More "Family Values"

From the rabble-rousing Boston Globe:

SAN ANTONIO—A former Sunday school teacher was arrested on charges of distributing harmful material to a minor after the parents of a 14-year-old boy found a topless photo of her on his cell phone.

Victoria Ann Chacon, 27, also a former middle school teacher, allegedly met the boy at their church, where she was teaching Sunday school.

You know, the more we read about the "family values" crowd, the more obvious it becomes that they have NO concept what family values really are.

What a bunch of low-life trailer trash.

A Firefighter's Death

On Monday, a fire in Hartland, ME, claimed the life of volunteer Firefighter Michael Snowman, 49. Snowman was at the scene of a house fire when he collapsed from a heart attack. As a volunteer firefighter myself, I was going to try to post something Monday evening, but I just couldn't write about it at that point.

Then I found Queenie's blog. She has an incredibly moving post on FF Snowman's passing.

Read it.

Please.

And then say a little prayer for those who run into places everyone else is running out of.

Disgusting. Absolutely Dee-skus-ting.

Last week, an AP reporter and photographer stopped at the Oak Hill General Store in Standish, Maine (about 20 miles NW of Portland), to check a tip about an "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool," in which bettors could wager on the date that President-Elect Obama would be assassinated.

Portland Press-Herald columnist Bill Nemitz:

It all started 11 days ago when The Associated Press in Portland received an anonymous tip of a sign inside the store announcing the "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool."

AP writer Jerry Harkavy and photographer Bob Bukaty took a ride out and, sure enough, saw those very words scrawled across a whiteboard inside the store.

Before they were rebuffed by a man behind the counter who wouldn't give his name, Harkavy said, they also noted that to win the $1-per-entry pool, a contestant had to pick the date that President-elect Barack Obama would be assassinated.

"Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count," the sign said. And at the bottom of the board were the words: "Let's hope someone wins."

Of course, the Secret Service, the state AG's office, and the Cumberland County Sheriff are all investigating.

Note that the store is advocating the use of violence in the furtherance of a political objective. Guess what? Under Federal law, that makes the Oak Hill General Store a terrorist organization. I'd love to see the Ministry for Homeland Security swoop down on them.

Steve Collins, owner of the Oak Hill General Store, supports terrorism and murder. He should be arrested on terrorism charges.

The fine God-fearing folks who bought squares in the pool should also be arrested, for their obvious terrorist symapthies.

There have been other racially-tinged incidents in Maine, too:

Closer to home, a student was suspended from Gray-New Gloucester High School after standing up in class and delivering a racist, anti-Obama rant. And on Mount Desert Island, police are investigating three cases in which all-black, cardboard cut-outs of human figures were hung from trees along roadsides just after the election.

This is Maine, for God's sake. Maine, not Alabama or Mississippi or Arkansas.

Nemitz asks what can be done:

Thomas Harnett, Maine's assistant attorney general for civil rights education and enforcement, said it's too soon to determine what legal action, if any, might stem from the Oak Hill General Store sign. But he agreed with Wessler [Stephen Wessler, executive director of the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence] that what law enforcement sometimes can't accomplish, community outrage can.

"The best way to counter hateful speech is to assert one's own right to free speech," Harnett said. "It's very important for people to speak out loudly and clearly and powerfully that this is not how Maine feels."

I'd say the decent people in Standish -- which voted for Obama -- should shun the Oak Hill General Store and leave it for the local KKK contingent. I doubt there are enough racists in town to keep the store alive, especially in this economy.

Maybe someone should grab the wire frame from a campaign sign and designate the store "Standish KKK Headquarters" or "We Support Terrorism and Murder."

Oh, and when the story broke on AP, Collins -- being the brave, courageous terrorist that he is -- fled to an undisclosed location in northern Maine for some hunting.

Stevie, you like posting hateful speech, so come on back and face the music.

You hateful, racist,neocon pussy.

Politics AND Cat Blogging...

...who could ask for more?

http://ohnoespolitiks.blogspot.com/

I found them via a comment at Dependable Renegade.

Back to Being Serious

Now that the election is over -- except for a few obligatory attempts to disenfranchise the 52% of the electorate who voted for Obama -- it's time to look ahead.

Number one, I'm sure the Secret Service is going to have additional agents assigned to Obama's detail. After all, they now have to worry about not just the usual loonies who want to kill a president, but also the disgruntled rednecks who "cain't beleeve we done elected a nigra." And unfortunately, these rednecks don't just live in the south. Here in central Maine, I ran into a guy who said the country "couldn't afford a n****r in the White House." Central Maine, mind you, not Alabama or Tennessee. I have said it before and I'll say it again: the Secret Service is the premier executive protection agency on Earth, and they've probably been planning for this since Obama formed his exploratory committee.

Second, the Christianists*, Dominionists, and other fundie wingnuts have lost this opportunity to have one of their own in the line of succession. That doesn't mean, however, that they're going to fade back into obscurity. The Dobsons, Falwells, and their ilk will continue to poison American discourse with their perverted views of Christianity; we must not miss a single opportunity to point out that -- despite their claims -- they do not represent this country.

Third, it will be very interesting to see what kind of surprises Cheney and bush may have planned for the country between now and January 20. Yes, Commander Codpiece called President-elect Obama (Lord, how that must stick in his craw!) to congratulate him, but I still don't trust Biggus Dickus or dim son as far as I could throw them.

__________

On a more pleasant topic, I saw a clip last night from WDIV TV in Detroit, showing the line at one polling location: the line came out the door, wrapped around the block, and had a start on a second wrap. This, from a city that has had low turnouts the last few elections.

Here in Maine, the Secretary of State reports turnout may exceed 80% - a record for the state.

And it appears that turnout may hit record levels in many, many locations -- a testament to the importance of this election, and to the effectiveness of Obama's GOTV efforts.

And this just in from WCSH TV in Portland: a referendum to allow a casino (with a legally-mandated 10-year monopoly) had been defeated. The bill would have lowered the gambling age from 21 to 19, in addition to the non-compete provision. It needed to fail, and it did.

Oh, and for those who don't keep track of these things, there are now NO Rethuglicans in any New England US House delegation. The last one, Chris Shays of CT, was defeated.


*Christianists as opposed to Christians, of course.

In Homage to the Rethuglicans...

who were so gracious after their "wins" in 2000 and 2004...

Remember this?

Well, guys, this is for you:

WE WON, YOU LOST. GET OVER IT!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Firefighting Blog to Look At...

Via FireGeezer, I found a link to a really delightful blog, FirefighterSam. It concerns the adventures of Sam, a vertically- and chronologically-challenged firefighter (he's 4 years old).

For an excellent depiction of what firefighters have to deal with, scroll down to the "Kids' Combat Challenge" post dated October 5.

A classic.

More Martial Law Worries

In my previous post on the possibility of the Cheney/bush administration declaring martial law to avoid turning over the reins of power -- especially to Obama -- commenter Sheilanagig reminded me of something: the "John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007", signed into law by bush in October of 2006, contained a couple of last-minute provisions inserted at the request of the administration, one of which concerned suspending posse comitatus.

Lycosing* "suspension of posse comitatus act" led me to an article on IntelDaily.com, entitled "Bush Paves the Way for Martial Law: 2007 National Defense Authorization Act overturns Posse Comitatus Act" which contains the following:

Sec. 1042 of the Act, "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies," effectively overturns what is known as posse comitatus. The Posse Comitatus Act is a law, passed in 1878, that prohibits the use of the regular military within the U.S. borders.

Overturning or suspending this Act effectively allows the President (in this case, Cheney) to use the military to intervene in domestic affairs; whenever the Chief Executive thinks it necessary, he can institute martial law, under which the military takes control of civilian governmental administration... like law enforcement.

Sheilanagig also mentioned "Directive 51," referring to National Security Presidential Directive NSPD-51, signed by Commander Guy on May 4, 2007. This little gem of (un)Constitutional law relates to continuity of government operations after a "catastrophic emergency". The directive defines such an emergency as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions." [Emphasis added]

I can certainly imagine Cheney and bush deciding that a President Obama (or even a President McCain [shudder!]) would "severely affect" operations of their government.

This continuity of government would be achieved by the President "coordinating" the activities of the three branches of government. This is scary in that all of a sudden the President is coordinating the activities, as opposed to our current system where the three branches (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) are independent and co-equal. The Wikipedia page on the Directive has lots more scary information.

Yes, continuity of government is a critical factor when considering the aftermath of a terrorist attack (or a natural disaster), but most continuity plans I have seen discussed retain the concept of three separate-but-equal branches of government.

So, even without going into the business of razor wire surrounding FEMA "evacuation camps" and the rest of the "black helicopter" paranoia, there seems to be increasing evidence that Cheney, bush, et al., are at least thinking about the imposition of martial law.

I really do fear for my country these days.

*"Lycosing" is not as mellifluous as "Googling", but as I mentioned in the post immediately below this one, Lycos is now the Official Search Engine of 618Rants.

Google and Yahoo Are Pissing Me Off...

The geniuses at both Google and Yahoo have come up with an exciting new advertising ploy. When you click on a search result, you are redirected to an advertising page that often has nothing to do with your search.

For instance:

Google: I entered the term "Cocoanut Grove" looking for information on the 1942 fire. The first result Google returned was the Wikipedia page for the fire. Clicking on that link, however, took me to a fine food page, Gourmandia. Not only was I greeted with a truly obnoxious Flash animation for WallyWorld, it had nothing to do with the Cocoanut Grove fire, except possibly both involved exposing flesh to high heat. Clicking "back" (at least on Internet Exploder) took me to the redirect page, which sent me back to Gourmandia. To get back to the search results, I have to open "History" and click the link there. Once I finally get back to Google, clicking the Wikipedia link again finally takes me to the page I wanted initially.

Yahoo: On Yahoo, the first two results for "Cocoanut Grove" take me to the Cocoanut Grove (Florida) Business Improvement Committee website (with a side trip to Elle magazine). Returning to Yahoo -- again via the "History" button -- I click on the Wikipedia link, and, whammo, once again, I'm at Elle fashion. Hit the "history", find Yahoo search results, and finally -- finally! -- I get to the Wikipedia page.

Thus far, Lycos (http://www.lycos.com/, which used to be the leading search engine till Google came along), takes me to Wikipedia without a detour to irrelevant advertising.

Therefore, I am proud to announce that LYCOS is the Official Search Engine of 618Rants.

Schticks of One, Half a Dozen of the Other

I. Gun Nuttiness

According to a filler in today's Portland Press-Herald, a woman in Lebanon, PA, lost her concealed carry permit after wearing a handgun in plain view at a soccer game. She claimed that "warm-weather clothing made it difficult to hide a firearm." Well, she has a point there. On the other hand, a right -- such as carrying a weapon -- comes with concurrent responsibilities -- such as not terrifying the populace, and obeying the terms of the permit. A "concealed carry" permit is just that: concealed. As a former police officer, I can testify that it is a real pain in the back of the lap to conceal a weapon on a hot summer day. That's why one occasionally sees beefy guys with short hair, blue jeans and black shoes (or black boots) wearing a windbreaker when it's 110 degrees. Chances are they guy's a cop. (And yes, the blue jeans and black boots is the giveaway).

If you're going to carry based on a concealed carry permit, your weapon has to be concealed.

Period.

Oh, and the local judge -- who also likes to pack heat on a concealed carry permit -- said the law required him to return the woman's permit.


II. Detroit Nuttiness

This tale of Detroit Nuttiness has nothing to do with former-mayor-and-convicted-felon Kwame Kilpatrick, but what the heck. Five (presumably female) Detroit police officers are suing the city for discrimination, in that they were forced to take sick leave when their bosses found out they were pregnant. The plaintiffs say they are contesting a 2004 policy that requires sick leave "unless a doctor finds they can crawl in confined spaces, jump from an elevated surface, and forcibly make arrests." Now, as a male, I have never been pregnant, and hopefully never will be (although I could use the money I'd get selling my story to the National Enquirer), but the policy seems to make a certain amount of sense. Being a street cop is a demanding, physical profession; does it really make sense to endanger not only your life, but the life of your unborn child? (And that comment has nothing to do with the question of when a fetus becomes a person)

On the other hand, given the dire financial straits in which Detroit finds itself, there should be some way of keeping these officers gainfully occupied while pregnant. The old standby of switching them to dispatch no longer is viable, due to all the specialized training now required of dispatchers (which is completely different than the training given street cops), but there should be other options, such as temporary re-assignment to Community Services (giving talks to school kids, who'd probably be thrilled at seeing a "girl cop"), Crime Prevention (Neighborhood Watch), or recruiting. Hell, sweeten the deal and arrange a temporary transfer to the Detective Division (to avoid having to buy maternity uniforms) and have them work Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, conducting follow-up interviews and investigations.

The city is going to wind up paying them either way, so they may as well get a return on their investment. And the average street cop has too much experience for it to lie fallow for five or six months, when they could be doing something productive for the city.


III. Dennis the Menace

Today's installment of the adventures of America's favorite "five-ana-half" year old has Dennis asking a guest, "If you're not married, who tells you when you're doin' something wrong?"

Oh, Dennis, Dennis, Dennis... Enjoy it while it lasts.

As any adult male can testify, there is always someone willing to tell you you're wrong. Female relatives, friends, acquaintances, even strangers, are always more than willing to point out the faults of any male.


IV. Bailout BS

After receiving something like $80 billion from the Feds as part of the bailout, AIG insurance execs blew $440,000 on a weekend retreat (including spas, manicures, pedicures, and a $10K bar tab). AIG then asked for $60 billion more.

And got it.

Meanwhile, ain't nobody bailing out us poor schmucks.

On Wednesday, I mentioned the possibility of a desperate last-minute power-grab by the current administration. I said, "I wouldn't put it past Cheney ... to greet us the day after Election Day..." without stopping to think that it doesn't have to be the day after. It could be any day, up to and including Inauguration Day.

Obviously, the easiest way for the Cheneyites to retain power would be to have some sort of terror attack which would -- at least in their minds -- justify the imposition of martial law.

In discussing this with some friends, one pointed out that even Cheney and bush wouldn't have the gall to try such a move. Then, I found this video from C-Span:



"...There would be martial law in America if we voted no..." (Money quote starts at 00:25)

Now granted, Congressman Sherman was discussing the ramifications of the bailout bill, but this shows that the idea of imposing martial law is starting to percolate through the administration.

This is a terrifying thought.

My friend also said that even if they try martial law, the government wouldn't allow it. I fear that is wishful thinking. Congress hasn't stood up against this administration since Day One, not against the Patriot Act, the suspension of habeus corpus, Gitmo or any of the other schemes Cheney and bush have come up with. The legal system wouldn't be of much use either, since Cheney and bush have ensured that only loyal bushies are installed as US Attorneys... and they're the ones who would have to act (assuming that Congress is effectively neutralized, as I fear it is).

She also claimed that during the final days of Nixon's implosion, military and law enforcement units were placed on alert, just in case Tricky Dick tried to impose martial law to remain in power; she said the same thing would happen now. I'm not so sure. In the first place, Nixon's downfall took place at the tail end of Vietnam, by which time the military had lost all confidence in their Commander in Chief; I'm not sure that applies now. This time, one could argue that the military supports the administration's "efforts" to root out terrorists. Furthermore, Cheney and bush have been pretty damned effective in purging the military of "disloyal" commanders.

And let us not forget that after 9-11, Federal law enforcement, with the exception of the FBI, was concentrated in the Department of Homeland Security. I've written many times about DHS, often comparing the agency to the gone-but-not-forgotten KGB, the "sword and shield" of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. DHS is completely under the thumb of the administration, and Michael "Skeletor" Chertoff doesn't strike me as the kind who would move against his superiors, especially not to defend a "goddamned piece of paper." I say it is entirely possible that any attempt to protest an imposition of martial law would be met by heavily armed DHS storm troopers fanatically loyal to Cheney and bush. The FBI would be equally useless, for under this administration, they have been given powers that they have only dreamed of, much more power than they held even under Hoover's heyday. Besides, the United States Secret Service -- formerly part of the Treasury Dept, and now, of course, an entity of DHS -- is the most professional, most competent executive protection organization on the face of the earth, and like the rest of DHS, would probably be loyal to the current regime.

Cheney and bush would have no problem inventing a disaster: another attack, "warnings" of an "impending" attack (and we've seen how often those crop up when the administration's in trouble), or even using the current economic meltdown. Cheney and bush would use bush's claim of "unitary executive power" and Cheney's position as "part of the legislative branch" to squelch any opposition.

Okay, maybe I'm paranoid, but -- as Henry Kissinger said, "Even a paranoid can have enemies."

It will be interesting to see if the United States of America still exists as a free nation on January 21, 2009.

Another Thing to Think About...

We're coming into the final stretch in the campaigning now, and more and more of the polls are tipping Obama's way. Given the Rethuglican proclivity for stealing elections, it will be interesting to see what happens if the vote gets to the point where the R's can't finagle a victory for themselves.

But even if McSame and the MILF manage to pull off some typically sleazy theft, who's to say gee-dumbya and unca Dick are going to go quietly into oblivion? I wouldn't put it past Cheney (since bush is a useless appendage on Biggus Dickus) to greet us the day after Election Day with some sort of terrist attack (or threat, or "gut feeling" or something) that "requires" them to stay in power indefinitely, to deal with "those godless moozlums."

And if it gets to the point where Obama has obviously won, I'd say some sort of desperate, last-minute power-grab is almost a certainty.

Another One for the Blogroll

My Two Cents. Worth the read. Found it via BlondeSense.

'Nother Quickie...

Two more for the blogroll....

Via Firestarter5, The Great Endarkenment.

And, via The Great Endarkenment, Politits.

Quickie Post

One of Watertiger's regular commenters at Dependable Renegade (Ifthethunderdontgetya) referred to Palin as "Bible Spice."

I spit coffee all over the place.

The commenter says he swiped it from Wonkette. No matter who coined it, it's perfect.

A Chilling Thought

Okay, I'll admit right up front that this could be something out of The Twilight Zone, but I think it's worth at least a little consideration.

george w. bush and his evangelical cronies would love to see one of their own take over the White House. That's okay, every politician wants to be followed by another of his or her stripe. The problem is that so many of bush's cohorts are Dominionists, advocating a theocratic government for the U.S. (Kos diarist Dogemperor has many, many postings on Dominionism)*. Among the Dominionists with ties to the current administration are John Ashcroft, Dominos Pizza founder Tom Monaghan (he's also establishing a fundamentalist "Christian" community around his openly-Dominionist Ave Maria "Law School"), former Michigan gubernatorial candidate and Amway heir Richard DeVos, Truett Cathy (head of the Chik-Fil-A restaurant chain) and the Paxton family (of Pax TV).

Dominionists also have ties to other fringe groups: Christian Identity, the Militia movement, Sovereign Citizens (the "Republic of Texas" crowd), even the Klan and skinhead groups. The only thing these groups have in common is a pathological hatred for what this country represented before bush stole the presidency (twice).

The Dominionists are smart enough to realize that, thus far, they do not have a snowflake's chance in hell of getting one of their Talibangelicals elected to the highest office in the land.

So what do they do?

"Submitted for your consideration," as Rod Serling used to say:

Have the GOP nominate for President a man in his 70s, with a history of cancer... a cancer that is quite often fatal. Even without the cancer, McSame would be the oldest incoming President in history. How could they make this happen? Easy. Promise the GOP the fundamentalist/evangelical vote, and threaten to withhold it --or even worse, nominate their own candidate. The GOP is so used to knuckling under to the mouth-breathin', Bible-thumpin', hooker-humpin', sister-marryin', rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup crowd that they'd do it without a second thought.

They get one of their own -- Sarah Palin -- nominated as VP for John McSame. Palin has well-known ties to the Dominionist movement, and has even told interviewers she believes Christ will return to Earth during her lifetime. The right-wing loonie fringe could also point out that a certain (I hope small) number of hard-core feminists would vote Rethuglican to "punish" the Democrats for not nominating Hillary Clinton.

McSame cashes out, either through cancer or just plain old age. And if it looks like he might survive either the full term or -- God help us -- two terms (how's that for a terrifying thought?), I wouldn't put it past them to whack him... with "plausible deniability", of course.

Voila... Palin the Dominionist is President.

Far-fetched? Sure. But so is a lot of the rest of the things that have happened the past eight years.

* If the link doesn't work, go to Daily Kos and search authors for "Dogemperor".

Gotta Love Brooks

I have to admit, David Brooks' column yesterday floored me. Discussing the bailout plan for the financial industry, he says:

It does not rely on any system of checks and balances, but on the wisdom and public spiritedness of those in charge [Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke]. It offers succor to the investment banks that contributed to this mess and will burn through large piles of public money. But in exchange, it promises to restore confidence. [...] The country ... will turn to the safe heads of the investment banks. [...] Government activism will provide support to corporations, banks and business and will be used to shore up the stable conditions they need to thrive. [...] We're entering an era of the educated establishment, in which government acts to create a stable -- and often oligarchic-- framework for capitalist endeavor.

The "wisdom and public spiritedness of those in charge"?!? "Succor to the investment banks that contributed to this mess"?!?

Where's the relief for the thousands of Americans who are in danger of losing their homes? Sure, a lot of them were suckered in by immoral, lying bastards from companies like Countrywide, and conned into taking out mortgages they couldn't possibly afford, but what about the little guy?

Oh, wait... under the current administration -- and most likely under the potential administration of McSame and the MILF -- the little guy doesn't count. Only the rich and powerful count and are worthy of salvation.

Amazing how activist governments are a Bad Thing... until you need one to bail out your richie-rich friends.

Badtux, by the way, has a very good explanation of the technical points of the bailout plan; unlike those promulgated by the economists (on either side), his is easy to understand.

On a semi-related matter, today's Portland Press Herald has an editorial saying it's time for the undecided voters to wake up and start thinking about who will be the next President. It seems to me that Brooks' column should show the little guy where his vote should go.

What Are The Chances?

I was perusing the Detroit News this evening, catching up on the antics of my favorite disgraced ex-mayor and soon-to-be jailbird, Kwame Kilpatrick, when a story from Michigan State University caught my eye. It seems that Mike Robell – purely by chance – was assigned the same dorm room his father had lived in thirty years earlier. Mike’s father Rich Robell suspected it was the same room, and, according to the paper, “the same broken window latch offered some evidence.”

Yes, one could ask what the chances were that father and son would get the same dorm room by chance. But my question is a little more basic:

THIRTY YEARS and you still haven’t fixed the broken window latch?!?

Kwame OUT

Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two felony counts and will resign from office effective in two weeks. The plea stems from the "text-message" scandal, in which it became obvious that Kilpatrick and his then chief-of-staff Christine Beatty lied under oath about their sexual affair and the effect the affair had on Kilpatrick's firing of several police officers. The firings led to a (roughly) $9 million settlement by the city of Dteroit. The scandal has since expanded, and included recent revelations that Federal agencies tapping the phones of Kilpatrick's parents overheard arrangements of pay-offs for city contracts. Kilpatrick's mother is US Rep Cheeks-Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick and Beatty were indicted in April on a total of twelve felony counts for perjury and obstruction of justice.

It was also announced that police chief Ella Bully-Cummings is resigning effective immediately, and Kilpatrick's counsel Sharon McPhail will be resigning soon.

Kilpatrick still has to deal with two additional felony counts involving his alleged assault on two poice officers attempting to serve a subpoena on one of his friends.

Okay, Maybe I Fibbed

Having just said I was going to avoid political blogging, I feel it is only fair to mention that McCain's running mate (and, for all we know, future bedmate), Governor Palin, is already facing allegations of corruption. Turns out some of her administration members have been pressuring the Alaska State Troopers to dump a cop who apparently pissed off the Palin clique.

Gotta LOVE them lawnorder, dignituded rethuglicans.

Oh, and in an effort to energize the Bible-thumpin', hooker-humpin', sister-marryin', rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup neocon wingnut idjits, she has a dead bear and a dead crab in her living room, she's a creationist, and she's anti-choice. What's not to love?