A Florida teenager who used a webcam to live-stream his suicide Wednesday was reportedly encouraged by other people on the Web site, authorities told ABCNews.com. What's worse? Online viewers didn't call police until the kid was absolutely dead.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Sick
A Florida teenager who used a webcam to live-stream his suicide Wednesday was reportedly encouraged by other people on the Web site, authorities told ABCNews.com. What's worse? Online viewers didn't call police until the kid was absolutely dead.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Grassroots Republican Convention
In the works? Maybe.
Glenn Reynolds: Since I mentioned it last night there’s been some talk of having some sort of rightroots conference to organize things post-election. (Call it a counter-Kos if you want, but not exactly). What do you think? I’m polling, and I’m also going to open comments for a while. If you’ve got a better idea, share it!
Glenn Reynolds: Since I mentioned it last night there’s been some talk of having some sort of rightroots conference to organize things post-election. (Call it a counter-Kos if you want, but not exactly). What do you think? I’m polling, and I’m also going to open comments for a while. If you’ve got a better idea, share it!
Thoughts & Prayers
Thoughts and prayers today go out to AG Mike Mukasey, who collapsed during a speech just a few minutes ago: Mukasey was 15 to 20 minutes into his speech about the Bush administration's successes in combatting terrorism when he began slurring his words. He collapsed and lost consciousness, said O'Conner, the department's No. 3 official. It was unclear whether he regained consciousness.
UPDATE: False alarm.
Civil Union and Marriage: Separate But Equal
Straight from Change.gov:
Teacher: "So you support Obama's opposition to gay marriage... why?"
Student: "Well, a civil union gives all the same rights of marriage, just under a different name."
Teacher: "So, it's like, 'separate but equal.'"
Student: "Yeah, I guess."
Teacher: "So how does Barack Obama not support government-enforced segregation?"
My jaw dropped.
While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. Obama also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.I find it interesting that Obama is so strongly opposed to discrimination based on sexual orientation, but somehow supports only the gay man or woman's right to a civil union. As a conversation at my school a few days ago (to which I was only a witness) went:
Teacher: "So you support Obama's opposition to gay marriage... why?"
Student: "Well, a civil union gives all the same rights of marriage, just under a different name."
Teacher: "So, it's like, 'separate but equal.'"
Student: "Yeah, I guess."
Teacher: "So how does Barack Obama not support government-enforced segregation?"
My jaw dropped.
Tech Comments
I understand I've been having technical problems related to posting comments. I'm working on that, please keep trying.
UPDATE: After making some adjustments to HTML settings, my extraordinarily scientific test of going through and commenting in every manner possible proves that comments are back up and running. Comment away, oh commenting commentators.
UPDATE: After making some adjustments to HTML settings, my extraordinarily scientific test of going through and commenting in every manner possible proves that comments are back up and running. Comment away, oh commenting commentators.
A-Bomb and Israel-Arabic Relation Rant
Iran has now produced roughly enough nuclear material to make, with added purification, a single atom bomb, according to nuclear experts analyzing the latest report from global atomic inspectors.
The bomb itself, though, still seems a bit farfetched. They have yet to actually make it into a warhead or create a bomb shell able to house it. As of now, I guess Iran could just roll it over to Israel, but if I was Iran, I would give Israeli "national" security a little credit where it's due, despite the fact that they are not, in fact, part of any nation.... Israel is simply a... uh... a cluster of people lead by a president that happens to be part of the UN - ya, that's it! A cluster of people - disgusting, pig-paranoid people. Hmm... people may be to respectful a term, though. Let's just call them Jews. Oh, wait. They call themselves Jews, you say? Hmm... we'll work on that. Until then, though, it's a nati- strike that - a cluster of subhuman humanoids.
A Golf Clap to...
J.P. Hayes!
An interesting ethics article about golfer J.P. Hayes:
Now, the easy move here would be to either do nothing or blame the caddy. Hayes rose above both those temptations, putting all the blame on himself and asserting that everybody else on the PGA in his shoes would have done the exact same thing. We'll never know, but let's hope so.
Also, Hayes already has more than $7 million in career earnings, so it's not like he'd consigned himself to another year working the counter at the Quik Stop. But still, knowing you're taking yourself out of the running for a year of career stability and wealth takes some serious situational ethics.
Impressive, I think.
An interesting ethics article about golfer J.P. Hayes:
Now, the easy move here would be to either do nothing or blame the caddy. Hayes rose above both those temptations, putting all the blame on himself and asserting that everybody else on the PGA in his shoes would have done the exact same thing. We'll never know, but let's hope so.
Also, Hayes already has more than $7 million in career earnings, so it's not like he'd consigned himself to another year working the counter at the Quik Stop. But still, knowing you're taking yourself out of the running for a year of career stability and wealth takes some serious situational ethics.
Impressive, I think.
Dow < 8000
Read it:
Wall Street hit levels not seen since 2003 on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging below the 8,000 mark amid a dour economic outlook from the Federal Reserve and worries over the fate of Detroit's three automakers.
It gets me all teary-eyed-like.
Wall Street hit levels not seen since 2003 on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging below the 8,000 mark amid a dour economic outlook from the Federal Reserve and worries over the fate of Detroit's three automakers.
It gets me all teary-eyed-like.
New Head of Homeland Security?
Reuters reports Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano is Obama's top choice to head the Department of Homeland Security.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
It's All Over in Alaska
It appears Ted Stevens lost his bid. Good riddance.
U.S. Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, convicted last month on corruption charges, appeared to have lost his re-election bid, trailing his Democratic challenger on Tuesday by more votes than Democrats said remained to be counted.
Vetting General Holder (Yes, "Saving Private Ryan" Reference)
It appears Eric Holder is being vetted for Attorney General. The big blemish on his record is his pardon of billionare fugitive Marc Rich. Jennifer Rubin thinks it's enough to hold him off, but I'm not so sure.
UPDATE: A commenter on the PJM article named David Thomson (linked above, second), states:
It clearly shows that he believes the MSM will provide him enough cover until Election Day to easily capture the White House. He could be right! The impact of postmodernism on the general public may make it impossible to save this nation. Historical illiteracy and the inability to think and follow a logical argument seemingly have become the norm.
It's a large leap, but it's possibly true.
UPDATE: A commenter on the PJM article named David Thomson (linked above, second), states:
It clearly shows that he believes the MSM will provide him enough cover until Election Day to easily capture the White House. He could be right! The impact of postmodernism on the general public may make it impossible to save this nation. Historical illiteracy and the inability to think and follow a logical argument seemingly have become the norm.
It's a large leap, but it's possibly true.
NFL Gambling: Legitimate?
I'm not generally a sports guy, but Sunday's Steelers-Chargers game has lit a fire in the gambling underbelly of NFL spectatorship:
"There's no way a real Steelers or Chargers fan could have possibly cared about this particular ruling one bit — the Steelers had won the game either way. And trust me, the people who had the visceral responses to the ruling were not the ones wearing Steelers black and gold or Chargers blue and yellow. To put it simply — all these guys had 'other' interests in the game."
Conflict in the Congro, Cont'd.
The rebels are pulling back in the Congo conflict to allow for discussion with military officials.
Lieberman Holds On
Joe Lieberman has been allowed to hold on to his Homland Security Committee Chairmanship. The Democrats are all talk, it seems. He was stripped of his chairmanship on the Environment and Public Works SubCommittee. Very threatening. Very, very threatening. Hopefully Iran will be given back its spot in the Department of Defense, given this new bipartisan Congress.
Bashar Akram Ameen
Read the incredible story of Bashar Akram Ameen, as written by Michael Yon. You've got to love this guy. Read the whole article, my little snippet below does it no justice.
So now, Bashar is no longer “Bishop,” and he has begun an American life, with the many ups and downs we all have to face. His next fight is to find a job in our troubled economy and overcome a high-voltage dose of culture shock. He will come to understand that our culture is just as complicated as the one he left behind — but without the violence, threats, and scars of war.
Many people have welcomed him to America. I think Bashar can be of particular value to America at this time, simply by getting on the radio stations and talking to reporters and telling his story — the story of Iraq — and showing people how it really is over here. (I write this from Iraq.) Perhaps he can explain why many of us think that it was all worth it. I asked Bashar if I could publish his e-mail address, and he agreed.
This is not just a happy ending, but a happy beginning. Please welcome this new family to America and pass this story to your local papers and radio stations. Ask them to talk with a real Iraqi who just got here. People need to know what happened in Iraq.
So now, Bashar is no longer “Bishop,” and he has begun an American life, with the many ups and downs we all have to face. His next fight is to find a job in our troubled economy and overcome a high-voltage dose of culture shock. He will come to understand that our culture is just as complicated as the one he left behind — but without the violence, threats, and scars of war.
Many people have welcomed him to America. I think Bashar can be of particular value to America at this time, simply by getting on the radio stations and talking to reporters and telling his story — the story of Iraq — and showing people how it really is over here. (I write this from Iraq.) Perhaps he can explain why many of us think that it was all worth it. I asked Bashar if I could publish his e-mail address, and he agreed.
This is not just a happy ending, but a happy beginning. Please welcome this new family to America and pass this story to your local papers and radio stations. Ask them to talk with a real Iraqi who just got here. People need to know what happened in Iraq.
From the Mailbag: Shays
I received an email from a reader in response to my longtime support of Congressman Shays (R-CT). He referenced this bill, supported by Shays, and said, quite succinctly:
As a Republican in extraordinarily left-leaning Connecticut, what, exactly, is Congressman Shays supposed to do to please you, the hardcore right minority? Vote strongly in your favor on every bill and lose his seat after a brief two year stint? Or play the role of a moderate-conservative and come to terms with the fact that, while he cannot vote Republican on every ticket, he must act in a bipartisan manner to actually get things done and accomplish the actual progress? It is Shays' bipartisan nature that garners my respect and support, and your inability to see that he can do nothing less than what he does astounds me. You must understand that the loss of a Republican incumbant hurts you far more than it hurts Shays, who very much supports people on both sides of the aisle. Your willingness to make a statement hurts your cause. You are now a voiceless minority, and it's really no one's fault but your own.
So, goodbye to the little influence the hardcore right had in this region, and thank you for taking the slightly greater influence the moderate right had away from us. God knows Shays represented both sides of the aisle; only Himes knows how liberal he will be.
That is why this Republican voted to throw Chris Shays out on his ear. I will not reward someone for pretending to be something they are not, and actively working against my constitutional rights.Shays found himself as the last standing Republican in New England exclusively because of his "purple" philosophy, yet hardcore Republicans like the one quoted above seem to think voting out moderate Republicans to be replaced by left wingers like Mr. Himes makes a strong statement against R.I.N.O.s. In reality, it simply decreases an already shrinking minority of Republicans in the house, a number which Republicans - both moderates and hardcore conservatives alike - cannot afford to see decrease any further.
As a Republican in extraordinarily left-leaning Connecticut, what, exactly, is Congressman Shays supposed to do to please you, the hardcore right minority? Vote strongly in your favor on every bill and lose his seat after a brief two year stint? Or play the role of a moderate-conservative and come to terms with the fact that, while he cannot vote Republican on every ticket, he must act in a bipartisan manner to actually get things done and accomplish the actual progress? It is Shays' bipartisan nature that garners my respect and support, and your inability to see that he can do nothing less than what he does astounds me. You must understand that the loss of a Republican incumbant hurts you far more than it hurts Shays, who very much supports people on both sides of the aisle. Your willingness to make a statement hurts your cause. You are now a voiceless minority, and it's really no one's fault but your own.
So, goodbye to the little influence the hardcore right had in this region, and thank you for taking the slightly greater influence the moderate right had away from us. God knows Shays represented both sides of the aisle; only Himes knows how liberal he will be.
Monday, November 17, 2008
$350 Left Over for the Big O
...Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson passed the word over the weekend that he intends to leave $350 billion untouched when the administration leaves office on Jan. 20. That would mean the incoming Obama administration would decide whether and how the funds should be spent.
Add that to the list.
Add that to the list.
That's the Constitution
People don't have the right to protest? Why not?
"The protests thus far have come in the form of impromptu marches down various thoroughfares, disrupting traffic and raising a minor ruckus here and there. Los Angeles Police Department officers have arrested a handful of protesters, but most of the marchers have been voicing their opinions loudly but peacefully nearly every day since the election.
But even peaceful demonstrations can be disruptive to a community, and it’s been disheartening to witness the lengths to which the management of the LAPD has acquiesced to the disorder engendered by these protests."
But even peaceful demonstrations can be disruptive to a community, and it’s been disheartening to witness the lengths to which the management of the LAPD has acquiesced to the disorder engendered by these protests."
Isn't that the right to assemble, as granted by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution? Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought all people had these constitutionally supported rights.
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