involved with voluntary and involuntary isolation and quarantine, I ran across the case of Robert Daniels, a Russian who had been admitted into the US despite having a rare and highly drug-resistant form of tuberculosis (TB). As a condition of entry, he agreed not to go out in public without a mask (sound familiar?), but got caught at a Maricopa County (AZ) convenience store without one. He was promptly tossed in the hoosegow, for NINE MONTHS.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">"<span style="color: #423a38; font-family: cschoolbook, Georgia, "Times New Roman", "DejaVu Serif", serif;">Like jailed inmates accused of crimes, Daniels is subjected to intrusive strip searches and he is unable to receive any visits from family and friends. He isn’t permitted to exercise or walk outside, and has no access to social or recreational activities like the Internet. He has been outside only once in the past nine months, and was shackled hand and foot. The lights in his cell are required to be kept on at night, and video cameras record his every move. He can’t see through the frosted windows in his room and wasn’t able to shower or call anyone until a few weeks ago." (1)</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #423a38; font-family: cschoolbook, Georgia, "Times New Roman", "DejaVu Serif", serif;"></span></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #423a38; font-family: cschoolbook, Georgia, "Times New Roman", "DejaVu Serif", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bear in mind, Roberts wasn't being accused of being a mass murderer, or anything... he was a guy with a contagious disease.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #423a38; font-family: cschoolbook, Georgia, "Times New Roman", "DejaVu Serif", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="color: #423a38; font-family: cschoolbook, Georgia, "Times New Roman", "DejaVu Serif", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"</span></span><span style="color: #423a38; font-family: cschoolbook, Georgia, "Times New Roman", "DejaVu Serif", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In its complaint, the ACLU argues that the county has failed to implement procedures on how to humanely quarantine sick patients for lengthy periods of time, and in an effort to cut costs deliberately failed to explore alternative locations in which to quarantine Daniels. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio(2) publicly stated that in the interest of security he would treat any person housed in the jail ward in the same manner as all other jail inmates."(3)</span></span></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The ACLU went on to describe the compassionate medical treatment Roberts received:</span></p><p></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">" <span style="color: #423a38; font-family: cschoolbook, Georgia, "Times New Roman", "DejaVu Serif", serif;">Like jailed inmates accused of crimes, Daniels is subjected to intrusive strip searches and he is unable to receive any visits from family and friends. He isn’t permitted to exercise or walk outside, and has no access to social or recreational activities like the Internet. He has been outside only once in the past nine months, and was shackled hand and foot. The lights in his cell are required to be kept on at night, and video cameras record his every move. He can’t see through the frosted windows in his room and wasn’t able to shower or call anyone until a few weeks ago."(4)</span></span></blockquote><span style="color: #423a38; font-family: cschoolbook, Georgia, "Times New Roman", "DejaVu Serif", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #423a38; font-family: cschoolbook, Georgia, Times New Roman, DejaVu Serif, serif;">We ran into a similar situation here in Maine a few years, during the last Ebola scare here in the states. Kaci Hickox, a nurse who had worked with "Doctors Without Borders" in West Africa, was locked up, initially in New Jersey, on the orders of Governor Chris Christie (another trump supporter), and subsequently in Maine, on orders from Governor Paul LePage (yet another trumper... are you starting to see a pattern here?). Hickox sued in both cases, and won. Christie, by the way, claimed Hickox was positive for Ebola; she was not. (5)</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, TimesNewRoman, "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville, serif; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"></p><p></p><blockquote><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, TimesNewRoman, "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville, serif; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"I never had symptoms of Ebola. I tested negative for Ebola the first night I stayed in New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s private prison," Hickox said in a statement released through the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, which is representing her in the lawsuit.</span></p><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, TimesNewRoman, "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville, serif; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"My liberty, my interests and consequently my civil rights were ignored because some ambitious governors saw an opportunity to use an age-old political tactic: fear," she said.(6)</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This, of course, is standard operating procedure for the GOP: use fear if you don't have facts on your side. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">__________</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">1. https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-arizona-sues-county-officials-over-inhumane-confinement-tb-patient, retrieved Mar 2, 2021</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">2. You remember Joe "Feed Them Green Bologna" Arpaio: he was pardoned by his good buddy trump after pissing off the Federal Courts by ignoring orders that his *COUNTY* deputies not engage in *FEDERAL* immigration enforcement.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">3. Ibid</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">4. Ibid</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">5. https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/kaci-hickox-maine-nurse-quarantined-ebola-scare-sues-new-jersey-n449491, retrieved Mar 2, 2021</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">6. Ibid</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, TimesNewRoman, "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"></p>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-56121916156397305892021-03-02T16:17:00.000-05:002021-03-02T16:17:45.117-05:00Texas. Because free-dumb<p>Texas governor Greg "Free-dumb" Abbott is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/us/texas-governor-mask-mandate/index.html" target="_blank">lifting most of the orders</a> he himself instituted to try to control Covid-19 in the Texas Republic, apparently because: Free-dumb. Abbott obviously succumbed to the prevalent Texas theory that thinking about others is being a "pussy" and a "libtard." Noted political writer <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Stonekettle/posts/3817485848286790" target="_blank">Jim Wright ascribes this</a> to the Texan mania for macho manly-man manliness, saying:</p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm not changing MY life! I'm not lettin' the gubmint control ME! I'm not gonna to wear a mask! I'm not getting the vaccine! Stay home if you're afraid of everything!</span></span></p><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fear is what defines you. It's your religion -- literally. It's baked right in: fear your god. Right? FEAR him.</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You're afraid of everything. </span></div></div></blockquote><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wright goes right down the list of everything the conservaturds are afraid of... and it's a LOOOOONG freaking list: race, sex, gender identification, immigration, religion, politics, science, the whole nine yards.</span></div></div>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-67745089381015610182021-02-28T08:42:00.035-05:002021-03-03T11:27:18.833-05:00I Work With Idiots. And I Mean **IDIOTS**<p>[Edited to remove confusing formatting] </p><p><br /></p><p>The two trumpers working day shift showed up this morning at 6:30, as usual. They were talking politics, and from what I overheard (since they know better than to tell ME their bullshit):</p><p>Biden got caught selling the nuclear launch codes to the Chinese, so</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>the Army cancelled the compromised codes</li><li>gave Biden fake codes, and</li><li>gave the "real" codes to trump, </li><li>since "he's technically still our president"</li></ul>When I mentioned trump's meeting with Putin in Helsinki (when trump entered after being obviously taken to the woodshed by Putin), I was told trump looked sad, because he had to yell at our ally Putin<br /><br /><div>trump is going to run for the House in 2022, unless "the Army takes out" incumbent Rep Lois Frankel (who is a democrat)<br /><br /></div><div>Once he is a Congressman, he will be elected Speaker of the House by a unanimous* vote and<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>he will impeach Biden and Harris by unanimous* votes and remove them, becoming President</li><li>he will repeal the 22nd Amendment (presidential term limits) by Executive Order</li><li>and "keep getting re-elected till he dies, and then Ivanka takes over"</li></ul>Biden's use of Executive Orders "is completely illegal"<br /><br /></div><div>Biden "and that woman who claims to be black" are "still running their child sex ring from DC"<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I mentioned Epstein and was told the following:</li><ul><li>trump never met Epstein</li><li>the picture of trump with Epstein was actually Biden, with trump's face photoshopped in</li></ul><li>trump is in the process of gathering the evidence that will "prove" the Clintons, Obamas, Bidens, and Harrises "are all known child killers after they rape the kids."</li></ul>trump will outlaw all political parties but the GOP<br /><br /></div><div>"Then we get to kill all you fucking libs and take back our country"<br /><div>__________</div><div><br /></div><div>* I don't know how they think trump's going to get "unanimous" votes, unless the GOP executes all the Dems in the Senate and House. I'm sure the two fuckwads I work with would think that was a dandy solution.</div><p></p></div>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-32165488631295146352020-05-19T13:39:00.002-04:002020-05-19T13:39:57.045-04:00Damn. This SUCKS.I was just going through the blogroll and found that "skippy the bush kangaroo" was gone. Uh-oh.<br />
<br />
Tried googling the blog title. And found an obit.<br />
<br />
Gil Christner was an actor, comedian, and writer. he was also "skippy," of "skippy the bush kangaroo" blogging fame.<br />
<br />
He was one of the very first to link to me regularly and, I believe, the second or third to blogroll me.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://themoderatevoice.com/r-i-p-gil-christner-comedian-actor-comedy-writer-and-internets-beloved-skippy-the-bush-kangaroo-blogger/" target="_blank">Here's a piece</a> by a guy who knew him face-to-face.<br />
<br />
RIP, Mr Christner.Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-40324396412600607312020-05-19T13:17:00.000-04:002020-05-19T13:17:19.457-04:00The Problem with Asymptomatic People Is...<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
... they show no symptoms.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Just got a text message from my employer, reminding us that 80% of people with Covid are asymptomatic, and telling us what to do if we think we may have been near one of them.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Google defines "asymptomatic" as: "(of a condition or a person) producing or showing no symptoms."</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
If they're asymtomatic, AND HENCE SHOWING NO SYMPTOMS, how do we know if we should take precautions? Or should we just self-quarantine for 14 days every time we're within 100 feet of another person?</div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Sweet Baby Jesus with an industrial-size bottle of hydroxychloroquine, these people are gonna be the death of me.</div>
</div>
Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-60477089941895792232020-05-14T10:11:00.000-04:002020-05-14T10:11:30.993-04:00trump v. Fauci: The Final Chapter?According to CNN, Dr Anthony Fauci <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/14/politics/donald-trump-anthony-fauci-science-coronavirus/index.html" target="_blank">has committed the cardinal sin</a>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fauci's transgression is to base his evaluations -- after decades of public service and expertise fighting HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Zika and anthrax -- on facts and logic that conflict with Trump's chosen version of reality. Fauci has long said that only the virus can decide when normal life -- things such as NFL games and schools reopening, for instance -- will be safe again.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Trump has always been battling the pandemic he wants to fight, rather than the one that actually exists, with a strategy shaped mostly by his political requirements as he seeks a second term. The pandemic arrived in the US despite his insistence that it would not be a problem. Now, with 84,000 Americans dead and 1.3 million infected, Trump argues that the country has prevailed over the virus and it's time to get back to work.</span></span></blockquote>
He wants to declare victory, forget about this stupid virus, and get back to what he does best: holding Nuremberg-style rallies full of howling blockheads who have no concept of reality. He doesn't give a damn about 84,000 dead Americans, or the 1.4 million infected (so far, as of 9:30 AM today, per <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Johns Hopkins University</a>). Nor does he care about the potential for 2.2 million dead by the end of the year. He also doesn't give a damn about the unemployment rate being 14.9% at the end of April, or the 30,000,000 Americans who have lost their jobs (and income and medical insurance) since this whole thing began.. He doesn't give a damn about anyone or anything that isn't donald j. trump.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In recent weeks, Trump has shifted from an approach rooted in benchmarks for phased state openings based on a waning of the virus to one based on <i>opening the economy whatever the cost</i>. [emphasis added]</span></span></blockquote>
This, of course, is the <b>real </b>problem: the Coronoavirus/Covid-19 pandemic is murdering trump's shot at a second term (which means it's also murdering his chances of staying out of prison, most likely for the rest of his life). trump knows that if his base ever figures out just how bad things are <i>now, </i>and that they are going to get <i>far worse</i> before they get any better, his ass is cooked in November. And <b>that</b> means, come January 21, US Marshals will show up and do a little "cuff-and-stuff" on the donald, and haul his ass to the Southern District of New York, where he cannot expect any deference, or mercy.<br />
<br />
So once again, trump's big mouth and continual lies have gotten his ass in bigly trouble.<br />
<br />
Couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br /></blockquote>
<br />
<br />Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-38536582774373014372020-05-13T09:54:00.001-04:002020-05-13T09:54:13.227-04:00It's Coming, People. Batten Down the Hatches<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/" target="_blank">Heather Cox Richardson</a>, writing in <a href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-12-2020" target="_blank">today's issue of "Letters From an American,</a>" makes a very ominous point, one that a growing number of us are making. Discussing the declassification of the names of FBI agents involved in the trump/Flynn/Russia investigation, and turning those names over to a Justice Department run by trump sycophant, Billy Barr, Cox says:</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">More, though, it suggests that <b>the Trump administration does not anticipate a Democratic presidency following this one</b>, since it could expect any precedent it now sets to be used against its own people. That it is willing to weaponize intelligence information from a previous administration suggests it is not concerned that the next administration will weaponize intelligence information against Trump officials. <b>That confidence concerns me.</b> [Emphasis added]</span></span></blockquote>
"That confidence" scares the shit out of me.<br />
<br />
This goes back to recurring fears that trump will use some sort of subterfuge to either postpone or cancel the 2020 elections, and name himeself "president-for-life," as both Papa Doc and Baby Doc did in Haiti, and as Xi Jinping has done in China..<br />
<br />
Trump has, in fact, stated his intentions many times in the past, passing them off as "jokes" or "sarcasm" or "wishful thinking." Squirrel-frying goober and former Arkansas governor Mike "Bubba" Huckabee (who is also the father -- to the best of our knowledge -- for former trump spokesdrone Sarah Huckabee Sanders) <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-2024-election-third-term-mike-huckabee-impeachment-inquiry-a9244761.html" target="_blank">has claimed that trump's impeachment makes him "eligble"</a> for a third term (which is, of course, total bullshit).<br />
<br />
Trump himself has floated the idea on many occasions, claiming that "people will demand" he serve a "<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/18/politics/donald-trump-term-limit/index.html" target="_blank">third, fourth, or even fifth</a>" term, that he wished he could stay in office "<a href="https://theweek.com/speedreads/852099/trump-just-joked-about-being-president-life--6th-time" target="_blank">maybe [...] 14 [years]</a>," "looking into" naming himself "president for life" as Xi Jinping did in 2018. He even <a href="https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1225174713992990721?lang=en" target="_blank">tweeting a video</a> of himself as president to the year 80,000. The scary part is, his zombie followers would think that was a GREAT idea, almost as great as making education optional.<br />
<br />
And don't try to explain these away as jokes. trump -- like the FBI in "Men In Black" -- has no known sense of humor. He does, however, have a keenly developed sense of how to say exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time.<br />
<br />
I think we may have passed the point of no return: I doubt trump will leave peacefully if defeated at the polls. I have a feeling that if the numbers look ominous to him, he'll just skip the election althogether.Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-14708635078955123902020-05-11T09:04:00.002-04:002020-05-11T09:04:23.489-04:00Grand Reopening... With a Whimper, Not a BangThe state is allowing retail businesses in 12 of the 16 counties to repopen to walk-in customers today, as long as certain precautions are in place: occupancy signage, plexiglass partitions by registers, 6-footy spacing tapes on floors, etc. The big one is that ALL employees <i>and customers</i> <b>must wear cloth face masks. </b>This is going to piss off the libertarian crowd, and the ones who like to protest simply because it "allows" them to be azz wholes in public.<br />
<br />
There was a post on FB about a small ice cream shop in MA that reopened, with advance-order, face-covering, and other common-sense requirements. Customers ignored the rules, and took out their frustration on the staff, causing one 17-year-old girl, whom the owner called "my best employee," to quit in tears because of the verbal abuse. The owner decided his employees were more important than the azz whole public and closed again. His action, though, was met with an outpouring of very strong support from the community, and he was able to open again, this time with everyone playing nice.<br />
<br />
This is what trump hath wrought: it's okay to be an azz whole.<br />
<br />
Thank you to the slave states for making this possible.<br />
<br />
Azz wholes.Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-68000049941343675292020-05-10T12:43:00.002-04:002020-05-10T12:43:25.296-04:00"We Have to Get Back to Normal"That's what the trumpers and the Covid deniers and the ones who protest simply because they enjoy being pains in the ass are saying.<br />
<br />
Got news for you, kiddies: we will <i>never</i> be back to normal, not if you define "normal" as the way America was before trump and the Coronoavirus. And I lump them together because although we might have survived one or the other and returned to the "old" normal, the two combined are a wallop from which we will never fully recover.<br />
<br />
Had trump been more of a president, and less of a self-centered, spoiled, arrogant, self-righteous, hypocritical, sanctimonious, racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, narcissistic, incestuous, ignorant, pompous, dictatorial, lying, thieving, corrupt, venal, fascist, childish, narrow-minded, Adderall-addicted, malignant asswipe of a walking, talking douchebag criminal, serial rapist, and confirmed pedophile, we might have made it through.<br />
<br />
We've had bad presidents before -- Hoover springs to mind -- but America was able to survive because of the way our Founders wrote the Constitution and formulated our government. We've had presidents who have tried to pervert the Constitution -- Nixon, for instance -- but the co-equal branches of government, the Congress and the Judiciary, blocked those attempts. We've had corrupt presidents who would rather golf than do anything else (Harding).<br />
<br />
We had useless legislative bodies before, such as the rethuglican-controlled Senate and House during the Obama years, when the mantra was "<a href="https://swampland.time.com/2012/08/23/the-party-of-no-new-details-on-the-gop-plot-to-obstruct-obama/" target="_blank">if [Obama] is for it, we had to be against it</a>," even if it was good for the country.<br />
<br />
We've had Supreme Court lineups that should never have happened, like the ones that gave us <i>Plessy, Bush v Gore, Dred Scott, </i>and <i>Citizens United </i>(respectively, 163 U.S. 537, 1896; 531 U.S. 98, 2000; 60 U.S. (16 How.) 393, 1857; and 558 U.S. 310, 2010).<br />
<br />
But this is the first time all three have come together in a "perfect storm" of corruption, arrogance, and ignorance.<br />
<br />
We have trump, arguably the worst president in history, as ranked by just any poll not conducted by a far-right organization. We have a corrupt Senate, ruled over by an anthropomorphic turtle who openly promised to work with the White House to ensure trump was not convicted in his impeachment trial. We have a SCOTUS that includes a black sexist, rapist, racist with a white wife, a white drunk frat boy rapist who boasted during his confirmation hearing that he "like[s]" beer (and, presumably, getting drunk and raping women) and three others who believe that corporations are people too, and should have more rights than other people.<br />
<br />
Our nation has faced disasters of national impact, as well: Hurricane Katrina, the Great Depression, and, of course, September 11. But in those disasters, we had trained, dedicated, experienced responders available, people whose first -- and only priority -- was protecting the people of the United States.<br />
<br />
Now, however, we have a disaster of epic proportions, a virus that could equal or even exceeed the death toll of the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu epidemic... and our "leaders" are morons and idiots chosen for their loyalty to the president, rather than to the people of the United States, a leader who repeatedly ignored and downplayed the dangers of the Covid-19 virus because he was afraid it would hurt his re-election chances (and, thus, increase his chances of being indicted, tried, convicted, and imprisoned -- most likely for life -- by the SDNY).<br />
<br />
The Coronavirus scare will eventually settle down, at least a bit.<br />
<br />
But we will <i style="font-weight: bold;">never</i> get back to the normal we knew. Too many families will have lost loved ones, often unnecessarily. Too many businesses will have failed. Too many unemployed will not be able to find new jobs.<br />
<br />
"Social distancing" will become a fact of life.<br />
<br />
Bars and restaurants will find their business models altered forever. <a href="http://www.newscentermaine.com/article/life/food/gov-mills-approves-bar-restaurants-to-sell-cocktails-to-go/97-aa73f413-2d18-48ec-be14-0083a3a0d2db" target="_blank">Restaurants have been restricted to “to-go” and delivery orders only</a>, with the partial offset of now being allowed to offer
“alcohol-to-go” if accompanied by a food order. Here in Maine, as in other states, <a href="http://www.npr.org/2020/04/13/831635629/a-pound-of-flour-to-go-restaurants-are-selling-groceries-now" target="_blank">some restaurants are now offering groceries</a>
to their customers (to keep themselves in business, to ease strain on customers
wishing to avoid traditional markets, and to prevent spoilage or waste; some
have announced they may continue this service once the state of emergency is
lifted).
Buffet-style restaurants are at particular risk: San Diego-based <a href="http://www.latimes.com/story/2020-05-07/souplantations-buffet-restaurants-closing-coronavirus" target="_blank">Souplantationsclosed all 97 restaurants</a> permanently due to their inherent inability to meet
FDA recommendations, which also now discourage salad bars and self-serve beverages in fast-food
restaurants.<a href="http://www.nrn.com/family-dining/golden-corral-suspends-company-owned-buffets-wake-coronavirus" target="_blank"> Golden Corral has closed its company-owned locations</a>, at least temporarily, although franchise locations mostly remain open, but
under strict scrutiny and sanitary programs. <a href="http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/end-buffet" target="_blank">Old Country Buffet and HometownBuffet are likely to follow suit</a>.<br />
<br />
Here in Maine, much of the local economy is based on tourism. Coastal towns like Wiscasset, Boothbay Harbor, Camden, Rockport, Rockland, and Searsport are already showing more and more empty storefronts as smaller businesses call it quits because without sales, they can't make their expenses (utilities, insurance, rent, etc.). The town of Camden, so far, has been hit extremely hard: of all the businessses in town -- restaurants, boutiques, B&Bs, etc. -- only five business are open, by my count: the gas station/convenience store (on greatly-reduced hours), the supermarket (on reduced hours), one local market (on reduced hours) and two restaurants (both restricted to take-out only).<br />
<br />
Festivals, fairs, and other large gatherings have been cancelled coast-to-coast. Here in Maine, among the big annual events <b>not </b>happening are the <a href="http://www.northatlanticbluesfestival.com/2019/072020-north-atlantic-blues-festival/" target="_blank">North Atlantic Blues Festival</a>, the <a href="http://www.mainepumpkinfest.com/" target="_blank">Damariscotta Pumpkin Festival and Regatta</a> (a bunch of drunks in hollowed-out giant pumpkins, fitted with outboard motors, racing in Damariscotta Harbor), the <a href="http://www.wgme.com/news/coronavirus/maine-lobster-festival-canceled-due-to-coronavirus-concerns-04-29-2020" target="_blank">Maine Lobster Festival</a>, the <a href="http://www.clamfestival.com/" target="_blank">Yarmouth Clam Festival</a>, and the <a href="http://www.mofga.org/The-Fair" target="_blank">Common Ground Fair</a>. While lobsters and clams may be breathing sighs of relief, these communities are looking at the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in much-needed income.<br />
<br />
Major retailers like J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, and JC Penney have all filed bankruptcy; other companies like Sears are sure to follow suit.<br />
<br />
To show you how bad things are here in Maine, <a href="http://www.bangordailynews.com/2020/03/16/business/ll-bean-to-close-all-us-retail-locations-amid-outbreak-including-freeport-flagship-store/" target="_blank">L.L. Bean</a>, which has prided itself on being open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, closed all its retail stores in March. This is only the <i>fifth</i> time in the company's 100+ years of operation the flagship store has been closed... and the <b>first </b>time it's been closed for 24 hours or more (it was closed for four hours for the funerals of President Kennedy, founder LL Bean himself, former President/CEO Leon Gorman, and for a few hours due to a major fire across the street).<br />
<br />
Another bellweather company, <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Waffle House,<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-waffle-house-index-red-restaurant-chain-shutters-356-stores-n1168391" target="_blank"> had closed ALL of its restaurants</a></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> in the South for varying periods because of the pandemic.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index" target="_blank">Waffle House Index</a>,” originally proposed as a tongue-in-cheek disaster
assessment factor in 2011, but subsequently adopted by FEMA, notes that closed Waffle
House restaurants are indictive of “severe to catastrophic” damage in the area.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">So, NO, we're <i style="font-weight: bold;">never </i>going to "get back to normal."</span><br />
<br />
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Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-6090901724048150242020-05-08T12:39:00.003-04:002020-05-08T12:39:45.389-04:00How Come...One can’t advertise tobacco products on radio or TV because the contain nicotine, but one can advertise e-cigarettes which contain <i>more</i> nicotine, and are flavored to appeal to younger people?Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-79070798328465152992020-05-07T09:03:00.001-04:002020-05-07T09:08:48.696-04:00Three Weeks Old, But...... worth it...<br />
<br />
I love than reactions from the anchors.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.ctv.ca/Your-Morning/Video/Teachers-song-about-her-feelings-during-the-pandemic-made-our-hosts-cry-of-laughter-vid1943353?jwsource=cl">https://www.ctv.ca/Your-Morning/Video/Teachers-song-about-her-feelings-during-the-pandemic-made-our-hosts-cry-of-laughter-vid1943353?jwsource=cl</a>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-23876612645229876432020-05-07T05:19:00.001-04:002020-05-07T05:19:51.978-04:00You’ve GOT To Be KiddingWLBZ TV is calling for snow on Saturday. One to six inches. In May.Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-90608526406243660222020-05-07T04:39:00.000-04:002020-05-07T04:39:38.060-04:00Sucks To Be YouRepublicans here in Maine are bitching because they’ve been “locked out” of negotiations about reopening the state.<br />
<br />
This is rich, coming from the party that has systematically excluded Democrats from all discussions at the national level for the last three and a half years. Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-41229792940155681782020-05-06T03:18:00.000-04:002020-05-06T03:18:10.571-04:00Truck fumpTruck fump and all his zombie followers.<br />
<br />
WE ARE THE TRUE AMERICANS.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/TvWWXv59apY" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/TvWWXv59apY</a>Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625710.post-21793247509573365792020-05-06T01:13:00.000-04:002020-05-06T01:13:29.161-04:00Miscellaneous Musings and Random Raciocinations<b>I. Once Again, Fox Admits It Lies</b><div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://truthout.org/articles/fox-news-defends-its-covid-lies/?utm_campaign=Truthout+Share+Buttons" target="_blank">Fox is being sued</a> by WASHLITE (<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #0a0a0a;">Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics), which is claiming that Fox's coverage of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic is </span><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #0a0a0a;">violating the state’s Consumer Protection Act by “falsely and deceptively disseminating ‘news’ via cable news contracts that the coronavirus was a ‘hoax’ and that it was otherwise not a danger to public health and safety," and specifically names host Sean insHannity and former host Trish Regan. Fox, in response, claims that the First Amendment protects "false" and "outrageous" speech, which is, unfortunately, true.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #0a0a0a;"><br /></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #0a0a0a;">“It’s Constitutional Law 101: the First Amendment protects our right to speak openly and freely on matters of public concern,” Fox News Media general counsel Lily Fu Claffee [<i>emphasis on F.U.</i>] said in a </span><a href="http://press.foxnews.com/2020/04/fox-news-defends-first-amendment-freedoms-in-motion-to-dismiss-washlite-suit-over-coronavirus-coverage/" style="background-color: #f8f8f8; box-sizing: inherit; color: #9c162c; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">statement</a><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #0a0a0a;">. “If WASHLITE doesn’t like what we said, it can criticize us, but it can’t silence us with a lawsuit.”</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #0a0a0a;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Again, <b>even accepting the Complaint’s characterization of the speech at issue</b>, the Fox commentators were expressing their view on the scientific question of how dangerous the Coronavirus is and how society should respond to it — including what type of governmental action should be taken.” [<i>emphasis added</i>]</span></span></blockquote>
A number of years back, in a Canadian court, Fox also admitted it lied, and claimed not to be a news agency, but an "entertainment" outlet, and, as such, was not bound by the truth.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>II. Nazis and Klukkers in Michigan </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
The far-right, pro-gun, pro-militia, anti-government, pro-trump Nazis and Klukkers were <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/michigan-gov-whitmer-protestors-carried-nooses-confederate-flags-swastikas-n1200276" target="_blank">out in force in Michigan</a>, carrying an assortment of Confederate flags, nooses, and swastikas. The "very fine people," as preznit called them a few years back, were protesting the states "stay at home" and masks orders promulgated by the governor. A large number of them, carrying AR-15s, tried -- unsuccessfully -- to get into the legislative chambers.<br />
<br />
As home to the Michigan Militia, and several active Klaverns, the state has an unfortunate expertise at dealing with these goobers, many of whom seem to believe they're just one step removed from Navy SEALS, but most of them couldn't fight their way out a pack of rampaging Brownies, even WITH the multiple firearms they all carry. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were both involved in the Michigan Milita, which shows you where the group's sympathies are.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>III. "God Wouldn't Wear a Mask, So I'm Not Going To, Either"</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ohio State Representative Nino Vitale (GOP, of course, since he's an idiot) says he's <a href="https://mavenroundtable.io/theintellectualist/news/ohio-gop-lawmaker-says-he-won-t-wear-a-face-mask-because-god-doesn-t-wear-one-ZxC8OfsiyE25isNhLuyG6g" target="_blank">refusing to wear a mask</a> in public, claiming, <span style="background-color: white;">“This is the greatest nation on earth founded on Judeo-Christian Principles. One of those principles is that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. That image is seen the most by our face. I will not wear a mask.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Vitale, who has that typical dull, vacant, deer-in-the-headlights look so common among goopers, says, </span><span style="background-color: white;">“This is not based on logic, this is based on fear and propaganda and every statistical, data driven study done in the last 2 weeks says death counts are low, the models were wrong, and this is more like the flu," indicating that not only is he a blithering idiot, but that he's also slurped down a few gallons of trumpian Kool-Aid. Other than the Spanish Flu of 100 years ago, I can't think of any flu outbreak that has killed in excess of 60,000 people in two months.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The good people of Ohio need to retire this </span>Bible-thumpin',
hooker-humpin' sister-marryin', rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup, duck f***in',
toothless, chinless, mouth breathin', meth-cookin’, NASCAR-lovin’, redneck,
slack-jawed, drooling-idiot, racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, inbred moran. Although to be fair, I must point out that he does, in fact, have a chin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>IV. The Oath Keepers. Again.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Oath Keepers, a far-right, anti-government extremist group, identifued as a hate group by both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, which claims to be comprised of active and former law enforcement officers and military (and which claims to be the final arbiter on the Constitution), is now <a href="https://www.nationalmemo.com/militia-gang-threatens-police-over-shutdown-protests" target="_blank">threatening American police officers</a>, saying, <span style="background-color: white;">"Police in the U.S. need to realize they stand at the precipice of losing the trust, support, and protection of millions of American patriots. They must reverse course and refuse unlawful orders, or risk being declared domestic enemies of the Constitution." Of course, what they deem unlawful are the executive orders issued by various governors, designed to keep the citizens safe and healthy. And while the cops <i>may</i> lose the trust, etc., of the Oath Keepers, they will continue to enjoy the respect of the 299,000,000 or so who <i>aren't</i> far-right-wing loons.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The Oath Keepers, by the way, are closely aligned with the various militia movements, the Sovereign Citizens, Christian Identity, the Klukkers, Aryan Nation/Aryan Brotherhood, and the various pro-Nazi parties. These people are NOT good Americans, no matter what they may claim. They're thugs, killers, and terrorists.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>V. The Preznit Is Unraveling</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="smallcaps" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; text-transform: lowercase;">In case there was any doubt</span>, the past dozen days have proved we’re at the point in his presidency where Donald Trump has become his own caricature, a figure impossible to parody, a man whose words and actions are indistinguishable from an Alec Baldwin skit on <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Saturday Night Live</em>.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These words, from <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/president-unraveling/611146/" target="_blank">an article in <i>The Atlantic</i></a>, paint a grim picture of the cascading failures of our Idiot-in-Chief. From his asinine comments about Nazis and Klukkers being "very fine people," and Mexicans being "drug dealers and rapists, but some very good people too" to his more recent moronic pronouncements about shining "just very powerful light" up your ass and "injecting disinfectant as a way to combat the effects of the virus “because you see it gets in the lungs and does a tremendous number on them, so it’d be interesting to check that[,]” it is becoming more and more obvious that not only is he completely and totally unfit for any job requiring intelligent thought, but that he is also rapidly losing what little grasp he may have had of reality.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He even lit into GWB, after Bush contributed a video to "The Call To Unite," going into a typical trumpian twittertantrum, which made -- if this is even possible -- Bush actually seem Presidential, intelligent, and decent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He then went on to claim that he was being treated "worse" than Prsident Lincoln, who, if memory serves me correctly, <i style="font-weight: bold;">WAS FREAKING ASSASSINATED.</i> This, of course, was a warmed-over reprise of a previous complaint, that he was being treated worse than Jesus, who, if memory serves me correctly, <b><i>WAS FREAKING CRUCIFIED.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">What scares me is that his paranoia and megalomania (and his understandable desire to stay out of the clutched of the Southern District of New York and a few other United States Attorneys) is the growing possibility that he will whip up some sort of bogus "national emergency" that "I, alone" can solve, "requiring" him to "postpone" the election until the emergency is over... in other words, until the statute of limitations has run on all his crimes. But given his life-long proclivities, he will continue to commit as many crimes as he can, so the limitation statutes will just keep piling up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This is what happens when you elect an insane, paranoid, megalomaniacal, egotistical, liar to high political office.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>VI. We Can Declare Victory and Go Home</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Federal Coronavirus/Covid-19 <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/05/politics/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-winding-down/index.html" target="_blank">task force will be wound down</a> at the end of the month, allowing trump to claim -- falsely -- that "I, alone" defeated the virus, and it's now safe for everyone to go back to work, making money for the millionaires.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #fefefe;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The second senior administration official told CNN that the White House is shifting its focus toward reopening the economy "and putting Americans back to work." That shift will take place over the next few weeks and doctors such as Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci, who have been prominent figures in the President's task force briefings with reporters, will still play "an important advisory role" in the process, the second senior administration official said.</span></span></blockquote>
Fauci, and to a lesser extent, Birx, would both be shuffled back off to their labs and insulated from the media, so they couldn't contradict trumps calims that everything is now hunky-dory. The article adds that one driver behind the wind-down is that Mikey pence wants to get out and travel and can't, partially because he's "leading" the task force, and partially because <i style="font-weight: bold;">ISN'T FREAKING SAFE TO GO GALLIVANTING AROUND IN PUBLIC YET, </i>even if Mikey does have "The Power of the Mythical Sky God" and the Sweet Baby Jesus on his side (just ask all the Evangelicals who have died from this damned virus).<br />
<br />Mr. 618http://www.blogger.com/profile/09888639331798664267noreply@blogger.com0