NBC News is reporting that Senators, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, James Inhofe, and Marco Rubio are threatening to filibuster in order to stop any sort of legislation they and the NRA decide is detrimental to gun manufacturers. Oh they wrote a letter talking about the second amendment and rights and all that, but it has nothing to do with reality.
The Big Brother bugaboo is used in it as is an iffy interpretation of the second amendment itself. One paragraph reads, "The second amendment of the constitution protects citizens' right to self defense. It speaks to history's lesson that government cannot be in all places at all times and history's warning about the oppression of a government that tries."
Well actually the amendment doesn't say a word about self defense. In fact there is nothing there about oppression either. All it does is address the need for a well regulated militia to maintain a free state. It doesn't say the government can't stipulate that guns must be registered, or that requiring background checks infringe upon an individual's right to own a gun. In truth it doesn't speak to any sort of history lesson. What it does speak to is the state of the American military when the constitution was authored.
But hey when you are owned and operated by people like Smith and Wesson what are a few facts when trying to make sure another Adam Lanza or James Holmes can gun up and take out a few dozen innocent people.
And speaking of James Holmes, prosecutors have rejected the plea bargain deal his defense team floated out there this week, saying it wasn't a legitimate offer. It is expected that Monday the state will announce whether it will be seeking the death penalty in the case. The trial is set to start August 12.
Elsewhere in Colorado, or rather outside of it, pro gun forces are trying to encourage a hunter's boycott, which would cost the state millions of dollars in lost license fees. This is in reaction to recent legislation passed that, among other things, expands back ground checks, and bans high capacity ammunition magazines, because after all when you shoot an elk you want to make sure that bastard is down for good.
Up in Alaska, in a further effort to woo Hispanic voters, republican representative, Don Young described the migrant workers his father's farm once employed as wetbacks. Young immediately tried to apologize after the shit hit the fan, but being a republican he simply couldn't help but both lie and put his foot into it further. He claimed wetback was a term that was "commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in central California." He went on to say, "I know that term is not used in the same way nowadays. I meant no disrespect."
Now we can have that history lesson, children. The name wetback refers to a Mexican who had to swim across the Rio Grande River, thereby getting wet, in order to get into the United States illegally. No, I didn't grow up on a farm in central California and I'm not quite as old as Mr. Young, but I can assure each and every one of you the name wetback has always been used in the same way and it has always been derogatory. I'm sure there were a lot of other words used commonly on the Young farm back in the day, but decorum prevents me from openly speculating on what they were here.
Finally Dennis Rodman's old pal, Kim Jung Un has reportedly put his missile crews on standby. The North Korean news agency has said, Kim believes "the time has come to settle accounts with U.S, imperialists. Normally babbling like this from the north wouldn't raise any eyebrows, but a couple of unknown factors make this whole chest beating episode a bit dicier.
First there is Kim himself. He is only 30 years old and if he actually thought Rodman had an in at the White House he might qualify as the stupidest man on the planet. Obviously he feels he has to prove to his military he has out sized testicles made of solid brass. Unfortunately if he really is as dumb as a brick he'll paint himself into a corner with all this bellicose nonsense and it could well dawn on him he can't back out without losing face. Even worse, the dope might actually believe his own bullshit. He could really be convinced that North Korea would win a nuclear war fought on the peninsula.
South of the DMZ Park Geun-hye has been the president for only a month. Although she is the daughter of a former president she is still a rank rookie and what her reaction to some sort of military provocation would be is quite simply unknown.
Yes, there is thin ice on both sides right now. Everyone needs to tread softly, keep a cool head and a clear eye. Whether that is possible or not is the rub.
Luckily here on the southern plains the weekend looms and the beer is cold.
As always stay low and keep moving If we're lucky we'll all make it to Monday.
sic vita est
3-29-13
Friday, March 29, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Crazy Isn't Insane in Colorado and a Christmas Present in Newtown
Yesterday, Dan Elliott and P. Solomon Banda of the Huffington Post reported that James Holmes' attorneys have told prosecutors that their client is willing to plead guilty to murder. Holmes, as everyone recalls, showed up at the midnight showing of the new Batman movie last summer, tossed in a tear gas canister, then opened fire on the audience, killing 12 and wounding dozens more. If the offer is accepted the prosecution would agree to take the death penalty off the table and Holmes would spend the rest of his life in prison without the hope of parole,
Banda and Elliott write that the defense offered to make the plea before March 12th, but had yet to receive an answer from prosecutors. Speculation is that the plea offer is being made public now in order to reach out to the surviving victims and the relatives of those who died that awful night.
The move has been met with mixed reviews. The article quotes Melisa Cowden, who was the ex wife of one of those killed and the mother of two who survived the attack as saying, "He didn't give 12 people the chance to plea bargain. No, no plea bargain." However, it also cites Pierce O'Farrill, one of the wounded, as saying "I don't see his death bringing me peace."
It is expected the prosecution will give the defense their answer within a few days. If turned down the Holmes' counselors will fall back onto a plea of innocent by reason of insanity, which is what everyone expected in the first place.
There could be several reasons the defense team made the offer. The first and foremost is that their guy did it and the second is that its damned hard to be ruled legally insane in Colorado.
Apparently there are a few different "tests" for insanity that can be applied. First off just because you are mentally ill the state doesn't necessarily consider you insane. There is something called the M'Naghten Rule. It states a person is insane if laboring under such a defect of reason arising from a disease of the mind that he did not know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he didn't know what he was doing was wrong.
Then there is an irresistible impulse test which says that to be judged insane the defendant must have acted from an irresistible and uncontrollable impulse, must be unable to choose between right and wrong behavior and his or her will was destroyed such that his or her actions were beyond control.
Next is the penal code test which says a person is insane only if he or she lacked the capacity to appreciate the criminality of his or her conduct or conform his or her conduct to the requirements of the law.
Those are, pardon the pun, tough nuts to crack. Especially when trying to prove all of that to a jury of 12 men and women who have probably gleaned the sum total of their medical knowledge from pill bottle labels.
Jimmy Holmes might be bat shit crazy, but legally insane is different animal all together. And that is before the prosecution points out to the jurors that if he is found innocent by reason of insanity he can be released from a mental institution as soon as he is deemed no longer a danger to himself or the public. The specter of this deadly geek loose on the streets once again will be just too unacceptable, not to mention horrifying, to contemplate. There isn't a jury out there that will take that chance, no matter how infinitesimal it might be.
Yes, if you're the defense it is best to get this nightmare over with as quickly as possible. Plead guilty and at least remove the needle from the equation. Sometimes that is all you can and should do.
Meanwhile in Connecticut NBC News is reporting that police have said Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook Elementary School killer, pulled off 155 rounds in less than five minutes. He used the first 154 on the 20 first graders and six teachers he murdered and the 155th one on himself. He had taken nine 30 round clips into the school with him. Three were still full.
The report, written by Michael Isikoff, Tom Winter, and Erin McClam, says that a search of the Lanza house revealed seven different personal journals, drawings, an unspecified certificate from the NRA, and a number of books, including an NRA guide to the basics of pistol shooting. Also found was a New York Times story about a shooting at Northern Illinois University, some photos of what appeared to be a dead person covered with plastic and blood, and a Holiday card from his mother that included a check meant to buy his Christmas present, a brand new gun.
Nancy Lanza was her son's first victim that day. He shot her in the head four times before leaving home.
Merry Christmas to you too, Mom.
@GunDeaths and Slate report that at least 3,076 Americans have been shot to death since December 14th, 2012.
Such is the price of freedom in America.
3-28-13
Banda and Elliott write that the defense offered to make the plea before March 12th, but had yet to receive an answer from prosecutors. Speculation is that the plea offer is being made public now in order to reach out to the surviving victims and the relatives of those who died that awful night.
The move has been met with mixed reviews. The article quotes Melisa Cowden, who was the ex wife of one of those killed and the mother of two who survived the attack as saying, "He didn't give 12 people the chance to plea bargain. No, no plea bargain." However, it also cites Pierce O'Farrill, one of the wounded, as saying "I don't see his death bringing me peace."
It is expected the prosecution will give the defense their answer within a few days. If turned down the Holmes' counselors will fall back onto a plea of innocent by reason of insanity, which is what everyone expected in the first place.
There could be several reasons the defense team made the offer. The first and foremost is that their guy did it and the second is that its damned hard to be ruled legally insane in Colorado.
Apparently there are a few different "tests" for insanity that can be applied. First off just because you are mentally ill the state doesn't necessarily consider you insane. There is something called the M'Naghten Rule. It states a person is insane if laboring under such a defect of reason arising from a disease of the mind that he did not know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he didn't know what he was doing was wrong.
Then there is an irresistible impulse test which says that to be judged insane the defendant must have acted from an irresistible and uncontrollable impulse, must be unable to choose between right and wrong behavior and his or her will was destroyed such that his or her actions were beyond control.
Next is the penal code test which says a person is insane only if he or she lacked the capacity to appreciate the criminality of his or her conduct or conform his or her conduct to the requirements of the law.
Those are, pardon the pun, tough nuts to crack. Especially when trying to prove all of that to a jury of 12 men and women who have probably gleaned the sum total of their medical knowledge from pill bottle labels.
Jimmy Holmes might be bat shit crazy, but legally insane is different animal all together. And that is before the prosecution points out to the jurors that if he is found innocent by reason of insanity he can be released from a mental institution as soon as he is deemed no longer a danger to himself or the public. The specter of this deadly geek loose on the streets once again will be just too unacceptable, not to mention horrifying, to contemplate. There isn't a jury out there that will take that chance, no matter how infinitesimal it might be.
Yes, if you're the defense it is best to get this nightmare over with as quickly as possible. Plead guilty and at least remove the needle from the equation. Sometimes that is all you can and should do.
Meanwhile in Connecticut NBC News is reporting that police have said Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook Elementary School killer, pulled off 155 rounds in less than five minutes. He used the first 154 on the 20 first graders and six teachers he murdered and the 155th one on himself. He had taken nine 30 round clips into the school with him. Three were still full.
The report, written by Michael Isikoff, Tom Winter, and Erin McClam, says that a search of the Lanza house revealed seven different personal journals, drawings, an unspecified certificate from the NRA, and a number of books, including an NRA guide to the basics of pistol shooting. Also found was a New York Times story about a shooting at Northern Illinois University, some photos of what appeared to be a dead person covered with plastic and blood, and a Holiday card from his mother that included a check meant to buy his Christmas present, a brand new gun.
Nancy Lanza was her son's first victim that day. He shot her in the head four times before leaving home.
Merry Christmas to you too, Mom.
@GunDeaths and Slate report that at least 3,076 Americans have been shot to death since December 14th, 2012.
Such is the price of freedom in America.
3-28-13
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Robocalls in Newtown, Outrage, and Hyenas
I'm not sure how the technology works, but chances are if you have a telephone land line you have received what is known as a robocall. They are used by political campaigns nationwide. Someone somewhere pushes a button, or buttons and everyone in town gets a phone call dialed by some complex and mysterious computer. As soon as you pick up and say hello a recorded message will urge you to vote for this or that candidate. Sometimes the calls are paid for by a lobbying group, or a political party that is desperately trying to either pass or kill a piece of legislation. When you answer, the vaguely human voice will plead with you to contact your local representative and or senator and ask him, or her to vote yes, or no on a specific bill.
Under the best of circumstances robocalls are a pain in the ass. They usually start going out at about the same time the great and powerful computer decides you've arrived home from work, or are close to eating dinner. Most of the time caller ID really doesn't help. The number that flashes on your ID screen will usually be just that, a number with nothing to identify what entity is generating the call.
Enter the National Rifle Association. When they feel threatened by legislation they love to use robocalls. They want to make sure you know some monstrous liberal cabal is threatening to pass restrictions on say the number of bullets that can be carried in a single ammunition clip, or mandate something as evil as universal background checks on gun purchases.
As we found out over the weekend they don't really care who their whiz bang computer outfit makes the calls to. After all, it isn't the who, it is the how many.
In this case the how many was located in Newtown, Connecticut. That would be the same Newtown, Connecticut that lost six of its teachers and twenty of its first graders to a well armed and deadly cretin just over 100 days ago.
The calls began to arrive late last week. The somewhat stilted spiel urged the good people of Newtown to pitch in and help defeat pending gun control legislation in the Connecticut General Assembly. No one knows if any of the children who survived the shooting heard the calls or not, although it is a distinct possibility some did.
To say a number of people are outraged would be an understatement. Connecticut's two U.S. senators immediately fired off a letter to Wayne LaPierre of the NRA. Among other things in the letter they wrote, With these robocalls the NRA has stooped to a new low in the debate over how to best protect our kids and communities. Then there was, This latest act is just another example in a long line of offensive steps your organization has taken in the wake of this tragic shooting. The letter ends with the plea, Show some basic decency and cease and desist these calls.
As of this writing the NRA has not responded. It is unknown whether LaPierre is preparing another press release condemning the liberal media and video games, or if he is simply too busy pulling the wings off of flies to answer.
The New York Post reports that The Newtown Action Alliance Facebook page is filled with seething anger. Terms and words like, not a shred of decency, heartless and terrorist are common.
Any normal organization would be reeling right now from such an incredibly cruel gaffe and the response to it, but then as we all know the NRA isn't a normal organization. They feel their membership will stand by them no matter what they say or do. In fact LaPierre's crowd might actually like doing this sort of thing. In the end everyone does what they must in order to get an erection. It is probably just a matter of time before Ted Nugent wants to schedule a NRA fundraising concert on the campus of Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Yes, we the people are being confronted on a daily basis by what amounts to a pack of ravenous hyenas. They have no compassion, they are ruthless, and they will not stop. The NRA has nothing to do with freedom. They are the unrelenting, sociopathic, political mouth piece of weapons manufacturers every where.
They want you to be frightened. They want you to feel as if you cannot leave the house without a gun. They want you to believe this republic is an uncivilized war zone and they will do everything in their power to hammer that notion into your brain.
If we buy into their evil vision we are lost and so is everything we hold dear about this nation.
If they win tyranny truly will have conquered us all.
3-26-13
Under the best of circumstances robocalls are a pain in the ass. They usually start going out at about the same time the great and powerful computer decides you've arrived home from work, or are close to eating dinner. Most of the time caller ID really doesn't help. The number that flashes on your ID screen will usually be just that, a number with nothing to identify what entity is generating the call.
Enter the National Rifle Association. When they feel threatened by legislation they love to use robocalls. They want to make sure you know some monstrous liberal cabal is threatening to pass restrictions on say the number of bullets that can be carried in a single ammunition clip, or mandate something as evil as universal background checks on gun purchases.
As we found out over the weekend they don't really care who their whiz bang computer outfit makes the calls to. After all, it isn't the who, it is the how many.
In this case the how many was located in Newtown, Connecticut. That would be the same Newtown, Connecticut that lost six of its teachers and twenty of its first graders to a well armed and deadly cretin just over 100 days ago.
The calls began to arrive late last week. The somewhat stilted spiel urged the good people of Newtown to pitch in and help defeat pending gun control legislation in the Connecticut General Assembly. No one knows if any of the children who survived the shooting heard the calls or not, although it is a distinct possibility some did.
To say a number of people are outraged would be an understatement. Connecticut's two U.S. senators immediately fired off a letter to Wayne LaPierre of the NRA. Among other things in the letter they wrote, With these robocalls the NRA has stooped to a new low in the debate over how to best protect our kids and communities. Then there was, This latest act is just another example in a long line of offensive steps your organization has taken in the wake of this tragic shooting. The letter ends with the plea, Show some basic decency and cease and desist these calls.
As of this writing the NRA has not responded. It is unknown whether LaPierre is preparing another press release condemning the liberal media and video games, or if he is simply too busy pulling the wings off of flies to answer.
The New York Post reports that The Newtown Action Alliance Facebook page is filled with seething anger. Terms and words like, not a shred of decency, heartless and terrorist are common.
Any normal organization would be reeling right now from such an incredibly cruel gaffe and the response to it, but then as we all know the NRA isn't a normal organization. They feel their membership will stand by them no matter what they say or do. In fact LaPierre's crowd might actually like doing this sort of thing. In the end everyone does what they must in order to get an erection. It is probably just a matter of time before Ted Nugent wants to schedule a NRA fundraising concert on the campus of Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Yes, we the people are being confronted on a daily basis by what amounts to a pack of ravenous hyenas. They have no compassion, they are ruthless, and they will not stop. The NRA has nothing to do with freedom. They are the unrelenting, sociopathic, political mouth piece of weapons manufacturers every where.
They want you to be frightened. They want you to feel as if you cannot leave the house without a gun. They want you to believe this republic is an uncivilized war zone and they will do everything in their power to hammer that notion into your brain.
If we buy into their evil vision we are lost and so is everything we hold dear about this nation.
If they win tyranny truly will have conquered us all.
3-26-13
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Foiled in Orlando, Killing Babies in Georgia, The Asshole Factor, Florida Gulf Coast Who, and The Possible Appearance of the Banana People
It was a long and dreary week, punctuated every now and then with spurts of violence that would shock and appall the average human being. However, being American, most of us understand these sorts of things are simply part of the cost of doing business in the United States.
Down in Orlando Mr. James Seevakumaran, a thirty year old University of Central Florida student apparently planned to go all Jimmy Holmes. He had amassed a small arsenal that included one hand gun, what police are calling a tactical weapon, scads of ammunition, a few 100 plus ammo clips, and a couple of explosive devices. He had even written down a list of what he hoped to accomplish that day. Luckily for the student body his plan went awry when his room mate blew the whistle on him and the Orlando police arrived in a timely fashion. At some point as the police closed in and he realized his fantasy wasn't going to play out like he'd hoped he blew his brains out. According to reports he had no history of violence, or psychological problems. He was described as just another quiet guy who kept to himself.
In Brunswick, Georgia police arrested De'Marquis Elkins, age 17, and a 14 year old pal. The two are suspected of murdering a 13 month old child. Sherry West was out walking around, pushing her infant in a stroller when the two allegedly approached her and told her they wanted all her money or they'd kill her baby. When she told them she didn't have any cash the happy go lucky lads shot the kid in the head and wounded Ms. West in the leg and ear, then ran away.
@GunDeaths and Slate say that as of 3-21-13 at least 2,883 Americans have been shot to death since the Newtown, Connecticut murders.
In other news, on March 20th The Atlantic ran an article on line by Ken Stern. In it he reports that the very wealthy, those in the top 20% earnings bracket, on average contribute 1.3% of their income to what could be called charitable enterprises. In contrast those in the bottom 20% give on average 3.2%. This despite the fact the rich routinely itemize their taxes and are able to deduct charitable donations, while the poor normally don't and therefore can't take advantage of that tax break.
In addition Stern found that the wealthy tend to donate their money to institutions of higher education, arts organizations, and museums. In other words they give to places that cater to the rich. On the other hand the poor are more likely to give to religious organizations and social service charities, ie things that feed and clothe people. Stern notes that last year 34 of the 50 single largest charitable contributions went to colleges and universities, 9 went to arts organizations and the rest to medical facilities. None went to a charity that serves the poor or dispossessed.
In his research to explain all this, Ken Stern quotes University of California--Berkeley psychologist, Paul Piff who says the rich are, "more likely to exhibit characteristics that we would stereotypically associate with assholes."
And all this time I thought it was just me.
In sports, the NCAA basketball tournament has turned into a maelstrom of upsets and choke jobs beyond all comprehension. Obviously the Mayans were right. When an outfit called Florida Gulf Coast University takes out Georgetown we have reached the end of times. Casualties were too many to count. The one dim light at the end of the tunnel in this monumental disaster is the knowledge that every one's brackets are fucked. My elite eight and final four teams are still alive, although a couple are on life support so despite the nightmare there is still a thin ray of hope.
Finally, on a personal note, I will be disappearing into the bowels of the Oklahoma County courthouse beginning Monday morning for an undetermined amount of time. Being called to jury duty tends to make one a bit schizo. On one hand I have a terrible urge to show up babbling about how the Banana People are plotting to rip out my heart and serve it to Dick Cheney for lunch thus causing the judge to immediately throw my ass out onto the street. On the other, there is a dark desire to be able to sit in on some God awful felony trial that will provide me with blog material for weeks, if not months. The reality will probably end up being far more drab and utterly useless. The last time I served, "the trial" ended up being a two bit civil suit that was settled out of court after the first hour and a half of testimony.
There you have it on a gray, damp, and raw March Saturday on the southern plains.
Beer awaits.
sic vita est
3-23-13
Down in Orlando Mr. James Seevakumaran, a thirty year old University of Central Florida student apparently planned to go all Jimmy Holmes. He had amassed a small arsenal that included one hand gun, what police are calling a tactical weapon, scads of ammunition, a few 100 plus ammo clips, and a couple of explosive devices. He had even written down a list of what he hoped to accomplish that day. Luckily for the student body his plan went awry when his room mate blew the whistle on him and the Orlando police arrived in a timely fashion. At some point as the police closed in and he realized his fantasy wasn't going to play out like he'd hoped he blew his brains out. According to reports he had no history of violence, or psychological problems. He was described as just another quiet guy who kept to himself.
In Brunswick, Georgia police arrested De'Marquis Elkins, age 17, and a 14 year old pal. The two are suspected of murdering a 13 month old child. Sherry West was out walking around, pushing her infant in a stroller when the two allegedly approached her and told her they wanted all her money or they'd kill her baby. When she told them she didn't have any cash the happy go lucky lads shot the kid in the head and wounded Ms. West in the leg and ear, then ran away.
@GunDeaths and Slate say that as of 3-21-13 at least 2,883 Americans have been shot to death since the Newtown, Connecticut murders.
In other news, on March 20th The Atlantic ran an article on line by Ken Stern. In it he reports that the very wealthy, those in the top 20% earnings bracket, on average contribute 1.3% of their income to what could be called charitable enterprises. In contrast those in the bottom 20% give on average 3.2%. This despite the fact the rich routinely itemize their taxes and are able to deduct charitable donations, while the poor normally don't and therefore can't take advantage of that tax break.
In addition Stern found that the wealthy tend to donate their money to institutions of higher education, arts organizations, and museums. In other words they give to places that cater to the rich. On the other hand the poor are more likely to give to religious organizations and social service charities, ie things that feed and clothe people. Stern notes that last year 34 of the 50 single largest charitable contributions went to colleges and universities, 9 went to arts organizations and the rest to medical facilities. None went to a charity that serves the poor or dispossessed.
In his research to explain all this, Ken Stern quotes University of California--Berkeley psychologist, Paul Piff who says the rich are, "more likely to exhibit characteristics that we would stereotypically associate with assholes."
And all this time I thought it was just me.
In sports, the NCAA basketball tournament has turned into a maelstrom of upsets and choke jobs beyond all comprehension. Obviously the Mayans were right. When an outfit called Florida Gulf Coast University takes out Georgetown we have reached the end of times. Casualties were too many to count. The one dim light at the end of the tunnel in this monumental disaster is the knowledge that every one's brackets are fucked. My elite eight and final four teams are still alive, although a couple are on life support so despite the nightmare there is still a thin ray of hope.
Finally, on a personal note, I will be disappearing into the bowels of the Oklahoma County courthouse beginning Monday morning for an undetermined amount of time. Being called to jury duty tends to make one a bit schizo. On one hand I have a terrible urge to show up babbling about how the Banana People are plotting to rip out my heart and serve it to Dick Cheney for lunch thus causing the judge to immediately throw my ass out onto the street. On the other, there is a dark desire to be able to sit in on some God awful felony trial that will provide me with blog material for weeks, if not months. The reality will probably end up being far more drab and utterly useless. The last time I served, "the trial" ended up being a two bit civil suit that was settled out of court after the first hour and a half of testimony.
There you have it on a gray, damp, and raw March Saturday on the southern plains.
Beer awaits.
sic vita est
3-23-13
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The Director of Propaganda, James Ives: The Tea Party Uber Alles
It is tough to have a skeleton in a closet now days. Privacy has gone the way of the Dodo and the internet never deletes anything, or forgets. If you have even a whiff of a political aspiration, influence, or hold an office, someone is going track down that drunken post you made ten years ago on some bizarre fetish web site. Lets face it, if the head of the CIA can be brought down because of some risque emails no one is immune.
Take the case of James Ives. He is the head of the Greater Fort Bend County Tea Party. According to the Texas Tribune, a non-profit, non-partisan journalistic enterprise, he also used to be the Director of Propaganda of the American Fascist Party.
Ouch. There is no real way to soften that title is there? It immediately conjures up images of the late and unlamented Herr Joseph Goebbels.
Ives is, of course, outraged at this revelation. He claims that his record is open and quite public and that he joined the American Fascist Party in order to do research for a book. In his words, "I wanted to learn the left wing's opposing view point and understand why they felt the way they did." He also referred to his former organization as, "a defunct left wing fascist group." I suppose this does give us some idea of James Ives' political world view. He actually considers fascists as members of the left wing.
He does admit that he wrote six posts on the AFP's Yahoo message board in 2003, although he failed to mention that in one of them he admiringly cited Benito Mussolini. He also contends that "I never attended any meetings, never attended a single event, and never physically met anyone associated with the group."
When the Tribune pointed out they had a picture of him sitting in front of what appeared to be the logo of the party wearing a black uniform with yellow shoulder patches, he began to babble a tad. He claimed the uniform was photo shopped on him and the picture was used without his permission.
He asserts he became Director of Propaganda because no one else wanted the job. However the head of the outfit, one Seth Tryssen seemed enthralled not only with Ive's qualifications, but his talent. In one of his Yahoo posts he wrote, "Party Comrades its obvious that James is a serious thinker, not just an armchair fascist that looks at his computer screen once in a while. See his postings on the American Fascist Movement's Forum for more of his thoughts--they are worth reading."
Hey, a lot of people fuck up. Just ask the ghost of Robert Byrd. However when confronted with the awful truth at least Byrd fessed up about his past membership in the Ku Klux Klan and apologized for it.
Ives is doing the absolute denial two step. It was only to write a book. I never met any of them. No one else wanted the job. It was a left wing organization.
Right.
The book was never written. The photograph is out there. Party head, Seth Tryssen thought he was a serious thinker and told followers to read what he'd written on yet a second fascist site. And finally the American Fascist Party described itself as, "a political party who wants a strong military government to take control of the United States and put down the protesters, greeners, and ultra liberals."
To paraphrase, wild Bill Shakespeare, the man doth protest too much, methinks.
Brother Ives, confession is good for the soul. You might want to consider it.
sic vita est
3-20-13
Take the case of James Ives. He is the head of the Greater Fort Bend County Tea Party. According to the Texas Tribune, a non-profit, non-partisan journalistic enterprise, he also used to be the Director of Propaganda of the American Fascist Party.
Ouch. There is no real way to soften that title is there? It immediately conjures up images of the late and unlamented Herr Joseph Goebbels.
Ives is, of course, outraged at this revelation. He claims that his record is open and quite public and that he joined the American Fascist Party in order to do research for a book. In his words, "I wanted to learn the left wing's opposing view point and understand why they felt the way they did." He also referred to his former organization as, "a defunct left wing fascist group." I suppose this does give us some idea of James Ives' political world view. He actually considers fascists as members of the left wing.
He does admit that he wrote six posts on the AFP's Yahoo message board in 2003, although he failed to mention that in one of them he admiringly cited Benito Mussolini. He also contends that "I never attended any meetings, never attended a single event, and never physically met anyone associated with the group."
When the Tribune pointed out they had a picture of him sitting in front of what appeared to be the logo of the party wearing a black uniform with yellow shoulder patches, he began to babble a tad. He claimed the uniform was photo shopped on him and the picture was used without his permission.
He asserts he became Director of Propaganda because no one else wanted the job. However the head of the outfit, one Seth Tryssen seemed enthralled not only with Ive's qualifications, but his talent. In one of his Yahoo posts he wrote, "Party Comrades its obvious that James is a serious thinker, not just an armchair fascist that looks at his computer screen once in a while. See his postings on the American Fascist Movement's Forum for more of his thoughts--they are worth reading."
Hey, a lot of people fuck up. Just ask the ghost of Robert Byrd. However when confronted with the awful truth at least Byrd fessed up about his past membership in the Ku Klux Klan and apologized for it.
Ives is doing the absolute denial two step. It was only to write a book. I never met any of them. No one else wanted the job. It was a left wing organization.
Right.
The book was never written. The photograph is out there. Party head, Seth Tryssen thought he was a serious thinker and told followers to read what he'd written on yet a second fascist site. And finally the American Fascist Party described itself as, "a political party who wants a strong military government to take control of the United States and put down the protesters, greeners, and ultra liberals."
To paraphrase, wild Bill Shakespeare, the man doth protest too much, methinks.
Brother Ives, confession is good for the soul. You might want to consider it.
sic vita est
3-20-13
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
T.J. Lane Says Good-bye
There's a killer on the road
His brain is squirmin' like a toad
From The song, Riders on the Storm
He longed for only one thing. The world to bow at his feet. They should feel his secret fear. The dismal dread. His pain had made him sincere. He was better than the rest of all those ones he detests within their castles so vain, selfish and conceited.
Excerpt from a December 30th, 2011 Facebook posting by T.J. Lane
The shooting happened over a year ago in Chardon, Ohio. T.J. Lane was at Chardon High School waiting on a bus to take him to an alternative school that was geared toward students with either academic, or behavioral problems. Instead of leaving, he walked into the school cafeteria wearing a tee shirt with the word Killer written across the front, picked out a table at random and began to fire at fellow teenagers with a Ruger .22. He killed three and wounded three. One of the wounded remains paralyzed from the waist down.
As mass killings go, this was a minor one, unless of course you were there, or one of your kids was murdered, or wounded. There are no minor cases of mayhem when loved ones are victims. As the year progressed new and greater outrages happened. Body counts mounted into double digits on more than one occasion and T.J. Lane and Chardon, Ohio became old news. A large number of Americans might not even remember the shooting happened. After all, it has been a busy year for the heavily armed and deranged. It is hard to keep track of all the names and places.
The details are numbingly familiar. Lane was portrayed by various people as quiet, sweet, someone with a simmering temper, and a loner. He was living with his grandparents at the time of the shooting. The weapon he used was apparently stolen from his grandfather's barn. He was described as being cold and detached as he shot his victims.
So why talk about him at all now? Why focus on just another demented fool who still hasn't told anyone why he decided to take the lives of others, especially since it has been over a year since the shooting?
Well today, NBC News' Elizabeth Chuck reports that T.J. Lane was sentenced to three life terms without the possibility of parole. He had copped to that plea in order to get the death penalty off the table. He also had a good-bye message of sorts for the rest of us.
Chuck writes that when young Mr. Lane came into the courtroom he was wearing a blue button down shirt. However, shortly after arriving he removed it. The tee shirt he was wearing underneath was emblazoned with the word, Killer in large hand written letters.
When the judge asked him if he wanted to make a statement, T.J. Lane raised his middle finger to the packed courtroom, flipping off both his family and the families of his victims and said, "This hand that pulled the trigger that killed your sons now masturbates to the memory. Fuck all of you."
Oh yes, a very sweet lad indeed.
I wish I had something quite deep to say about all this. I suppose I could compare him to the Norwegian loon Anders Breivik, or rail about how gun owners never seem to secure their weapons. I could even go off on yet another anti NRA rant at this point.
Sometimes though, when faced with absolute darkness, there is simply nothing you can say. There is no analyzing it, there is no dissecting it, there is no reason to speculate that if A hadn't happened then B wouldn't have happened and therefore C,D,E and F would still be alive.
T.J. Lane was and still is nuts. He got a gun. He used it and he really liked using it. Now he will spend the rest of his life in prison. End of story.
He is eighteen years old.
Evil, it would seem, doesn't practice age discrimination.
3-19-13
His brain is squirmin' like a toad
From The song, Riders on the Storm
He longed for only one thing. The world to bow at his feet. They should feel his secret fear. The dismal dread. His pain had made him sincere. He was better than the rest of all those ones he detests within their castles so vain, selfish and conceited.
Excerpt from a December 30th, 2011 Facebook posting by T.J. Lane
The shooting happened over a year ago in Chardon, Ohio. T.J. Lane was at Chardon High School waiting on a bus to take him to an alternative school that was geared toward students with either academic, or behavioral problems. Instead of leaving, he walked into the school cafeteria wearing a tee shirt with the word Killer written across the front, picked out a table at random and began to fire at fellow teenagers with a Ruger .22. He killed three and wounded three. One of the wounded remains paralyzed from the waist down.
As mass killings go, this was a minor one, unless of course you were there, or one of your kids was murdered, or wounded. There are no minor cases of mayhem when loved ones are victims. As the year progressed new and greater outrages happened. Body counts mounted into double digits on more than one occasion and T.J. Lane and Chardon, Ohio became old news. A large number of Americans might not even remember the shooting happened. After all, it has been a busy year for the heavily armed and deranged. It is hard to keep track of all the names and places.
The details are numbingly familiar. Lane was portrayed by various people as quiet, sweet, someone with a simmering temper, and a loner. He was living with his grandparents at the time of the shooting. The weapon he used was apparently stolen from his grandfather's barn. He was described as being cold and detached as he shot his victims.
So why talk about him at all now? Why focus on just another demented fool who still hasn't told anyone why he decided to take the lives of others, especially since it has been over a year since the shooting?
Well today, NBC News' Elizabeth Chuck reports that T.J. Lane was sentenced to three life terms without the possibility of parole. He had copped to that plea in order to get the death penalty off the table. He also had a good-bye message of sorts for the rest of us.
Chuck writes that when young Mr. Lane came into the courtroom he was wearing a blue button down shirt. However, shortly after arriving he removed it. The tee shirt he was wearing underneath was emblazoned with the word, Killer in large hand written letters.
When the judge asked him if he wanted to make a statement, T.J. Lane raised his middle finger to the packed courtroom, flipping off both his family and the families of his victims and said, "This hand that pulled the trigger that killed your sons now masturbates to the memory. Fuck all of you."
Oh yes, a very sweet lad indeed.
I wish I had something quite deep to say about all this. I suppose I could compare him to the Norwegian loon Anders Breivik, or rail about how gun owners never seem to secure their weapons. I could even go off on yet another anti NRA rant at this point.
Sometimes though, when faced with absolute darkness, there is simply nothing you can say. There is no analyzing it, there is no dissecting it, there is no reason to speculate that if A hadn't happened then B wouldn't have happened and therefore C,D,E and F would still be alive.
T.J. Lane was and still is nuts. He got a gun. He used it and he really liked using it. Now he will spend the rest of his life in prison. End of story.
He is eighteen years old.
Evil, it would seem, doesn't practice age discrimination.
3-19-13
Monday, March 18, 2013
Madness in March
Here on the southern plains the sun is bright and the breeze out of the north has a sharp edge to it. It is the moment of reckoning for those with a taste for a wager or two. The NCAA Men's basketball tournament begins in earnest Thursday. What will follow over the next three weeks will lead a select few to strut, while many others will gnash their teeth and heave heavy objects through the screens of televisions.
It isn't a complicated process once things begin. Sixty-eight teams will tip off and all but one of them will end the season with a loss. It only gets weird when you try to figure out who that final winning team will be.
Yes, all manner of theorists, odds makers, experts, analysts, and seers will try to predict the outcomes of contests to a public who for the most part hasn't watched a single college basketball game all year. Algorithms will be cited, tea leaves will be consulted, logic will be applied and bones will be read by millions of Americans right up to and including the President of the United States. Everyone one will have a favorite and everyone will pick at least one team that shouldn't even be in the tournament to begin with to reach breathtaking heights.
Cinderellas are everywhere in this field, but there is a distinct shortage of glass slippers. Even after one earth shaking upset the tournament will grind on and the pressure will mount. It is almost a certainty that the little school that whacked an overwhelming favorite on Thursday will find itself being called a loser by the end of the weekend. Sometimes you are fortunate enough to run into a couple of the big boys having bad nights, but you can't count on it happening six times in a row.
Then of course there are the high end chokers. They are those supposed super basketball programs that bathe in tradition and glory and inevitably fuck your brackets up so completely you are out of the competition by the end of the first weekend. You know who they are, Duke and Kansas are among their number. In fact Duke is such a wild card, such an intolerable pain in the ass I cringe every time I look at their tournament schedule. Pick them and they tank to some God forsaken outfit. Last year it was Lehigh. Ignore them and they are liable to be sitting in the final four acting as if they get there every year.This year I have the bastards losing to Creighton in the second round. Same thing with those rubes from Lawrence. I have them running into Villanova in the second round and 'Nova is always a dangerous tournament team.
The fact is the game has become utterly unpredictable thanks to a rule that allows the great players to opt for the NBA after only one season. You are basically laying your money on a bunch of 18 year old kids and players who will either be studying dentistry, or cranking out burgers sometime in the near future. The truth is all of the prognostication has been reduced to dumb luck and the experts rendered useless.
So who will it be? Well as they say in Spokane, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.
Yes, I have Gonzaga winning it all. They've been to 15 tournaments in a row and they have an effective big man. Besides, the Jesuits are on a roll. When your guy is elected Pope you know you're having a good year and it isn't a good idea to try to derail a train like that.
Hey, it isn't much of a system, but right now it is all I have.
See you in Atlanta.
3-18-13
It isn't a complicated process once things begin. Sixty-eight teams will tip off and all but one of them will end the season with a loss. It only gets weird when you try to figure out who that final winning team will be.
Yes, all manner of theorists, odds makers, experts, analysts, and seers will try to predict the outcomes of contests to a public who for the most part hasn't watched a single college basketball game all year. Algorithms will be cited, tea leaves will be consulted, logic will be applied and bones will be read by millions of Americans right up to and including the President of the United States. Everyone one will have a favorite and everyone will pick at least one team that shouldn't even be in the tournament to begin with to reach breathtaking heights.
Cinderellas are everywhere in this field, but there is a distinct shortage of glass slippers. Even after one earth shaking upset the tournament will grind on and the pressure will mount. It is almost a certainty that the little school that whacked an overwhelming favorite on Thursday will find itself being called a loser by the end of the weekend. Sometimes you are fortunate enough to run into a couple of the big boys having bad nights, but you can't count on it happening six times in a row.
Then of course there are the high end chokers. They are those supposed super basketball programs that bathe in tradition and glory and inevitably fuck your brackets up so completely you are out of the competition by the end of the first weekend. You know who they are, Duke and Kansas are among their number. In fact Duke is such a wild card, such an intolerable pain in the ass I cringe every time I look at their tournament schedule. Pick them and they tank to some God forsaken outfit. Last year it was Lehigh. Ignore them and they are liable to be sitting in the final four acting as if they get there every year.This year I have the bastards losing to Creighton in the second round. Same thing with those rubes from Lawrence. I have them running into Villanova in the second round and 'Nova is always a dangerous tournament team.
The fact is the game has become utterly unpredictable thanks to a rule that allows the great players to opt for the NBA after only one season. You are basically laying your money on a bunch of 18 year old kids and players who will either be studying dentistry, or cranking out burgers sometime in the near future. The truth is all of the prognostication has been reduced to dumb luck and the experts rendered useless.
So who will it be? Well as they say in Spokane, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.
Yes, I have Gonzaga winning it all. They've been to 15 tournaments in a row and they have an effective big man. Besides, the Jesuits are on a roll. When your guy is elected Pope you know you're having a good year and it isn't a good idea to try to derail a train like that.
Hey, it isn't much of a system, but right now it is all I have.
See you in Atlanta.
3-18-13
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