Dead Tree Media - One View of Why It's History

Not completely my thing, but it is interesting. Dead Tree media signed its own death warrant when it decided what we needed to know. So in the 1920s, the media didn't report on the death of 11 million Ukrainians at the hands of Stalin's Russia, because they thought Communism was a good thing, and didn't want to tarnish its image. During the late 1930s and early 1940s they didn't report on things like Kristallnacht, and - as the video points out - the deaths of the first 700,000 Jews for several reasons. One was probably the National Socialist Party was - at least partly - socialist. Another was certainly the England and the US didn't want lots of Jewish refugees. (This was the era when "covenant restricted community" meant no Jews and no blacks, after all.) Today their hysteria over guns and gun-rights, their devotion to the Democrats, no matter how bad things get, or what they get up to - like ignoring the War Powers Act - that they would never accept from Republicans, etc. has finally gotten across the point that they aren't the guardians of democracy, but just the propaganda arm of the Democratic party. And newspapers are history. Annenberg thinks that most papers will be gone in 5 years.

Happy Birthday Albert Einstein (And Happy Pi Day to You)

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879. He's most famous for his equation e=mc². Even when most people don't understand what that means.

Near the beginning of his career, Einstein thought that Newtonian mechanics was no longer enough to reconcile the laws of classical mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. This led to the development of his special theory of relativity. He realized, however, that the principle of relativity could also be extended to gravitational fields, and with his subsequent theory of gravitation in 1916, he published a paper on the general theory of relativity.

And on what other day would you celebrate pi (3.14) than on 3/14 ?

Pi, Greek letter (π), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535…

Pi is both irrational and transcendental. That means it never ends, and it never repeats. If you read Carl Sagan's book "Contact" pi makes an appearance at the end. (It wasn't in the movie because Americans don't like mathematics.)

So celebrate by have some pie.

The Hate-crime/Murder You Don't Remember

[Shamelessly recycled from a few years ago.]

Matthew Shepard and Laurence King you have heard of, (do you remember who they were?) but my guess is that you haven't heard of Ryan Keith Skipper. Or if you have, you don't remember him. Loved ones say young man's killing reflects difficult life gays face in Polk -- OrlandoSentinel.com

In the after-midnight darkness of March 14, 2007, the blood of 25-year-old Ryan Keith Skipper soaked into the soft dirt as his killers drove away in his new Chevy Aveo.
. . .
Skipper's car was found 12 miles from his body on a boat ramp to Lake Pansy in Winter Haven, abandoned and partially burned. The two young men later arrested in his murder were charged with committing a hate crime because they told witnesses Skipper was targeted for being a homosexual.

Targeted because of who he was.

Now since Florida is a death penalty state, I am not sure what more they can do besides seek the death penalty, but then given the SCOTUS take on the death penalty maybe the hate crime aspect is needed to put the case into the death-penalty category. (Not every murder can result in a death penalty case, it must be "special" in some way, according to my understanding of some SCOTUS ruling.)

The sheriff, Grady Judd, in this case libeled/slandered the dead man, accused him of being on drugs and cruising for anonymous sex. When it turned out he was wrong, he refused to apologize to anyone.

A Sheriff's Office spokesman later said there was no indication Skipper was involved in any illegal activity, but the sheriff has refused to meet with the family or respond to their requests for an apology.

Why should he feel bad about talking trash about a gay man after all? This is emblematic of the way police see gays and lesbians. They don't believe we deserve the same kind of respect, or justice, that the rest of the population gets. Is it getting better? Sure. Is there a long way to go? You bet.

The general feeling in that part of Florida is that as long as gays hide they are OK. Come out into the open, however, and you basically deserve whatever happens.

[R]esidents say gays are generally accepted in Polk County as long as they don't rub it in anyone's face.

"Just as long as you're hiding, you're OK. You learn that's what you have to do," said Kristy Alexander, a lesbian who lives in Polk County.

Skipper didn't hide well enough. His friends and roommates say Skipper was harassed for years leading up to his killing. On several occasions, he was called derogatory names, pelted with oranges and beaten up because he was gay.

The Right, the Republicans, love to claim that gays and lesbians want "special rights." That is bullshit, plain and simple. Living your life without being attacked for who you are isn't a special right. Being open about friends and loved ones, isn't a special right. How many of you have photos of your wives, husbands, girlfriends or boyfriends at work, in your wallet, wherever. If a gay did that they would be "flaunting" their sexuality, but when a straight does it, it is just a celebration of life and love. Funny how the double standard works, isn't it? It isn't about special rights. It has never been about special rights. That is the line the Right uses to mask their bigotry. After all, who wouldn't be opposed to "special rights?"

The issue is tolerance. Acceptance would be nice, and I get that from a lot of people, but it would be nice if the rest of you, the ones who can't accept us, would tolerate us - that means don't attack us. Of course if you attack ME, you might get a bit of a surprise when you see my response.

There is documentary, Accessory to Murder: Our Culture's Complicity in the Death of Ryan Skipper. When the culture warriors get wound up and claim that gays and lesbians are the source of all the problems with straight marriage, or with whatever they are going on about today, they breed an environment of hate, and violence. And the result? People are killed, and the police don't really seem to care.

A Voice of Reason on Gay Marriage

Constitution allows gay rights | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - South Whidbey Record

The money quote:

My wife and I have agreed that our marriage will not be negatively affected. For those who feel their marriage would be damaged, you have my sincere sympathy. But I would implore you to avoid taking this problem out on others.

but the whole thing is worth a look.

The Latest Media Crazy Train - Solar Flares

I guess they ran out of things to say about radiation... or who knows, not having a TV I miss out on whatever the 24-hr cycle is obsessed with. Solar Flares - Can We Get A Grip? Probably not.

I assume that everyone saw last weeks' dire warnings about a pair of X-class flares and the hand wringing about all the damage they could do?

The one thing I saw was something like "the worst solar flares in 5 years." And that's scary because the world ended 5 years ago due to solar flares. Or maybe not.

Graybeard does a fine job of debunking all the insanity. So click through and read the whole thing. It isn't long.

Break Into Enough Homes, and You Will Eventually Find an Armed Homeowner

The results are as expected. Teen shot while trying to break in home in Cheatham County

[Detective Travis] Walker said the boy was inside a home at 1407 Valley View Rd. near Trouble Road shortly after 3 a.m., and the homeowner thought he heard a noise and that's when he got his gun and shot the teen.

He got shot in the arm. He is really lucky he didn't get shot in the head, or killed outright. Bet he doesn't feel lucky.

This would-be burglar is 17-years-old. That means that groups like the Brady Bunch will count this as a "teen tragically shot." They will ignore the fact that he was engaged in felony home-invasion, and that he is likely to be tried as an adult. None of that matters. (Why clutter the issue with facts?)

While the authorities are still investigating - that's what they do - this seems a pretty straight-forward case of self-defense to me. Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

Fear, Uncertainty, and Government Policy

If you are living under a rock, you probably don't know that today is the anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, (that's what the Japanese are calling it) and the resulting disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Otherwise, you probably have heard something about it. There has been much talk about radiation. Much talk, but very little in the way of hard numbers are available, you have to review several articles to discover all of the various radioactive isotopes that there are to worry about. (And even then can you be sure? I suppose there is an official inventory somewhere.) Still, some truth has managed to get out there. It will be discounted.

Fukushima's Refugees Are Victims Of Irrational Fear, Not Radiation - Forbes

Every time I eat a bag of potato chips I think of Fukushima. This 12-ounce bag of chips has 3500 picoCuries of gamma radiation in it, and the number of bags I eat a year gives me a dose as high as what I would receive living in much of the evacuated zones around Fukushima. But unlike the Fukushima refugees, I get to stay in my home. We live in a nuanced world of degree. Eating a scoop of ice cream is fine, eating a gallon at one time is bad. Jumping off a chair is no big deal; jumping off a cliff is really stupid. The numbers matter. It’s the dose that makes the poison. There is a threshold to everything.

Of course it is no surprise that Americans are clueless when it comes to radiation. Recent generations seem to take pride in the fact that they don't understand science and math, don't want to understand science and math, and are too cool to study anything so geeky. (These are the folks #Occupying $Place because no one told them that for a college degree to actually pay, it needs to be in something useful, like chemistry, or engineering.)

First off, radiation isn't something new in the world. The world itself is radioactive (some parts more than others - a bit more on this later.) Radiation streams down on us from outer space. Lots of our food is radioactive. And yes, we are radioactive. I found one story which stated global background radiation is a result of the nuclear testing in the 1940s. Plutonium levels found near Fukushima plant probably pose little risk, study says. Not! It is a part of the universe. You can't get away from it. Even if you go live in a fallout shelter there will be radiation.

Wasn't Cooperation Supposed to Ensure Safety?

I guess this guy didn't get that memo. Family of slain store clerk: 'We're all just in shock' - Chicago Tribune

On Sunday afternoon, Simpson-Beaver was working behind the counter at the Lucky Food Mart when a gunman wearing a white "Jason or hockey mask" burst in and demanded money. After grabbing two drawers of cash, the robber turned at the front door and shot her in the chest, police said. He then walked back and shot her in the head.

After he got the money - you know the "just give them what they want part" - he decided what he really wanted was no witness to testify.

Doing whatever a criminal wants is a strategy. It never comes up with the subject of rapists and pedophiles, but it is still a strategy that pizza restaurants, insurance companies and the occasional police chief are in favor of. The only problem is, it doesn't always work. This guy had what he came for - 2 drawers of cash. But that isn't the only thing he wanted.

A gun may not have saved this woman. But cooperating with the bad guys didn't save her.

Another Failed Restraining Order

It isn't clear why she wanted another court order, since one was it place. It is perfectly clear that court orders aren't worth the paper they are printed on. DA: Kazan Raoul Of Brooklyn Shot To Death Day After Seeking Another Restraining Order Against Ex Boyfriend Burnsley Bartholemy � CBS New York While she had a restraining order in place, she was found outside her apartment, shot in the head. Now there is no proof the ex-boyfriend is to blame, police consider him someone they would like to speak with. But what is a little interesting is that CBS in New York allowed a bit of the truth about court orders to leak through.

“An order of protection is just as valuable as toilet paper,” one woman said.

“Huh, they mean nothing, basically,” Keisha Jones added.

Defense attorney Harvey Soss told CBS 2′s Slattery orders of protection basically put the person so ordered on the honor system, with a penalty if he or she doesn’t obey it.

“They’re frequently not worth the paper they’re printed on,” Soss added. “If a bad guy is bent on violating it, he’s gonna do it.”

If you need a restraining order, you need a plan for your personal defense. In a place like New York where you access to the legal means of self-defense are limited, that can be a problem. A gun may not have saved this woman, but it is clear that the courts and the police could do nothing.

So What Do You Do When the Cops Are Helping Your Abuser?

That's pretty much what happened in Huntington Beach, CA. Is James Roberts III Shielded From Justice?

During an 18-month period beginning in July 2007, a beaten and raped Huntington Beach crime victim landed in a frighteningly bizarre situation. The local police department didn't just ignore her cries for help; it repeatedly aided her assailant.

Shannon Roberts was stalked, falsely imprisoned, assaulted, raped and sodomized by her ex-husband, who threatened to "blow her brains out"—all serious crimes. But police officers didn't care because her ex-husband was a cop.

This wasn't one cop. Or even a few having a bad day. This was a fairly well-organized, widespread conspiracy to keep their fellow cop out of trouble, no matter what he did.

And the organized resistance to doing anything is pervasive.

In 1977, police unions got then-Governor Jerry Brown to sign a state law that discourages citizen complaints of police abuse and, in most cases, prohibits the public from learning about crooked cops.

They don't want to know about police abuse and they REALLY don't want you to know about it.

That is the entire union at the state level working to keep the lid on reports of abuse.

This particular case may collapse because the victim can't find a lawyer. (It isn't a criminal case, it is a civil case. They won't appoint an attorney for you.) So the bastard and the whole crew of bastards may get away with it.

Statistics are a Funny Thing

So was this an armed intruder or a family member. (Two for the price of one?) Homeowner fatally shoots family member breaking into home: The folks that love stats about people killing family members will ignore the fact that this was justified, and not an accident.

Deputies were told that an irate family member, Reed, armed with a gun was attempting to force entry into the home. Reed broke the glass from the back door in an apparent attempt to enter the home, deputies say, and was shot by the homeowner. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Cops are investigating, but they believe the shooting was justified. Just because you know someone, doesn't mean that they can't be a threat. Ask anyone who ever had a violent ex. In this case it looks like Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

Media Bias? What Media Bias?

Oh, that media bias. The anti-Israel bias.

So this is what the NYSlimes had to say. Israeli Airstrikes Kill Militants in Gaza - NYTimes.com

Israeli airstrikes killed up to 10 Palestinians, most of them militants, in the Gaza Strip on Friday and early Saturday, and militants fired barrages of rockets at southern Israel in the worst cross-border fighting in months.

Makes is sound like those poor Palestinians were reacting, not acting.

Here is a slightly different twist on events. Iron Dome intercepts 3 rockets as barrage cont... JPost - Defense

The IAF struck three targets in Gaza overnight Friday in response to the rocket attacks from the Strip earlier in the day that left at least eight people injured.

Interesting turn of events there.

So why is it that the Western Mainstream Media always leads with Israel's reaction and almost never covers the on-going rocket attacks coming from Palestine. And don't even bother trying to find out who is paying for those rockets or where they are manufactured or how the components are shipped in. That doesn't qualify as news in the West.

Grimm

Not sure why Grimm hasn't gotten more of a following. Creative team behind Buffy and Angel and The X-Files. Sure, not every episode has been great, but it is a good show. Must be the time-slot.

Of Course He Shot an Intruder in His Home

Everyone is crying how the poor, misunderstood home-invader got shot. Of course he got shot. DA Must Decide Whether To Press Charges In Slinger Shooting - Milwaukee News Story - WISN Milwaukee

So there is a raucous party next door, and you call the cops to complain. The cops show up and bunch of underage-party-goers hoping to avoid being arrested run. This one runs, and doesn't stop until he is inside an enclosed porch. What is the guy in the house supposed to think. Someone from that loud raucous party - who may or may not know who called the cops - has just broken into his home. Be fair, what would you do? Offer the guy a snack?

For all he knows this person is there to exact a penalty for his calling police. He is probably drunk and maybe on drugs. He doesn't know. All he knows is that a stranger is in his home.

This is a tragedy on many levels, but that doesn't mean the homeowner did anything wrong.

A Restraining Order Cannot Protect You

If you need a restraining order, you need a plan for your personal safety. Shooter identified as Grapevine man, 57 | News | Grapevine Courier

She moved out January 2nd, filed for divorce on the 4th and was granted a temporary restraining order on the 12th. On Friday he was notified of the date of the final divorce hearing. On Saturday he shot her and her friend outside a restaurant, and then himself. He died at the scene, the 2 women he shot are alive, though one was seriously injured. (Police aren't saying who.)

A gun may not have prevented this, but it is clear that the system can't do anything.

"There's nothing we can do to prevent behavior like this," [police spokesman Sgt. Robert] Eberling said in reference to a shooting in a public area. "It would be different if this was a stranger randomly shooting at people, but it was just by chance that the shooter picked that parking lot."

Police are not your body guards. A restraining order is a piece of paper. If you are really in fear for your safety, you need a plan. This isn't blaming the victim; the only one to blame is dead by his own hand. It is just a realization that "The System" can't guarantee your safety.

Musical Interlude

Shawdows - by Lindsey Stirling. (Stolen Shamelessly from Curses, Foiled Again.)

Would They Wait a Year to Charge You?

Or do cops get to play by a different set of rules? Cop Accused Of Calling In Fake Bar Fight To Escape DUI Arrest � CBS Chicago

the Niles officer stopped the off-duty Dailey for speeding and failing to stop at a red light, McCarthy said. The suburban officer suspected Dailey was intoxicated, officials said, and Dailey, who announced he was a Chicago Police officer, allegedly admitted he’d been out drinking.

The Niles officer then told Dailey he couldn’t stay behind the wheel and offered several options of how he could get home, McCarthy said.

None of which involved a ticket or arrest, I might add.

So Dailey (no relation to Daley) agreed to call a cab from a nearby hotel. But apparently that wasn't good enough for him.

Sean Dailey, 33, was apparently hoping the suburban officer who stopped him in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 2010, would be asked to respond to the phony brawl at the Cheers bar on Oakton, prosecutors said.

The Niles officer did get called away, assistant state’s attorney Lynn McCarthy said. But en route, the officer’s colleagues relayed on police radio that there was never a fight, so he returned to Milwaukee Avenue where Dailey had been parked. However, Dailey, an 11-year police veteran, was nowhere to be found, McCarthy said

So. Driving under the influence. Speeding. Running a red light. A false 911 call. More driving under the influence. Did I miss anything?

For all of this they waited a year to charge him with anything, and then it was disorderly conduct. No explanation was given about the delay.

Oh, and 10 months after the 1st incident, he was arrested for another DUI. Blood alcohol level was .14; that's few cocktails. Chicago's Finest?

Socialized Medicine Not All It's Cracked Up to Be...

A view from the front-lines, as it were. Let’s just admit it – the NHS is a rotten way of doing things - Telegraph Just go read it for yourself.

Jon Burge and the Midnight Crew from Area 2: Act 2 - the Prosecutors

Certainly not Chicago's "finest." Jon Burge and the Midnight Crew from Area 2 tortured people for years. This much we know. We know they put innocent men in prison, and even on death row, for crimes DNA PROVES they did not commit.

So, did the State's Attorney's office, and in particular the assistants (the front-line prosecutors) during that time know what was going on? They would sometimes be handed beaten or burned suspects with signed confessions. Were they clueless or complicit? I doubt we will ever really know.

Daley (ex-Chicago mayor, ex-assistant-State's-Attorney) says he knew nothing of what was going on, either as a prosecutor or as mayor. Daley denies knowledge of police torture, alleged conspiracy to cover it up - Chicago Sun-Times

Daley is named as a defendant in a civil suit filed by Michael Tillman, who spent 23 years in prison for a murder he says he didn’t commit, but confessed to only after police tortured him.

Throughout the 49-page document filed in U.S. District Court, Daley repeatedly denies knowing anything about the alleged torture of numerous defendants while he was Cook County state’s attorney and later when he became mayor.

Tilman is one of many people freed in Illinois by Project Innocence.

For those not familiar with the case of Chicago's Area 2, when faced with a high-profile case of rape or murder or whatever, instead of actually doing the police work required, they would grab someone - usually a black someone - and torture them until they got a confession. The Statute of Limitations had expired on the torture, but Burge was convicted on perjury and conspiracy to obstruct justice - the conspiracy being on-going - and is serving 4-½ year sentence in federal prison.

Home Invader + Armed Homeowner: What Do You Think Happened?

The neighbors are shocked. Police: Homeowner Shoots, Kills Intruder - Milwaukee News Story - WISN Milwaukee

Police said a Slinger homeowner called the authorities, saying he had shot and killed an intruder at about 2 a.m. Saturday in the 100 block of Kettle Moraine Drive.

Officers said they found a 20-year-old man dead on the homeowner's porch

Neighbor's if not exactly shocked, are surprised to discover that they live in the Real World™ where crime really does exist.

I was astonished. You know, my friend has her hair salon right up here. The kids play in the park. Grandma lives right around the corner and this is just a small town

No, you don't live in Pleasantville. If you are reading this, then you too live in the Real World™ and should be aware that crime isn't something that only happens to "other kinds of people" in "other kinds of places."

As for this story... Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

Leap Day - Can't We Get it Right?

OK, we just had leap day. I understand that everyone is confused but it really ISN'T that hard.

We get a leap day in a year as follows:

Every year that is divisible by 4 has a leap day EXCEPT

they are not in years divisible by 100 EXCEPT

they are in years divisible by 400.

So 2012 is a leap year. 2000 was a leap year (divisible by 400). 1900 was not a leap year (divisible by 100 buy not by 400). I know, it won't matter again for 92 years (when 2100 will NOT be a leap year). But it isn't that hard. You would think that the many levels of fact-checking and... oh never mind.

OK, since it was a leap year, there are lots and lots of stories about Roman calendars and Caesar, and certain Popes in the 16th century. But I don't think I've seen one story that got it right. (And that doesn't even consider leap seconds.) END or RANT.

Is there a war on religion in America? 45% Yes, 55% No

From the Orlando Sentinel. America war on religion: Is there a war on religion in America? - OrlandoSentinel.com

The result itself is interesting. Some of the comments are very interesting.

The foundation of this country is individual freedom and liberty. We as citizens, should have the right to make personal and private decisions about our own lives. These decisions should not be dictated by those with differing beliefs.

Some might be considered inflammatory by the aggrieved, so if this kind of thing interests you, click through. Otherwise, you may need to avert your eyes.

People – Yevgeny Yevtushenko

It's funny what you find surfing the 'net.

The Poem is "People," by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, born in Stalin's Russia the descendant of Ukrainians exiled to Siberia.

No people are uninteresting.
Their fate is like the chronicle of planets.

Nothing in them is not particular,
and planet is dissimilar from planet.

And if a man lived in obscurity
making his friends in that obscurity
obscurity is not uninteresting.

To each his world is private,
and in that one excellent minute.

And in that world one tragic minute.
These are private.

In any man who dies there dies with him
his first snow and kiss and fight.
It goes with him.

They are left books and bridges
and painted canvas and machinery.

Whose fate is to survive,
But what has gone is also not nothing:

by the rule of the game something has gone.
Not people die but worlds die in them.

Whom we knew as faulty, the earth’s creatures.
Of whom, essentially, what did we know?

Borther of a brother? Friend of friends?
Lover of lover?

We who knew our fathers
in everything, in nothing.

They perish. They cannot be brought back.
The secret worlds are not regenerated.

And every time again and again
I make my lament against destruction.

Maybe I have been thinking about death too much lately. My father died over a year ago. My mother over 10 years ago. Friends more recently. I miss them all.

The Place Where Great Britain Used To Be

What can you say to this. Killing babies no different from abortion, experts say - Telegraph

Parents should be allowed to have their newborn babies killed because they are “morally irrelevant” and ending their lives is no different to abortion, a group of medical ethicists linked to Oxford University has argued.

I think Oxford University is morally irrelevant and should be bombed out of existence. Or maybe they have a problem with that.

Politics or Policy? Won't Make Much Difference in the End

Plans for U.S. manufacturing may yield more votes than jobs - chicagotribune.com Of course it is to help the "middle class." But it is 19th Century thinking at best.

"The days where you could get a job right out of high school, step on a (factory) line and make 35,000 dollars a year, 40,000 dollars a year, are pretty much not out there anymore," said Rich Peterson, a vice president at Astro Manufacturing and Design here in suburban Cleveland.

I'm a bit surprised that robots haven't taken over more of manufacturing than they have. I guess it will be another 20 years or more before they are flexible enough. But at some point, raw materials will be loaded into one side of a factory and finished goods will spit out of the other. Robots don't need retirement or health benefits. They don't take vacations. (Mean-time-to-failure and mean-time-to-repair will come to be known quantities, and fit into the equations to help you decide how many do you need, what spares to stock, etc.)

But most of the policies being bandied about from both sides of the political divide are mostly window dressing in an election year.

Like the auto industry's resurgence, such proposals may strike an emotional chord with recession-weary voters who have suffered through two financial bubbles in the last 12 years.

Of course the Tribune doesn't place blame for either of those 2 bubbles on the people. (It is the eeeeevil bankers, or someone else.)

I mean consider the dot-com fiasco. I had discussions with otherwise reasonable people that it didn't matter if companies made money or how much money they made. Then they would say something about Edison or Bell, never bothering to think that both always made money once their inventions went to market.

And the housing bubble. Was it the eeeeevil bankers? Or the people who said "you never lose money in real estate," even though if you study the history of the last 50 years people lose money in real estate on a regular basis. (Hasn't anyone even heard of Japan?) And the Community Reinvestment Act, as amended, basically said it was unfair of banks to only lend money to people who actually had a chance to repay. And the folks who treated their homes like ATM machines. And the folks who signed up for loans they couldn't afford, didn't understand, couldn't be bothered to understand because it was their DREAM to have an acre of granite in their kitchen. No it wasn't any of those people.

Politics and most things don't work out very well. But politics and economics is what caused the Community Reinvestment Act, stopped the revamping and rationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the early years of this century. The combination gave a half billion dollars to a solar company with a product that was at least 30% more expensive than its closest competition. (Hint - Americans love a good deal, look at the airline industry. If you are 30% more expensive for the same outcome, you haven't got a chance in this market. And Solyndra was selling a commodity, namely kilowatts of solar energy.)

But that won't stop anyone from combining the 2 in an election year.

The History of Economic Downturns

It is fashionable to think that this is worst it has ever been. But of course, the people saying that haven't studied history. BBC News - Is Greece's the longest recession in history? The whole thing is interesting, but here are some highlights.

Country	Year	Years of Negative Growth
Greece	2008	5
Ireland	2006	7
Liberia	1980	17 (Civil War)
USA	1873	5 (The Long Depression)

There are more. The Great Depression (which was a double dip), the Irish Famine, the Black Death, etc.

Prior to globalisation and the Industrial Revolution, recessions were more severe than now, says Professor Ritschl, because they were more difficult to ride out and often sparked by catastrophic events which killed millions.

Huh. Never thought the BBC would have something good to say about globalization.

The Somali Piracy Model: A Growth Business

It isn't surprising really. With multimillion dollar paydays, people have decided that the Somali pirates may be onto something. WPR Article | The Somali Piracy Model: Coming to a Sea Near You

Over the past decade, the western Indian Ocean unexpectedly emerged as a hotbed for maritime crime as pirates -- safe-havened in Somalia -- menaced seafarers as far east as the Maldives. Shipping companies have been hit hard, with one estimate placing the direct costs of Somali piracy at $5.5 billion in 2011. Despite a multinational naval flotilla deployed to counter the pirates, attacks continued to grow last year.

Now pirates are setting up shop in West Africa, specifically in the Gulf of Guinea.

At immediate risk is the Gulf of Guinea. New oil fields have started to come online in the region, bringing increased tanker traffic. Many of the gulf nations are weak, buffeted by insurgents and armed criminal gangs. Piracy-monitoring organizations have already noticed a recent shift in the nature of pirate attacks there from low-level armed robbery to full-scale hijack-for-ransom. Worse still, these West African pirates seem more inclined to use violence against crewmembers, with accounts surfacing of bloody beatings and merciless stabbings. Such brutality increases the pressure on insurance companies to settle ransom negotiations faster and speeds up the pirates’ ability to turn over ships. It should be noted that this vulnerability may be particularly acute for new oil-producing states, which may not yet have the naval and coast guard assets to at least minimally deter or interdict pirate groups.

To date, the "international community" has been nearly useless. For the first few years, the Europeans practiced Catch and Release with pirates, because they didn't want to be bothered prosecuting them. Though a few have been handed off to Kenya, and few others have been killed, a poor villager from Somalia probably isn't deterred by the conditions in European jails.

Even with International Task Force 51, or whatever the naval force in the West Indian Ocean is calling itself, the number of attacks went up last year.

Ships have finally begun boarding armed guards, but this is problematic, causes problems in several countries that don't like guns, and when the guards have to be off-loaded or disarmed in ports and anchorages they are still at risk. But this has been slow to gain traction. And so most are vessels are slow-moving treasure troves.

Drinking on the Job? Do They Think This is Paris?

NYPD has been in the news a lot for spying on Islamic students. But that isn't this story. Four NYPD Detectives Under Investigation For Drinking On Duty: Gothamist This is just your run-of-the-mill "the rules don't apply to us, we're cops!" story.

Four NYPD detectives have been stripped of their guns and badges and placed on modified assignment after surveillance footage allegedly shows them drinking wine while on duty at a Washington Heights restaurant. According to the Times' police bureau chief, IAB is also investigating if one of the detectives had a sexual encounter with a waitress. "We are investigating whether or not one of the officers sexually assaulted this woman," the paper's NYPD source said.

Nice relaxing meal - which lasted longer than an hour - and included a nice wine.

Anthony Abbate Back in the News

The Chicago cop caught on tape beating a bartender because she thought he was drunk and wouldn't serve him more alcohol is being sued. (She wouldn't serve him because that is the law....) Judge: Jury will hear police 'code of silence' allegation in bar beating suit - chicagotribune.com

The Tribune has the video - again - of the beating.

One of the reasons this made so many people angry is that even though he was convicted of felony assault, he was only sentenced to 2 years probation. Hardly the same kind of treatment someone NOT in law enforcement would expect. With the beating caught on tape.

The suit seems to be at least in part how Chicago cops tried to bribe the witness/victim, the soft-pedal applied to the original crime, and a host of other things Chicago has been famous for.

Still, some justice is better than none. Abbate was fired from the Chicago Police Department.

Another Banner Day In Illinois Politics

Illinois: The land of political corruption and the home "Change You Might Have Believed In." Commissioner Beavers on U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald: ‘F--- him’ - Chicago Sun-Times

One crooked Chicago politician is under indictment for tax evasion. (That has a big history in Chicago.) And so he says of course it is in retaliation for him refusing to "wear a wire" for an FBI investigation of John Daley. (Brother to the ex-Mayor.)

Nothing is proved, just allegations made. Looks to be an interesting summer in Chicago. (As an aside, the same judge who handled Rod Blagojevich's trial has been assigned in this case.)

Looks Better Than Most Disney err Stuff

Maybe this whole Pixar take-over will finally fix the whole "princess thing" Disney has going. See Cinderella Ate My Daughterfor what I am talking about.

Probably too much to hope for really.

Armed Homeowner + Home Invader = Predictable Result

If you break into homes, you will eventually find an armed homeowner. SeaTac homeowner shoots would-be burglar - seattlepi.com

The homeowner said he was sleeping just before 6 p.m. when he heard his doorbell ring. He ignored it, but moments later he heard what sounded like glass shattering.

The man said he dialed 911 and grabbed a nearby gun before leaving his bedroom to investigate the noise.

The man soon noticed that his sliding glass door had been broken and two men were standing in his house.

He shot 1 guy in the head. The other guy ran. The guy who got shot is expected to survive.

Police are tracking the guy who ran away.

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

OMG! Radiation!!!!

OK, here we go again. Reports that radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant were detected 400 miles off the Japanese coast.

I have looked at a dozen stories, and all I get is something like "between 10 and 1000 times the normal amount." Which sounds scary. If you have no clue about radiation.

Is it 1000 times more than the radiation you would find in a banana? Or a package of Brazil nuts? (The isotope they are concerned about is cesium 137, and that is found in nuts. At least they told us that much.)

It seems that the entire news gathering apparatus of humanity is incapable of reporting what the levels actually are. Oh, they believe why report it you don't understand the numbers anyway. And besides, 1000 times normal is scary.

For some thoughts on the radiation from Fukushima Daiichi, seen my post on The Banana Equivalent Dose. (I hate to tell you this, but your food is radioactive, and so are you.)

And remember that when the chicken-little folks of the news media are screaming that the sky is falling, do a little fact-checking.

Musical Interlude

Frigga by Daniel J Nielsen. Via Corner Stone Cues. Can't say why I like it, but I do.

An Interesting Place Rhode Island - Some Thoughts on Jessica Ahlquist and Freedom From Religion

Freethought San Marcos: Our modern-day Puritans

OK, if you haven't heard, in a nutshell, Ms. Ahlquist is 16 years old, and attends a public school where there was an 8-foot (or so) banner in the gymnasium with a prayer on it. She sued to have it removed, and won. The school-board decided spending $500,000 it didn't have on a legal fight it would probably lose wasn't a good idea, so they won't appeal.

That isn't what is interesting to me.

What interests me, and the author of the referenced post is the behavior of some of the people in the town - which is in Rhode Island. Which was founded by Roger Williams when he was chased out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony by the Puritans due to their religious intolerance. (Who were chased out of England due to religious intolerance.)

So, long before anyone declared irony dead, we have in our own history a quintessential bit of double irony – a persecuted religious group flees its country to set up shop, where the group proceeds to persecute others for their religious beliefs, forcing one of their own flock to flee, seeking actual religious freedom elsewhere.

But back to that "Christian" behavior.

Well, OK, I'll "borrow" the disclaimer from the referenced article.

I don’t know that all the invective and threats directed at Ahlquist have been perpetrated by Christians, but it is hard to imagine the members of any other group who would be so outraged by Ahlquist’s actions. To their credit, members of several religious groups appealed for “tolerance and civility” in responding to the court decision.

Ms. Ahlquist has been harassed, bullied and threatened. It is so severe that she had to be provided with personal security to be able to attend class. The Congressman from her district (a Democrat) has called her "evil," among other names.

More than a dozen Rhode Island religious leaders spoke about the importance of people of all faiths, as well as non-believers, being able to live free from coercion. Rabbi Peter Stein of Cranston’s Temple Sinai and president of the Board of Rabbis said, “This is not about agreement or disagreement. This is about how we treat one another. The personal attacks must stop.” The clergy members included the Rev. William Zelazny of the Ballou Channing District Unitarian Universalist congregation; Imam Farid Ansari of the Muslim American Dawah Center; the Rev. Israel Mercedes of the Providence Bible Institute; and the Rev. Betsy Garland of the Rhode Island Council of Churches.

Now a new case has been filed against a group of flower shops in the area, because they refused to deliver bouquets to Ms. Ahlquist sent by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF). It is illegal for anyone running a "public accommodation," i.e. a business, in Rhode Island to deny service "on account of religion." 4 florists refused to deliver flowers, and they were eventually ordered from Connecticut.

Whether or not you think the banner was offensive, whether or not you believe prayer should be in public schools, I would hope everyone believes in acting like civilized, sane people. But apparently they don't.

NOTE: a discussion of this case is what prompted the post the other day on metaphysics. The main message of which is, "I don't give a rat's for what you believe. So why are you so incensed about what I believe that you have to try and force me to believe what you believe?"

History Lesson: First Man in Space, etc.

First orbiting satellite: Sputnik

First Man in Space: Yuri Gagarin

First Man to Orbit the Earth: Yuri Gagarin

When the Cold War was in full swing, it was fashionable to forget this. And just remember things like John Glenn was the first AMERICAN to orbit the earth. But now that the Soviet Union is no more, and the Cold War is something from the history books, it seems disingenuous to call John Glenn's orbiting the earth an "historic journey," or whatever.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — John Glenn joined the proud, surviving veterans of NASA's Project Mercury on Saturday in celebrating the 50th anniversary of his historic orbital flight.

But then I suppose NASA is hoping to recoup some of its budget or something.

Europe May Finally Have to Deal With Democracy

Seems fitting, since democracy started in Greece. European leaders meet Monday on Greece bailout; public tiring of austerity measures - The Washington Post

An April election may bring a chaotic mix of politicians to power, as Greeks flock to groups that have vowed to fight the terms of the $178 billion bailout or take the country out of the euro zone altogether. The shift — registered in opinion polls, mass defections in parliament and in street protests — raises doubts about Greece’s ability to implement the painful cuts on which European leaders are insisting.

Sooner or later people will get a chance to vote. The Greeks don't like the terms of the bailout, and Greek politicians are now saying that the country should get out of the Euro. (And getting followers.) Eventually the Germans will vote on whether or not they want to keep funding bailouts. (Even the German politicians have seen that writing on the wall, hence the terms of the Greek bailout package.

“Some politicians ignore that Greece is a democratic country,” said Loukas Tsoukalis, president of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy think tank, who said he hoped the spring elections would give political legitimacy to the bailout measures. “Greece’s creditors, they’re saying, ‘This is the moment when we can squeeze.’ But you can overdo it with very serious consequences.”

The consequences of Greece staying in the Euro are dire, and as long as they stay, they have no control over their economy. Of course leaving may be worse. If the Drachma is viewed as worthless...

I think it was Margarete Thatcher that said, "eventually you run out of other peoples' money." That is the situation that Greece is in. They have mortgaged their future. They have lived in a socialist dream-world. But reality has come calling in a shrill, unpleasant voice. No matter what they do, it will be hard for them to put their economy back together.

Even in the People's Republic of Illinois, Self-defense Works

Not in Chicago, but the fact that a Chicago paper is reporting (neutrally) on an act of self-defense is nearly a miracle in itself. Police: Homeowner shoots, kills intruder in apparent home invasion - chicagotribune.com

Two individuals reportedly entered the residence, the release said. One was shot by the homeowner; that person was transported to Mendota Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room.

The second individual left the scene in a small, dark vehicle, according to the release. After the sheriff’s office passed on a description of the vehicle to local police departments, the Ottawa Police Department pulled over a vehicle matching that description on the north side of town and a suspect was taken into custody.

No Brady-Bunch nonsense. No quotes for police chiefs saying it's better not to fight back.

Maybe there is hope for Illinois after all.

“All Father, Who Art In Asgard, Many Be Thy Names....”

Why do religious fundamentalists, of all stripes, lose sleep over what others believe? Really, don't you have enough to do to manage your own life, you have time and energy to stick your nose into my life? (Where it is most certainly NOT WELCOME!)

Actually when I say "all stripes" I am talking mostly about about the Lavant. (That strange small area of the Middle East that seems to breed some of the major religions. Judaism. Christianity. Islam.)

OK. Lesson in metaphysics. This is the primary world-view of people who hold to the Lavant.

God is separate from the world, and in particular, Man is not a part of the rest of the universe. (Read: separate creation.) This is why evolution tends to drive certain Christians to distraction. It implies that Man is part of the rest of the universe.

So the main focus of (some) Christianity is to explore your relationship with God. (You are not God. Those who say they are God have been crucified.)

This isn't the only way to draw this Venn diagram, of course, and different cultures have drawn it in differing ways.

The Hindus (NOTE: I am NOT a Hindu. This represents the best of my understanding of the Hindu faith. If I have it wrong - sorry 'bout that. Please correct me in the comments.) draw the Venn diagram like this.

There is a "prime cause," and there are gods, but the gods are not at a higher level than humanity. Indeed, the Brahmans are at a higher level than the gods, and "humanity" is divided into the Untouchables and the Twice-born, and the Twice-born are divided into the various castes.)

This is the meaning of the bow of greeting in Hindu societies. The acknowledgement that 'god' exists in the other person.

Asatru draws the diagram in yet a third way. (NOTE: see the note under Hindu, and apply the same logic here.)

Ásatrúar (Heathens) do not bow to their gods, not because they don't revere them, but because they are related. Prime cause, and afterlife is less interesting than leading a good life in the here-and-now. (Other things will, no doubt, take care of themselves.)

SO.... given all of this, why do you care how I draw this diagram? Why does what I believe in my heart of hearts matter to you? But the evidence is that it does. Some Muslims are willing to blow themselves up because some people don't believe exactly what they believe. Some Christians have bombed abortion clinics. Some - a slightly larger number - have taken task with Mitt Romney for his religion. I guarantee that Christians have given me hard time for just refusing to swear that I believe what they believe. (I don't see why they care what I believe. I don't give a rat's ass for what you believe - until your belief-system tries to tell ME what I have to do, or how I have to live MY LIFE.) Under the "golden rule" I just want to be left alone. Why can't you return the favor?

NOTE: While I do not follow the Lavant, it is impossible to have grown up in 20th Century America and NOT understand this world-view. It is the dominant world-view, and is assumed by 90% (or more) of the people you meet - even atheists and agnostics.

NOTE 2: The tile of this was taken from a column casting aspersions on a Indiana law (maybe passed, maybe making its way through the state-house) that mandates/allows the preaching saying of the "Lord's Prayer" in PUBLIC schools. Apparently Indiana thinks those non-Christians are getting too uppity, and need a good dose of "the truth."

UPDATE: The other view of the Lavant is often described as True Crime. Their stories have to be absolutely, historically true. They are incapable of understanding that not all people view their "stories" that way, or even care whether or not they are historically true. (What is important is living in the here and now. Life after death, and historical accuracy will take care of themselves and don't really need to be worried about.)

Is There a Dish Better Than Penne Campagnola?

Penne Campagnola - penne (of course), Italian sausage (sweet not hot), onions, bell peppers (red are most appealing, though green work fine) and crushed olives in a tomato sauce. (Of course Campanola SHOULD have mushrooms, but I much prefer crushed black olives. Not every store stocks them, keep looking.) Texas toast (garlic of course) and a Zinfandel round out the perfect meal. (This time the Zin is OK - nothing to write home about, but most wine can't stand up to tomato sauce anyway.)

Desert is waiting, but it may wait a long time.

This has to be the perfect Italian dish. Pasta. Tomatoes. Olives. Garlic bread.

Good Guys 2, Bad Guys 0

The homeowner interrupted a burglary. He and his brother made what I can only call a citizens arrest. Armed Homeowner Stops Burglars in Act - WAAYTV.com- Huntsville, Alabama

the man returned to his home on Witt Store Road, near the Franklin County line, around 10:00 a.m. Tuesday and saw an unfamiliar Toyota in front of his house and noticed his front door was kicked in.

According to Colbert County Sheriff Ronnie May, the man grabbed a rifle from his vehicle, and called his brother, who lived nearby. The brother arrived a few minutes later, armed with a .12 gauge shotgun.

And yeah I know. .12 gauge shotguns? But have pity on the poor members of the press; they don't know anything about anything, least of all firearms.

Once the 2 armed guys showed up, the 2 miscreants decided to run. But one of the tires on their vehicle was shot out, disabling it. They were held at gunpoint by the brothers until the police arrived.

Now I am not a lawyer, but that sounds like a textbook example of a citizens arrest. Felony in process. Stop and hold the suspects. Wait for police.

No one got shot or even injured. Bad guys are in jail awaiting trial (charged with burglary). Good guys are safe, and everyone is safer because two criminals are off the street.

Good Guys 2, Bad Guys 0.

Work is Really NOT a Four-letter Word

The Tradesmen: Making an Art of Work is an hour and a half, but worth your time.

Naked Romans, Paganism, and Whips: And You Thought It Was All About Candy

I love history. It is so educational. Valentine's Day: Why Do We Celebrate It? (Hint: Naked Romans)

The lovers' holiday traces its roots to raucous annual Roman festivals where men stripped naked, grabbed goat- or dog-skin whips, and spanked young maidens in hopes of increasing their fertility, said classics professor Noel Lenski of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The annual pagan celebration, called Lupercalia, was held every year on February 15 and remained wildly popular well into the fifth century A.D.—at least 150 years after Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

That's an image that will make it hard to enjoy chocolate later today.

The Things You Find Surfing the Web

This almost qualifies as quote of the day (or week). Some Parents in Queens Think Vaccinations Are Only for Heathen Children

Lawsuits filed last week in Queens Supreme Court by parents Fabian Mendoza-Vaca and Nicole Phillips have been transferred to Brooklyn Federal Court and could be resolved as early as next week in an emergency hearing where some secular-minded necromancer will hopefully raise Clarence Darrow from his grave so he can give everyone involved a proper finger-wagging.

Apparently some parents think that resorting to vaccines to protect their children from disease shows a lack of faith in God.

Somebody filed suit when his kids were sent home because they were un-vaccinated, and in danger. The parents don't want the kids protected from mumps or chicken pox. School policy to protect the kids if they could be exposed to an illness. That isn't right, according to the parents.

But the winning quote follows:

the real tragedy here is that not only are these kids being denied vaccinations because their parents believe that God's an unreasonable asshole, they're also being denied all the days off that their super religious upbringing should entitle them to.

Heh.

Don't Break Into Homes With Armed Homeowners

If you do break into homes, you will eventually find one with an armed person inside. Homeowner says he shot man in self-defense The results are predictable.

A Barry County homeowner says he took matters into his own hands Monday morning and shot a man he claims was trying to break into his home.

Because Michigan doesn't have a Castle Doctrine, the cops are trying to find something they can charge the homeowner with.

Can't have the little people standing up for themselves, not depending on the government for every little thing. Have to beat that down if they can.

But for me, I still see it as Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0. Self-defense is a human right.

The Deacons for Defense and Justice

February is Black History Month. The Deacons for Defense and Justice are interesting part of that history.

I first heard of Deacons for Defense (the title of this post reflects their full name) via a movie by that name, which starred Forest Whittaker. (IMDB lists it as being made-for-TV, so I assume it was HBO or Bravo or the like.) I thought it was quite good. It dealt with the very real danger blacks in Louisiana and around the country faced as they fought for the their civil rights. While most of the Civil Rights movement had adopted non-violence, they were really dependent to a large extent on the Deacons to provide low-key, armed security.

One of my favorite descriptions of the Deacons comes from Gun Owners of America.

During a desegregation effort at the Jonesboro High School, the authorities brought up fire trucks and prepared to hose the black students attempting to enter the school. The Deacons pulled up and four men publicly loaded shotguns and then made it plain that the lead was for the firemen if they turned the hoses on. The firemen wisely beat a retreat.

This was a very significant event. This was a self-defense effort in the spirit of the American War for Independence. The government was attempting to exercise illegitimate power ... and it was repulsed by the use of community force -- by the militia, if you will.

The Deacons were in the great tradition of American freedom -- liberty is not given by tyrants and thugs, it is wrested from their hands by force.

The Deacons first came to light in Jonesboro, Louisiana after the Chief of Police led a Ku Klux Klan motorcade through black neighborhoods. The Deacons informed the Chief that further incursions would be met with force. (A Klan motorcade was not a peaceful drive in the country. More like a multiple-car drive-by. Though sometimes the violence was just implied, it was still an instrument of terror.) The motorcades stopped after they met armed citizens defending their communities. After a group of Klansmen were fired upon when they set fire to a cross in a clergyman's yard, that also stopped. Jonesboro saw effective self-defense on another occasion.

When Deacon Elmo Jacobs was driving a carload of white civil rights workers, they were fired upon and took a load of buckshot in the door of Jacobs' car. Jacobs returned fire and the Klan attack ended immediately -- and for good.

The bulk of the article from Gun Owners of America seems to be based on a piece of scholarship by Tulane University Professor Lance Hill. His book, The Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movementis published by the University of North Carolina Press.

Hill found one of the truths of gun control that the Left loves to sweep under the rug.

In Bogalusa, LA, Hill found that the police made no attempt to stop the attacks and in fact took pains to arrest blacks who had armed themselves in self defense. In other words, gun control was simply a tool of people control and had nothing to do with fighting crime. Had crime control been the concern, plenty of opportunities had come and gone to arrest the Klan.

Furthermore, only when blacks actually defended themselves - shooting a white man at point blank range in the chest - did it become less likely that whites would attack. That shooting also forced the mobilization of the military and national guard to enforce desegregation. (After all, now whites were getting shot too!)

Dr. Condoleezza Rice Remembered that time, when growing up in “Bombingham, Alabama”

growing up in Bull Conner's Birmingham, Ala., when the shotgun wielded by her father was often the only thing that stood between her family and the Ku Klux Klan.

This is why Dr. Rice does not support gun control.

Since this was taking place in the 1960s, the FBI got involved. They followed the Deacons from 1965 (shortly after it was founded) until 1972 when it became inactive. The info seems to no longer be available on the FBI website. I will keep looking! FBI agent Frank Hicks told blacks in Bogalusa, LA that any shooting would result in a murder charge.

He did not explain where the FBI had any legal or constitutional authority for such a move, but the Deacons were not interested in a scholarly debate. They simply told Hicks that self defense is a constitutional right. Hicks got the message.

Self-defense is a human right.

The Left says "call the police and wait for help." But not that long ago, there were whole sections of the population that could expect nothing in the way of help from police. The police were part of the problem; either actively participating in Klan activities, or passively looking the other way while the Klan did as it pleased. Even today, not everyone can expect calling the police will bring help.

The civil rights movement always looked to Gandhi and India's non-violent revolution for inspiration. (They still do.) But the Left always misses one thing in this analogy. India was governed by the British aristocracy, and they cared how they looked to the world as reported by the press. Non-violence did not work with the Klan, because they did not care how they looked to East Coast liberals. They were perfectly willing to deal out violence to further their aims. The same was true of Nazi Germany. (Stalinist Russia didn't have to worry about the press - they were in its pocket.)

The Deacons for Defense and Justice did not plead to be given their rights. They did not beg to be taken seriously. They made sure they were taken seriously. They took action and fought for their rights, and they defended themselves, their families and their communities from oppression and violence.

Cops Don't Like Cameras

And they really don't like video cameras. Cops oppose plan to allow recording them in public

Illinois remains one of the few states where it is illegal to record what cops are up to. Some vestige of the "wire tap" law. As if.

“Citizens are being charged under the current law for doing nothing more than what thousands of citizens do every day in Illinois: pull out our cell phone, open up the camera, and start recording,” says the sponsor, State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook. “With the G-8 and NATO summits coming to Chicago in May, thousands of journalists and attendees are at great risk of prosecution.”

It is time for the rights of the citizens to reach beyond the rights of the cops. Especially of the right of the cops to hide what they are doing.

Roaches, and bad cops, are afraid of the sunlight.

Denial Ain't Just a River In Egypt Reaction to Shooting of Home Invader

The family and friends of people never like to admit that their loved-one might not be so lovable in everyone's eyes. Esperance Shooting Victim's Fiancee: ‘He Was a Big, Playful Teddy Bear’ - Edmonds, WA Patch

Here is the facts - they aren't given right up front. The mushy, feel-good, let's all feel sorry for the dead home-invader stuff comes first. But I like facts best.

Talley, 26, was allegedly shot and killed by a homeowner in the 8900 block of 225th Place Southwest, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating the shooting.

Although no arrests have been made, sheriff spokesman Kevin Prentiss says preliminary information indicates Talley is suspected of breaking into a residence at that location and was allegedly shot by the homeowner, identified only as a 25-year-old man.

The opening of the article, that includes a picture of the dead guy with his infant son, goes on about how he was "a good father" and "engaged to be married." As if any of that makes a difference to the guy whose home he broke into.

Another 6+ Million Bucks Paid Out Because of Chicago's Finest

Getting ready for the G8 and the NATO summits scheduled for this summer in Chicago... Settlement in 2003 Chicago protest lawsuit - CBS News

The arrested everyone they could (700 in total). Without regard for what they were doing. In at least one case, they arrested someone who was not part of the protest. (He stepped out of a restaurant just in time to be picked up.)

The settlement would pay those arrested in 2003 and charged up to $15,000; anyone arrested but not charged could get up to $8,750; others detained on the street for more than 90 minutes before being released could receive up to up to $500, Mogul said.

So have they learned their lessons? The Chicago Police maintain they are ready for this summer. Probably a good reason to stay out of the city.

Greece Circles the Drain - Economically Speaking

So this is the preferred, less painful way of dealing with the Greek financial situation. Really? Greek death spiral accelerates – Telegraph Blogs

Greece could be working on putting its economy back together, instead it is doing nothing.

Greece's manufacturing output contracted by 15.5pc in December from a year earlier.

Industrial output fell 11.3pc, compared to minus 7.8pc in November.

Unemployment jumped to 20.9pc in November, up from 18.2pc a month earlier.

Can you really tell me that Greece, with a slightly devalued Drachma wouldn't be able to attract tourists to their islands and sell stuff their manufacturers make? Well they would probably be able to attract tourists. Greek manufacturing has many problems. But they would be able to make stuff for themselves, instead of having to compete with the Germans.

A lot has been said to insinuate that Greeks are somehow lazy; they aren't. They are working under some terrible work rules, but they aren't lazy.

By the way, Greeks work an average 42 hours a week, one of the highest in Europe. Just want to put the record straight on that.

What is happening to them is completely in line with their financial condition. It has happened before, and it will happen again.

Ellen Takes on Haters Head On

Guess I need to start shopping at JC Penny.



I love the fact that 1 Million Moms have 40,000 members on their Facebook page. "Rounding to nearest million" indeed.

Be warned there is an ad, and the volume is super loud, compared to the video.

Why Are They Still Messing With Greece?

Greece's broken promises anger EU partners | Reuters

Nearly two years into Greece's bailout, so many promises have been broken that international lenders have largely lost faith in the country's will to reform itself and are torn between imposing stricter outside control and cutting Athens loose.

It isn't just the bond-holders they have lied to.

They pass laws that the EU, ECB and IMF demand, but the laws are never implemented. Taxes aren't being collected. (It's no wonder there is a revenue problem.) Promises to privatize state-owned businesses have not been kept. And the folks in Athens act like nothing really needs to change.

Aside from major structural reforms, it is flagrant cases of excessive spending that euro zone capitals most want to see cut - such as the fact that there are 25,000 state-supplied cars on the national budget, according to a senior Greek lawmaker.

The party in Athens just rolls on.

And under the heading, "The leopard cannot change his spots,"

The IMF's chief inspector for Greece, Poul Thomsen, said recently that Greece's lenders may have over-estimated the capacity of the administration to reform.

Cuts to government payrolls? Not done. Collect taxes? Also not done. Work-rule modernization. Completely not done. (You want to upset the unions right before an election? Are you crazy?)

The only real question is why the brain trust that lent all this money to Greece can't see that waiting for them to change now is a losing proposition. They should just cut their losses.

Isn't Cooperation Supposed to Ensure Safety

I suppose you could file this under stupid criminals, but it is just tragic. Gas station clerk shot and injured during attempted robbery

Police chiefs, pizza companies, and anti-gunners routinely tell us that if we just give criminals what they want, we will be safe. (We should take a moment to consider rapists and child abusers and others who just want to do harm before we adopt that policy.) But even in the case of robbery - which is all the experts ever discuss - it doesn't always work out that way.

Police say two male suspects entered the store with their faces covered. One was armed with a handgun, and demanded cash.

While the clerk was complying with the request, she was shot.. The bullet passed through her arm and into her abdomen.

So she was doing what they asked, and she got shot anyway. No news has been released about her condition. But it doesn't sound good.

So if you want to adopt a policy of acting like a sheep, that is fine. Just don't pretend it is anything other than it is. A strategy, and a fairly poor strategy from my point of view.

The idiot criminals didn't get any money for their trouble. One can only hope they left something at the scene that will tie them to the crime.

Because Any Positive Portrayal of Gays and Lesbians Must Be Crushed

In one of the more insane actions by the religious right, One Million Moms Pushes J.C. Penney to Drop Ellen Degeneres - Yahoo! News

Is anyone less offensive than Ellen? I suppose the American Family Association would be happy if one of the Kardashians or another over-the-top (but straight) celebrity was the spokesperson for JC Penny.

A vast majority of Americans today support Ellen as well as their LGBT friends and family members," Herndon Graddick, a GLAAD spokesman said in a written statement. "Selecting an out performer who has inspired and entertained millions, is not only a smart business practice, but a reflection of how LGBT Americans today are an integral and valued part of the fabric of our culture."

DeGeneres' daytime talk show has more viewers than the American Family Association has moms. Between January 16 and January 22, "Ellen" averaged 3.38 million viewers -- or 2.38 million more people than the AFA has moms.

In "related news" Ellen just collected the "Favorite Daytime TV Host" from the (somewhat inappropriately named) People's Choice Awards.

Greeks Having to Admit They Have No Leverage

(Get it? Leverage) They are negotiating with the EU, the IMF and the European Central Bank, and don't like the fact that they aren't holding much to negotiate with. Greece on "knife edge" in push to agree bailout - Yahoo! News

They need another 'bailout' to the tune of €130 billion, or $171 billion. The troika wants some concessions, and the Greeks don't want to give in to them.

Greek officials have emerged increasingly despondent after each round of talks, complaining that the European Central Bank, European Union and International Monetary Fund troika were stubbornly refusing to yield on demands to cut the minimum wage level, axe holiday bonuses and fire public sector workers.

A meeting between the two sides ended on Sunday afternoon without any immediate indication on whether they had been able to resolve outstanding issues.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. Either the Greeks want the 130 billion Euros, or they don't.

They should just withdraw from the EU, (it isn't clear they can get out of the Euro except by dumping the entire EU.)

The EU and the Eurozone bureaucrats are finally having to deal with a little democracy. You see Greece has elections scheduled for April, and the people up for re-election aren't willing to fall on their swords for Brussels and a series of reforms they don't believe in.

Talks with the socialist, conservative and far-right party leaders in his coalition were continuing on Sunday.

The conservative New Democracy and the far-right LAOS party in particular have staunchly opposed further wage and spending cuts, arguing they risk pushing Greece into an even deeper recession and imposing more pain on struggling Greeks.

The truly sad thing is that if Greece had swallowed the bitter medicine in 2010, and admitted they cheated and lied to get into the Euro, and left calmly, the worst would probably be over this summer. Not that it would be good for a long time. But by stretching out what looks more and more inevitable, the bankers and the bureaucrats haven't made things better.

Even in the People's Republic of California, Self-defense Works

If you break into homes, eventually you will meet an armed homeowner. 87-year-old homeowner shoots Baldwin Hills burglar - latimes.com

A man who tried to break into a Baldwin Hills home was in critical condition Wednesday after the 87-year-old homeowner shot him, police said.

The 2nd guy who tried to get into the home ran like a rabbit.

So even in gun-hating-LA, self-defense works. And of all the platitudes of the anti-gun crowd, just what should an 87-year-old man do when faced with potentially violent criminals? Run away?

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

Imbolc - The Festival Where We Say, "Enough Winter Already!"

Imbolc has been co-opted by everyone from the Catholics with the Feast of St. Brigid, to Pennsylvania with Groundhog Day.

Imbolc falls half-way between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. It is a time to start thinking about the fact that winter will end. Maybe plan for a garden and planting. Definitely get together with folks to say how sick you are of long nights, cold winds and snow - though we haven't had it too bad on that front so far.

What He Said - Newt and His Gay-marriage=Paganism Rant

Wanted to take a swipe at Newt for his gay-marriage=paganism equation, but couldn't bring myself to. S'ok. Someone did a better job for me. Newt Gingrich's Views On Gay Marriage: My Reaction - New York News - La Daily Musto

Secondly, if marriage is such a sacred sacrament, why did you routinely make a cocky-doody all over it? Why did you break vows, cheat on wives, ask them to have open marriages (after you've already been having one for a while), and then trade them in for another wife?

Is marriage so wonderfully holy and blessed that you're going to keep doing it until you get it right?

Hell it wasn't that long ago that divorce was a no-no even when there was cause. Like abuse.

But today Newt can be on #3 (or is it 4?) but that is perfectly sanctified. I think Newt's bible has a thing or two to say about hypocrisy. And keeping vows. I'm sure there is a bit about lying in there as well.

Reality Doesn't Care if a Democrat is in Office

The problem with state budgets, and excessive pension costs isn't only an issue in states with Republican governors. Quinn looks at teacher pensions as address nears - CBS News

Pat Quinn, Democrat and Governor of Illinois - he took over for Blagojevich after he was ousted - is having a problem with pensions in the state of Illinois. And the unions aren't happy about it.

Gov. Pat Quinn, responding to a dire new report on state finances Monday, said more clearly than ever that he wants schools and universities to help pay for their employees' retirement costs.

A statement from Quinn's budget office said the practice of state government paying for the retirement of downstate teachers and professors "requires careful examination and reform" because "employers need to have a stake in funding their own employees' pension costs."

Apparently Illinois State Universities (and some downstate schools) don't have to worry about those pesky pensions.

Oh, and Quinn also wants "aggressive" Medicaid restructuring.

Retirement and Medicaid costs were two of the biggest factors in a report Monday from the Civic Federation that says state government's backlog of unpaid bills could nearly quadruple — from $9.2 billion to $34.8 billion — over the next five years unless officials take action.

That's right, the state of Illinois is already 9 billion dollars behind on various payments to people. (Anybody who lends them money at this point should go to Google, and do a search on Greek Sovereign Debt.)

A major state-employee union sharply criticized the [report].

That would be AFSCME, the government-employee union. If state and local governments have to deal with pensions, and budgetary reality, well eventually they are going to move on from teachers and run over AFSCME.

Anti-Gay TN Senator Stacey Campfield Thrown Out of Restaurant

Heh, TN Senator Stacey Campfield Reportedly Thrown Out of Restaurant Over His Anti-Gay Remarks: VIDEO |Gay News|Gay Blog Towleroad

This is the guy who wants to restrict (could one say Censor?) teachers so they cannot say the word "gay." Frightening word in Tennessee.

Campfield, who has been in the news again recently because he's still trying to push his heinous homophobic "don't say gay" bill in Tennessee, gave an interview last week to Michelangelo Signorile in which he asserted that bullying of gay kids "is a lark", compared homosexuality to sex with animals, asserted that homosexuality is "glorified" in the media, and that it's "virtually impossible" for heterosexuals to contract AIDS.

What he considers a "lark" has caused two suicides in Tennessee.

Phillip Parker, 14, was found dead last week after what his parents say was a year of bullying he suffered because he was gay.
[snip]
The teen’s death comes just one month after another gay Tennessee teen, Jacob Rogers, committed suicide by shooting himself after he was reportedly bullied at his school.

In Parker's case, complaints by parents to the school only made the situation worse. (ACLU, call your office.) That's a lark. Well you know what they say; it's all a lot of fun until the object of your bullying puts a gun to his own head.

I guess the distinguished senator also isn't up on the shape of the epidemic in places like Africa, where a huge proportion of the kids have been orphaned because of the disease. I guess all their parents were gay.

But even in this country, Campfield has his head up his ass with respect to aids.

Among women living with HIV, black women are disproportionately affected, with the most likely transmission route being heterosexual sex. Three out of four African American women living with HIV were infected this way and account for over half of the country's entire female epidemic. Of black men living with HIV, 20 percent were infected through heterosexual contact.21

But then maybe in addition to hating gays, he hates blacks too. Could it be he just doesn't think about them? Could it be he doesn't care about them and how they are impacted by a deadly disease?

Or maybe he is just to stupid to know how stupid he is.