That's what the Bush administration keeps telling us. Except, ya know, there has been terrorism in America since 9/11, but when it's terrorism against uppity women (and their allies) who have the gall to think they ought to be able to control their own bodies or be free from abuse, it doesn't count.This actually ties in prety well to my letter to the editor in response to a crazy-ass wingnut from a few weeks back. These are people who are convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that terrorism is only something done by Them Evil Brown Furriners. To them, even acts like the Oklahoma City bombing aren't terrorism, much less vandalism, arson, and murder committed by anti-choice and/or anti-gay hate-spreaders - only brown people killing Good White Straight Americans is terrorism. It's this belief that gives rise to the ignorance that could convince someone that only Muslims can be terrorists.
Via Vanessa, here's more terrorism that doesn't count, as two separate Albuquerque Planned Parenthood facilities were vandalized on Christmas Day:Firefighters were called out early this morning to Planned Parenthood's medical offices in the northeast part of the city. The roof was on fire, but crews were able to quickly extinguish the flames. Fire officials have confirmed that some type of incendiary device was found on the roof.One city. Three separate incidents against three separate clinics in the span of one month, two of them involving arson.
Hours earlier, authorities responded to another Planned Parenthood clinic to find that its windows had been broken. Authorities say damage at both clinics was minimal.
The incidents follow a fire just weeks ago at Abortion Acceptance of Albuquerque.
But no terrorism, of course. That's only done by brown people, who do such things on behalf of a god who goes by a different name. Oh, and it has to affect men, too.
Straight men. Don't get your hopes up that a molotov cocktail through the window of Manhole and a dozen incidents of gay-bashing are going to be called terrorism anytime soon either, my little fagulas. I mean, you're practically women, anyway. Yuck!
ter·ror·ism (těr'ə-rĭz'əm)Huh. Nothing about "brown people" or "Muslims" in that definition. Fancy that.
n. The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.
It has been said that terrorists have hijacked a great religion. I submit that Islam has corrupted its people.Gee, doesn't this sound like the kind of person you want in your community? This kind of hatred is, sadly, both expected and accepted in this area.
Sadly, individual Muslims, out of a sense of duty or fear of their fellow Muslims, express little or no desire to assimilate into a host country’s social fabric and often advocate the establishment of Sharia law in their communities. They seldom condemn or inform upon militants. Those found out are considered traitors and subsequently murdered by militants. Witness Iraq. If American Muslims are one day compelled to choose between Islam or America, there is little doubt in my mind what that choice will be.
Islam is a problem. Sin is the problem. Islam is a militant and proselytizing faith bent upon world domination. Mohammed mandated that the world remain in a state of war until Islam rules the world. No, not all Muslims are terrorists. However, all terrorists are Muslims. Those in control, to whom lying, deception, coercion and force are virtues and murder and suicide are the paths to heaven are never to be trusted. Diplomacy and appeasement are simply wastes of time.
Infiltration into our country and many others is well on its way. Recruitment and the promotion of propaganda in the media, press, the courts and our campuses are in full swing.
But Pence's objections, like those of the White House, are troubling to us because they grant faith-based organizations the right to practice discrimination at the same time they receive federal funds.
Specifically, the White House, Pence and a few other conservatives sought language that would allow religious groups receiving federal money to administer Head Start programs to hire or fire staffers based on religious affiliations.
Now, let us be clear in our belief that religious groups and organizations should be permitted to place religious tests on whomever they choose to hire or fire without interference from government.
So long as they are using their own money.
Therein lies the problem. A higher or at least more public standard needs to be met when tax dollars are at stake, as they are in this case.
Rep. Mark Souder hates drugs. He also hates the people who use drugs. He also hates the people who don't hate the people who use drugs.Under current law, students with drug convictions are ineligible for financial aid for at least a year, maybe more, depending on the conviction. A group opposed to this penalty has been lobbying for years to eliminate it and will get a chance this week when the House Education Committee takes up reauthorization of the Higher Education Act on Wednesday.There's just a small problem: The letter that Souder sent out as a warning of the "small but determined" pro-drug hippies got a response from some of those aforementioned groups. And unfortunately for Souder, they aren't small, and they aren't happy.
Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), a strong supporter of the drug penalty, tried earlier this month to preempt the effort to repeal it with a Dear Colleague letter. It warned members of Congress not to heed the word of the "small but determined coalition of drug-legalization groups" that opposes the penalty. "Before you are bombarded by the talking points of such groups, I wanted to make sure everyone has the facts straight," he wrote.The group, however, did its own straightening of facts. Sixteen of its members replied with a letter that's going out today asking that Souder "retract" his characterization of them. Among the hippies to fire back: the American Federation of Teachers, American Friends Service Committee, National Association of Social Workers, Union for Reform Judaism, etc.
What I learned from Indiana University-Purdue University Sociology Department: George W. Bush thinks lying, cheating, torture, taking away peoples’ rights, neglecting the poor, being a religious hypocrite, killing, incompetence and cronyism are all OK. Would you be surprised if I said this list was hanging on the door of a professor at the IPFW Sociology Department?
The skins' reasons for opposing the war are, in fact, wholly different from those of the much larger antiwar left, who are opposed largely on humanitarian grounds; the far right, however, opposes the war because it's perceived to be fought on behalf of Israel and the Jews -- which is why, when you hear them talk about "neocons", you know that they are in fact using it as a code word for "Jew." So the association, such as it is (it seems largely to occur at Paul events) is purely coincidental, accidental, a nonsequitur, and largely irrelevant (though it hopefully gives antiwar liberals pause about the way they talk about Israeli influence in the matter).Hat tip to Amanda at Pandagon for pointing me to this.
However, the fact that they do so in the name of supporting Ron Paul is neither merely accidental nor irrelevant. After all, Paul himself is inclined to rail against "the Israel lobby" and "the neocons". But that's only scratching the surface of his appeal to this sector. Unlike the antiwar left, there's more than an abundance of common ground between Ron Paul and the far right.
Thank you for the update on your latest accomplishments. We're all very proud. We're especially happy that you were able to escape the National Press Club luncheon with Dick Cheney without getting shot in the face.
Thanks also for asking about what's new on this end. To recap, among other things, I have been:
1. Wondering what happened to your former employer and media outlet, the GOPUSA-sponsored Talon News, which shuttered its site following your resignation. I found a convenient Talon News web archive here. Ironically, the original domain is now being used for a parody of journalism.
2. Searching for the web archive of the 500 articles you wrote during your two years as a White House correspondent. Your previous and current blogs do not contain any content from before your February 2005 resignation, and the GOPUSA site only seems to have some of your prodigious output in its forums. Any information you could provide about the whereabouts of those 500 journalistic gems, such as "League of Women Voters Advocates Liberal Agenda" or "AP Reporter has Kerry Ties," would be greatly appreciated.
3. Hoping for some enlightenment on how and from whom you and Talon News received a White House press credential. Could Scott McClellan shed any light, or would he just say "Go ahead, Jeff" and ask you to provide the details. Or perhaps Ari Fleischer could help, since he claimed you were "just as legitimate as some of the fringe organizations in the room" and that you asked him a question at a February 2003 briefing held before the existence of Talon News.
4. Blogging on the ongoing PR fraud of the Bush presidency here, here and here. Any insight you could provide into the White House's use of rented reporters, purchased pundits, rigged rallies, scripted sessions, fake news and pseudo-science would again be much appreciated. Then again, I should probably just read your book; I'm sure the details are in there.
Thank you also for taking the time to visit and comment at Perrspectives. Please don't worry about me "feeling slighted" by your drive-by spamming of the site to, as President Bush once said, "catapult the propaganda." That's what Americans expect from the organs of the right.
Go back to bed, America. Your government has figured out how it all transpired. Go back to bed, America. Your government is in control again. Here. Here's American Gladiators. Watch this, shut up. Go back to bed, America. Here is American Gladiators. Here is 56 channels of it! Watch these pituitary retards bang their fucking skulls together and congratulate you on living in the land of freedom. Here you go, America! You are free to do what we tell you! You are free to do what we tell you!
Regardless of what the media tell us, most white Americans are not going to believe that they are at fault for what blacks have done to cities across America. The professional blacks may have cowed the elites, but good sense survives at the grass roots. Many more are going to have difficultly avoiding the belief that our country is being destroyed by a group of actual and potential terrorists -- and they can be identified by the color of their skin. This conclusion may not be entirely fair, but it is, for many, entirely unavoidable.Of course, the Ronbots are in high gear trying to deny this, saying it's all in the past, and Paul himself has had much of the proof of his hatemongering scrubbed from the Internet by any means possible.
Indeed, it is shocking to consider the uniformity of opinion among blacks in this country. Opinion polls consistently show that only about 5% of blacks have sensible political opinions, i.e. support the free market, individual liberty, and the end of welfare and affirmative action.... Given the inefficiencies of what D.C. laughingly calls the "criminal justice system," I think we can safely assume that 95% of the black males in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal.
Local Republican Chairman Steve Shine on Friday criticized a third-party radio commercial promoting GOP mayoral candidate Matt Kelty that Shine said presents a message of intolerance.
The ad, sponsored by the American Family Association of Indiana, said Christians have an important decision in the upcoming mayor’s race because Democrat Tom Henry has “repeatedly authored legislation promoting the gay-rights agenda.”
The American Family Association of Indiana is endorsing Kelty.
Shine sent a two-page letter to Kelty outlining his concerns with the ad. In it, he wrote that the advertisement does not create a perception of the open and inclusive Republican Party he is trying to promote.
While he said he has valued the group’s support of candidates in the past, he fears the radio ad – played on a local Christian station – conveys that Republicans shun people who differ from them in certain ways.
“As someone whose roots come from a class of people once persecuted for its religious beliefs, it pains me to hear even a hint of intolerance associated with a candidate of an organization I chair,” said Shine, who is Jewish. “I will not accept intolerance, real or perceived.”
Reporter: Mr. President, following up on Vladimir Putin for a moment, he said recently that next year, when he has to step down according to the constitution, as the president, he may become prime minister; in effect keeping power and dashing any hopes for a genuine democratic transition there ...
Bush: I've been planning that myself.
Twenty-year-old Tyler Peterson had gone to the party early Sunday to make amends with his ex-girlfriend, a friend of Peterson's told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Peterson lost control after people called him a "worthless pig," Mike Kegley told the paper.
Peterson left and got a police-style AR-15 rifle from his truck, forced his way back into the apartment and fired about 30 rounds at about 2:45 a.m. (3:45 a.m. ET). Six people were killed; one person survived and is hospitalized, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said at a Monday news conference.
St. Bernard Parish Councilman Joey DiFatta, who on Thursday withdrew from the 1st Senate District campaign, has been stopped twice since 1996 for suspicion of engaging in lewd behavior in public restrooms in Jefferson Parish, records obtained by The Times-Picayune show.
(...)
In the second incident, Jefferson Parish deputies working an undercover detail in a men's bathroom at Dillard's at Lakeside Shopping Center in March 2000 stopped DiFatta after he indicated a desire to engage in sex with an undercover deputy in an adjoining bathroom stall, according to an interoffice memorandum written by Sgt. Keith Conley, one of the deputies involved in the investigation.
The report said DiFatta slid his foot into the deputy's stall and tapped the deputy's foot. In the report, Conley noted that such activity is common among men to indicate a willingness to participate in sex.
The deputy inside the stall, Detective Wayne Couvillion, responded by tapping his foot, and DiFatta reached under the partition and began to rub the deputy's leg, the report states.
The detective asked DiFatta, "What do you want?" according to the report, and he replied, "I want to play with you."
DiFatta also used a hand signal to indicate that he wanted to engage in sex and used language that indicated the same, according to the report. Conley, who is now the Kenner city attorney, confirmed the report's authenticity Thursday.
The incident did not culminate in an arrest because the deputy in the bathroom with DiFatta terminated the investigation after several children entered the bathroom, the report states. Conley noted in the report that DiFatta appeared well-versed and comfortable with the routine.
Conley wrote that had the investigation been allowed to continue, it likely would have concluded in DiFatta's arrest on obscenity charges, including a possible attempted crime against nature.
Conley confronted DiFatta outside the bathroom, and DiFatta apologized and said he would not return, according to the report. DiFatta also said he has a problem with such behavior and had sought counseling for the addiction in the past, the report states.
Most Americans believe the nation's founders wrote Christianity into the Constitution, and people are less likely to say freedom to worship covers religious groups they consider extreme, a poll out today finds.
The survey measuring attitudes toward freedom of religion, speech and the press found that 55% believe erroneously that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation. In the survey, which is conducted annually by the First Amendment Center, a non-partisan educational group, three out of four people who identify themselves as evangelical or Republican believe that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation. About half of Democrats and independents do.
Most respondents, 58%, say teachers in public schools should be allowed to lead prayers. That is an increase from 2005, when 52% supported teacher-led prayer in public schools.This is nauseating, really. Though, if you want some truly stomach-emptying results, you go to the source: the First Amendment Center's page giving the results of the poll.
More people, 43%, say public schools should be allowed to put on Nativity re-enactments with Christian music than in 2005, when 36% did.
Half say teachers should be allowed to use the Bible as a factual text in history class. That's down from 56% in 2000.
* Just 56% believe that the freedom to worship as one chooses extends to all religious groups, regardless of how extreme — down 16 points from 72% in 2000.The fact that some of those numbers are moving in the right direction is promising, but the fact that they have a right direction to actually move IN is frightening. We should know what our rights are, but in a culture where people are told every day that an entire religion is out to get them and they have to sacrifice their freedoms to stay safe, that's a far-off hope.
* 58% of Americans would prevent protests during a funeral procession, even on public streets and sidewalks; and 74% would prevent public school students from wearing a T-shirt with a slogan that might offend others.
* 34% (lowest since the survey first was done in 1997) think the press “has too much freedom,” but 60% of Americans disagree with the statement that the press tries to report the news without bias, and 62% believe the making up of stories is a widespread problem in the news media — down only slightly from 2006.
* 25% said “the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees,” well below the 49% recorded in the 2002 survey that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, but up from 18% in 2006.
The right to practice one’s own religion was deemed “essential” or “important” by nearly all Americans (97%); as was the right to “speak freely about whatever you want” (98%) and to “assemble, march, protest or petition the government (94%),” Policinski said. “Still, Americans are hard pressed to name the five freedoms included in the First Amendment,” he said. Speech is the only one named by a majority of respondents (64%), followed by religion (19%), press and assembly (each 16%) and petition (3%)....
President Bush said Thursday night conditions on the ground in Iraq have improved sufficiently to start bringing some U.S. troops home, and urged Americans divided over the war to "come together."In other words, for those who haven't been paying much attention, he's essentially saying that he's just going to return us to the numbers we had in there before the "surge". In fact, he may not even reduce troop numbers that much.
In a televised speech to the nation, Bush said he would reduce U.S. force strength by 5,700 troops by Christmas and, by next July, reduce the number of combat brigades from 20 to 15 -- a decrease of roughly 21,500 troops overall.
So where does The Decider (seen at left in full Madden regalia) fit into the case?It's like some sort of party for all the people I can't stand! Crazed "attorney" Jack Thompson, Dubya and Brother Jeb. If Jack manages to stall his case until Bush leaves office - which seems to be his goal - it's all the more reason to anticipate the end of the current administration. The sooner we can see the disbarment, and subsequent humiliation of Thompson - the sooner (hopefully) ANYone in the media will stop taking him seriously.
That’s not really clear. But the linkage - at least in Thompson’s mind - seems to be that the Blank Rome law firm represents video game industry defendants in Strickland vs. Sony, an Alabama lawsuit alleging that an 18-year-old was acting under the influence of Grand Theft Auto when he killed two police officers and a police dispatcher in 2004. And Blank Rome - or at least some of its partners - are also lobbyists as well as heavyweight Republican donors.
"The policy was to keep the army intact; didn't happen," Bush told biographer Robert Draper in excerpts published in Sunday's New York Times.
Draper pressed Bush to explain why, if he wanted to maintain the army, his chief administrator for Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III, issued an order in May 2003 disbanding the 400,000-strong army without pay.
"Yeah, I can't remember; I'm sure I said, 'This is the policy, what happened?' " Bush said, adding: "Again, Hadley's got notes on all this stuff" -- a reference to national security advisor Stephen J. Hadley.
"We must make it clear to everyone that we mean business: that Saddam and the Baathists are finished," Bremer wrote in a letter to the president on May 22, 2003.Furthermore:After recounting U.S. efforts to remove members of Saddam's Baath Party from civilian agencies, Bremer told Bush that he would "parallel this step with an even more robust measure" to dismantle the Iraq military.
One day later, Bush wrote back a short thank-you letter. "Your leadership is apparent," the president wrote. "You have quickly made a positive and significant impact. You have my full support and confidence." On the same day, Bremer, in Baghdad, had issued the order disbanding the Iraqi military.
Bush did not mention the order to abolish the military, and the letters do not show that he approved the order or even knew much about it. Bremer referred only fleetingly to his plan midway through his three-page letter and offered no details.
Bremer indicated he had been smoldering for months as other administration officials had steadily distanced themselves from his order. "This didn't just pop out of my head," he said by telephone Monday, adding that he had sent a draft of the order to top Pentagon officials and discussed it "several times" with Donald Rumsfeld, then secretary of defense.
President Bush made a surprise eight-hour visit to Iraq on Monday, emphasizing security gains, sectarian reconciliation and the possibility of a troop withdrawal, thus embracing and pre-empting this month’s crucial Congressional hearings on his Iraq strategy.Y'hear that?! He actually said a troop withdrawal is possible!
You all have been waiting for it…some knuckle-dragging commentary from the swamps of Freeperland about conservative Republican U.S. Senator from Idaho Larry Craig’s same-sex bathroom booty call. Enjoy!You gotta wonder how nuts those psychos at Freep have to be to actually believe the horseshit they spew in every direction. And you might notice how nearly every freeper quote has either a "dem queerz is ebil" or "the Dhimmicrats are teh REEEEL prevertz" smear in it. That's conservative class for you.
Actual Freeper QuotesPart of the perversion that is homosexuality; sex in public places.
I agree. This looks very bad, indeed. He can use all the excuses that he wants, but I doubt that he will convince many that he was “innocent.” I hope that he does the right thing for the GOP and decides not to run again for the senate. He is political toast. Unlike the Dems, Republicans care about sexual ethics.
[And my personal favorite –]I think this is another Democrat setup. Anyone who says anything against gays nowadays is persecuted.
Nah, I think more likely the GOP bigwigs eventually knew about it and figured it will come out any way, dump it today under the flash of the Gonzales stories.
Mr Craig’s votes on the issues that Mr Rogers and Pam Spaulding of Pandagon find important:
* Voted YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. (June 2006)
* Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (June 2002)
* Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. (June 2000)
* Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (September 1996)
* Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation. (September 1996)
Even though I don’t see any particular reason why people ought to be discriminated against in employment for being homosexual, I see no reason to add it to federal job discrimination laws — since I don’t like the idea of such laws in the first place. Nor do I think we ought to have hate crimes laws: we should punish people for the crimes they commit, not the motivations behind those crimes. Senator Craig’s positions are perfectly reasonable, even if he is on the “down low.” But our friends on the left all assume, since they dislike those positions, that Mr Craig must be a major hypocrite.
"Through this situation I've found Jesus," he added. He vowed to redeem himself, saying, "I have to."Are we suddenly supposed to be all behind him now, since he's "found JAYZUS"? It's the most callously overused pander in the world (though I have a feeling it's almost exclusive to this country), it's wrongheaded, and it's not surprising.
This interview is one of the reasons why America is so uninformed about serious issues in our country. Kyra Phillips is really engaged in the Utah mining disaster and has a genuine passion about the story, but instead of asking the real questions to Murray about the dangerous mining conditions he promoted after he denied them—she treated him like a folk hero. The Huffington Post has more…Murray: A rumor was started by the United Mine Workers. It’s false statements they have made. False statements from the beginning. But I’ve watched them for 50 years and they have preyed on the tragedy of miners and their families to put out false information to organize their union.Murray always has the time to bash the United Mine Workers as much as he can and then he praises CNN for the wonderful job they are doing.
Robert Murray insists that his company did not change the mining plan at Crandall Canyon after purchasing a joint interest in the mine last August.
But documents obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune clearly contradict Murray's assertion, and show that Murray's company sought and received approval from federal regulators to make a significant, and, experts say, risky change to the mining strategy.
Records of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) show that, after Murray acquired a 50 percent ownership in the mine on Aug. 9, 2006, his company repeatedly petitioned the agency to allow coal to be extracted from the north and south barriers - thick walls of coal that run on both sides of the main tunnels and help hold up the mine.
HOWELL, MI -- A Hartland High School graduate who appeared in the Michael Moore documentary "Sicko" says she was unfairly fired from her job as a manager at Meijer because of the views on health care she expressed in the film.Before I go any farther into this, let's take note of something here: This manager calls her "anti-American" for exercising her right to free speech. Or, rather, her right to say that something's not perfect in this country. That's what's wrong with so many people in this country these days-they believe they're living in a perfect country and that anyone pointing out any flaw is saying that America is a bad country.
Adrian Campbell, a 25-year-old Waterford Township resident, said her new boss at the Northville Meijer store did not approve of her comments in the movie, which called for health-care reform in the United States.
"He called me anti-American," she said. "He was constantly calling me that."
"I said 'No, I'm not anti-American, I just think there should be a few changes in this country.' And then he let me go."
A call seeking comment from her supervisor was referred to Meijer's corporate office, which released a statement disputing Campbell's claim.
"Ms. Campbell's employment was in no way impacted because of her appearance in the movie 'Sicko' or any statements or beliefs she may have made or held about the movie or health care in our country," the statement reads.
"Nearly one month ago, Meijer announced a restructure plan that had been under development for several months which involved all of our 4,200 leadership team members.
"Ms. Campbell, like others, was offered another leadership position at Meijer but declined that offer, instead accepting a severance package. Upon completion of this company-wide restructure, over 500 Meijer team leaders have accepted severance packages."
The severance package equals out to five weeks of pay, Campbell said, adding she was not offered another leadership position at Meijer.
QUOTES: "What's crackin', li'l bitches?" ~Jazz "Transformers"
Yes, my taste in music is cracked. Welcome to my world!
Fighting for freedom to smoke in a barOh man, you beter believe I got a lugh out of this one. I was afraid I'd have to be the one to call the whiners out on this, but there it is.
I am exceedingly grateful to those at the July 27 City Council meeting who did so much to clear up something that has been troubling me and many others in this country and around the world for some time. Finally, we have the definitive answer to the question of why we are in Iraq. Apparently, we have killed half a million Iraqis, at the cost of thousands of our own children, so that some citizen in Fort Wayne can slouch in a sleazy bar swilling bad beer, chain-smoking Winstons. I assume the president has been alerted. All of his other ridiculous excuses for this fiasco of choice have imploded, and this one certainly seems as good as any.
But seriously, I object to the tragic war in Iraq being so appallingly trivialized. I know my two stepchildren, both of whom have served in Iraq at least once, would be rather depressed to discover that their devotion to this country has been reduced to such a pittance.
BERND FISCHER
Fort Wayne
Capcom’s Resident Evil 5 hasn’t even got a release date, but it’ s already drawn the ire of a blog devoted to African women.The trailer in question:
Black Looks calls into question the game’s setting as depicted in the trailer, first shown at this year’s E3 in Santa Monica:The new Resident Evil video game depicts a white man in what appears to be Africa killing Black people. The Black people are supposed to be zombies and the white man’s job is to destroy them and save humanity…The point has been made by some gamers as well. In fact, GamePolitics reader Quad9Damage raised the same issue in a letter to GP just the other day.
This is problematic on so many levels, including the depiction of Black people as inhuman savages, the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people.
Our military is fighting for Iraqis’ freedom. Who is fighting for ours? Does freedom stop at the United States borders?
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A couple who authorities say were so obsessed with the Internet and video games that they left their babies starving and suffering other health problems have pleaded guilty to child neglect.
The children of Michael and Iana Straw, a boy age 22 months and a girl age 11 months, were severely malnourished and near death last month when doctors saw them after social workers took them to a hospital, authorities said. Both children are doing well and gaining weight in foster care, prosecutor Kelli Ann Viloria told the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Michael Straw, 25, and Iana Straw, 23, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts each of child neglect. Each faces a maximum 12-year prison sentence.
Viloria said the Reno couple were too distracted by online video games, mainly the fantasy role-playing "Dungeons & Dragons" series, to give their children proper care.
"They had food; they just chose not to give it to their kids because they were too busy playing video games," Viloria told the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Zingerella and I have been watching the comment pile-up on Amanda’s review of “Sicko” with some amusement. It seems that the Pandagonians have been hilariously fending off a small influx of libertarian trolls. Said trolls are typing valiantly away in an attempt to make sure that health care isn’t extended to the unwashed masses. As the argument progressed, we noticed that the resident trolls followed a familiar script and shared certain similarities with previous libertarians we’d encountered.
As a former Fort Wayne resident who’s now a Vermonter, I was amused at the irony of Gregg Bender’s illustration with the Associated Press story “Free, independent Vermont? Pro-secession residents see U.S. as corrupt” (June 8).
(...)
Vermonters love to make fun of our own naïve earnestness, and the secession movement deserves an especially big laugh. Still, it’s this same naïve earnestness that led Vermont to be the first state in the union to outlaw slavery, the first to allow poor landless citizens to vote, the first to institute public schools for all, the first to provide health insurance for all children, and in 2000, the first to grant equal citizenship to all couples. That might not hold up in the annals of legislative history to Indiana’s decades-long struggle to figure out what time it is, but, hey, it’s not bad for a “bastion of countercultural dissent” one-tenth Indiana’s size. So be nice, and next time, please, no soup-pan helmets. That’s what really hurt.
