Affairs of a Sordid World

Quote of the Day

2006-06-21T16:47:00.000-07:00

As a giant sinkhole slowly engulfs a Florida lake and surrounding homes, Polk County Natural Resource Division drainage manager Jay Jarvis felt compelled to clarify matters.

"My understanding is, if it's a natural phenomena, it's not the county's responsibility," Jarvis said.

This goofball figures it's more important to clear the county's responsibility than to protect the lives and homes of affected citizens. What an ass.

Neutraility

2006-05-04T03:35:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you received an e-mail in recent months detailing Congressional plans to add Internet "surcharges." Here's the deal ...

"Internet providers like AT&T and Verizon are lobbying Congress hard to gut Network Neutrality, the Internet's First Amendment. Net Neutrality prevents AT&T from choosing which websites open most easily for you based on which site pays AT&T more."

This is the real deal. We're not looking at the e-mail hoax still circulating that Congress plans to enact legislation which charges "postage" on every e-mail you send. And, according to details on Snopes.com, here's why you should care ...

Surcharges imposed on information providers will ultimately be passed along to end users.
Charging fees for premium data delivery service will create a tiered system of have and have-not providers, making it difficult or impossible for new businesses, information providers, and other ventures to get a start on the Internet.
The implementation of a fee system will effectively allow broadband companies, and not users, to determine which sites predominate on the Internet.

You may want to sign the petition.

Hurricane Katrina's latest news

2006-01-31T03:42:00.000-08:00

As time passes, more and more ineptness is shown on all facets of government — from state and local to federal. The most recent revelations from the sordid saga involve documented proof of "poor planning and communication" by FEMA as well as the failure of the involved state governments to accept federal "offers to help rescue storm victims ..."

According to documents obtained by the Associated Press:

Two days before Katrina hit, offers by the Department of Health and Human Services to help evacuate or move Louisiana patients were turned down by the state's health emergency preparedness director, according to an internal e-mail.
The state official, identified in the Aug. 27 e-mail as Dr. Roseanne Pratts, 'responded no, that they do not require anything at this time and they would be in touch if and when they needed assistance,' HHS senior policy analyst Erin Fowler wrote.
It could not be determined immediately whether the state later accepted the HHS offer after Katrina hit. Thirty-four patients at a nursing home near New Orleans died Aug. 29 in the wake of massive flooding brought by the storm's surge. The nursing home's owners have since been charged with negligent homicide for failing to evacuate the patients.
A spokesman for Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals, Bob Johannessen, had no immediate comment Monday night but said he would look into the matter today.

Concurrently, Louisiana's head of the Department of Transportation and Development said his agency had no plan in place to evacuate at-risk populations during emergencies ...."

Details from the CNN.com story include:

The official, state Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Johnny Bradberry, is scheduled to testify Tuesday at a hearing called by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The Senate committee, chaired by Maine Republican Susan Collins, is examining the government's response to Katrina. Monday's meeting focused on the search-and-rescue response, and Tuesday's will focus on the New Orleans evacuation.
Louisiana's emergency operations plan called for the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development to appoint a coordinator to organize and coordinate transportation services, maintain information about resources and allocate those resources to the highest-priority missions, according to documents obtained by CNN.
But Bradberry told investigators, 'We put no plans in place to do any of this,' according to transcripts released by the committee ahead of his testimony.

Socialist Cindy at it again

2006-01-29T08:48:00.000-08:00

Having been out of the limelight far too long, Cindy "living off of my dead son's life insurance" Sheehan is considering running for the California senate seat currently occupied by Dianne Feinstein.

For the time being though, Cindy is attending the World Social(ist) Forum in Venezuela, home of Hugo Chávez. The purpose of the socialist group is to "condemn war and imperialism, and lend their support — although not unconditionally — to the changes introduced in this country by President Hugo Chávez."

Here's a little background on Chávez and his socialist activities:

The Venezuelan government is carrying out agrarian reform, redistributing government land and large private estates. It has launched mass literacy and adult education programmes, and set up basic health centres across the country -- many staffed by Cuban doctors. Outlets for subsidised food have also been put in place nationwide. As for foreign relations, Chávez speaks out strongly against the U.S. government and President George W. Bush, and is critical of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He defends high crude oil prices and works to strengthen the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). And, under Chávez's policies, Venezuela supplies fuel to Caribbean and Latin American countries on preferential terms, as a form of cooperation.

Here's something I wrote a few weeks ago:

Pat Robertson on science: "'Chavez through the last quarter of the year kept pushing his agenda on a 'Socialism for the XXI Century' which included: more property confiscation, more free giving overseas, more incendiary rhetoric, more pro Castro, more anti US (even if disguised as anti Bush) and many more confrontational elements. In other words Chavez decided not to wait for his own reelection in December 2006 to make it a referendum on a new Venezuelan economical and social structure, but instead decided to get right now an assembly that would start implementing the changes as early as January 2006. Sweeping changes in the still brand new 1999 constitution were even discussed!'"

Capitalism is Kanye's middle name

2006-01-26T18:56:00.000-08:00

Controversy sells and Kanye West is developing himself into a master propogandist not seen since the likes of P.T. Barnum and Bill Clinton. Who thought his boorish comments about Pres. Bush could be topped? Ah, well, you have under-estimated Mr. Potato Head who poses on the cover of the latest Rolling Stone "as Jesus Christ in a crown of thorns."

The demagogue's love life appears to be causing some controversy in its own right. It seems that his current girlfriend, (former MTV secretary?) Brooke Crittendon, may be crowding Mr. Potato Head's space. According to Brooke, "I don't think we've ever been apart longer than seven days ... He's got so much going on, but he never makes me feel like I'm No. 2."

See might want to rethink that last comment. If the rumors are true, Mr. Head may be planning his own chocolate city by pimping himself out to Pamela Anderson and her prodigious mammillas.

More on the chocolate city

2006-01-24T05:05:00.000-08:00

I have a good friend in the New Orleans area who stole a van to escape the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. He's back home now, safe and sound. Asking him how it was in the chocolate city, he replied with an insightful view on the situation:

Funny thing about the chocolate thing is when Nagin explained it after the infamous speech ... he explained that if you mix dark chocolate with milk, you get a delicious drink. Now, I don't know about you, but last time I made chocolate milk, I had to use much more milk than chocolate ... I believe that speech guaranteed that will be the mix ... as the ones with the money are going to be hesitant to bend over backward after the comments he made ... don't expect any of the projects to open back up anytime this decade, and well, 9th ward and the east I'm sure will see an onslaught of new and unseen layers of bureaucracy before utilities are restored to a point of resettling the areas.

Michael Schiavo files for marriage license

2006-01-22T10:30:00.000-08:00

Some would liken the case of Terry Schiavo to that of Mark Hacking and Laci Peterson — all situations of straight-up murder. Now comes word from Florida that Terry Schiavo's husband, Michael, plans to marry long-time girlfriend and mother of his two young children.

Michael Schiavo Applies for Marriage License: "Nearly a year after her death, the husband of Terri Schiavo has applied for a marriage license. The St. Petersburg Times reports Michael Schiavo and his longtime girlfriend took the action Friday. The pair live together and have two young children. Relatives say the wedding will likely take place before Valentine's Day. Terri Schiavo was at the center of a lengthy end-of-life case that captured the world's attention. She suffered irreversible brain damage in 1990 and died in 2005, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed with court approval."

Cashman + Hulett = Brain Droppings

2006-01-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

Brain Droppings has a valid take on the Judge Edward Cashman/Mark Hulett issue.

Media Distorts 60 Day Rape Sentence: "The WCAZX-TV report sensationalized the story, omitting the sound, logical elements of the Judge Cashman's legal rationale for the sentence. It was outrageously misleading; whether deliberate or not the reporter should be fired.

Judge Cashman clearly deserves opprobrium for his remarks about revenge and his attitude toward punnishing criminals. He deserves to be removed from the bench.

But the greatest outrage remains the sentence itself. Taking the judge at his word, that this was the most effectual sentence he could impose, the Vermont legislature seems to bear the bulk of the blame for creating this situation. It would seem public anger is best directed at them."

Wonka for Mayor

2006-01-18T17:46:00.000-08:00

With more than 3,200 people still unaccounted for months after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Mayor and resident racist Ray Nagin thought he would start the MLK Day celebrations off with a 'metaphor.' Speaking to a crowd enjoying a beautiful Monday morning, Nagin commented that the city will once again be 'a majority African-American city.' (A transcript and video of the comment can be found here.)

You may recall that "Nagin was faulted with not helping to evacuate blacks out of New Orleans, but finding the time to personally evacuate family, friends and officials. He was criticized by many for showing poor leadership during what's been called the worst US disaster in history ... Mayor Nagin was accused of racial insensitivity several weeks ago when he complained that Mexican immigrants were 'changing New Orleans.' He's since backed away from his complaints of illegal immigrant Mexicans taking jobs that should go to blacks and taking up residence in New Orleans." It's also been reported that Nagin "is ashamed that he did not adequately execute the city’s evacuation plan."

Putting the political spin into overdrive, Nagin said, "How do you make chocolate? You take dark chocolate, you mix it with white milk, and it becomes a delicious drink. That is the chocolate I am talking about." Imagine if N.Y. Mayor Bloomberg said his city would once again 'be like white on rice.' The outcry would be horrendous. Or, what if Hillary Clinton addressed a Harlem church and 'ad-libbed' a racial comment involving a 'plantation'? Oh, wait, that really did happen.

I'm sure Nagin is just bolstering himself for the pending mayoral election.

MLK inspires the politicians

2006-01-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

Once again New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin showed how much of an idiot he is by simply opening his mouth. It all began Monday during an MLK Day speech while addressing a crowd of celebrants. In his speech, Nagin said, "Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country." The former Cox Cable executive and current New Orleans knucklehead added that "New Orleans will be 'chocolate' again."

Yes, that's right, he's promoting a "chocolate New Orleans."

Nagin isn't alone in his continued stroll down the path of ineptitude and folly. As written on RedState.com, "Under the guise of honoring a great American, Democratic leaders instead brought shame upon themselves in an unrelenting outbreak of shameful political self promotion."

Al Gore assailed the government's formerly secret program of intercepting electronic communications where there is a reasonable basis to conclude that one party to the communication is a member of al Qaeda, affiliated with al Qaeda, or a member of an organization affiliated with al Qaeda, or working in support of al Qaeda. Gore did so by comparing the current intercept program to the FBI's wiretapping of Martin Luther King Jr.'s telephone conversations.
But the Democrats' presidential heir apparent, Senator Hillary Clinton, was the most outrageous. Clinton, speaking at the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem called the Bush administration one of the worst in history and saying the House of Representatives is run like a "plantation."

Those summer internships really do payoff

2006-01-16T20:11:00.000-08:00

As seen on Captain's Quarters, Dad29 and Texas Hold 'Em Blogger, the AL QAEDA JOB APPLICATION:

Allahu akbar! So you've decided to join the fastest-growing organization of psychopathic murderers in the world today. Due to the exciting type of work we perform, we always have room for more volunteers, and so we welcome you to our ranks. We'd like to get to know you, while we can, so please answer a few questions for us:

Name: Abu ____________

Real name: __________________

Gender: ______ Male __________ Chattel (if so, stop here)

Marital Status: ____ Single _____ Married (# of wives: ______)

Reason For Interest In al-Qaeda (circle all that apply):

a. Hatred for everything Western, except those hot babes on Baywatch
b. Suicidal impulse but lacking the skills to carry it out
c. Inability to get women to date me
d. Want to travel and see the world before I realize my ambition to destroy it
e. Having 72 inexperienced young girls later sounds better than dealing with one nagging woman now

Would you be willing to relocate? Y/N If Y, in pieces? Y/N

Do you have any of the following disqualifying conditions?

a. Conscience
b. Soul
c. Survival instinct
d. Half a brain or more
e. Fear of flying

Clinton revisionist history

2006-01-16T19:19:00.000-08:00

Here is a sample from The Conservative Voice on Bill Clinton's revisionist history:

ABC's Nightline Aids Clinton's Revisionism on NSA Spying: For eight years, Bill Clinton saturated the news media with his exploits in the White House. And now that he's no longer president — and unlike most former presidents — he's still getting major press coverage on a daily basis. It's understandable since without the adulation and love poured on the man known as Slick Willie, he'd be left alone with himself. And the reality would set in that beneath all the bluster and verbal gymnastics lay a man who's basically an empty suit. But for now, that is a non-problem for Clinton.

For example, Thursday night Bill appeared on ABC's Nightline on which he was interviewed by newsman Terry Moran. When Moran asked Clinton questions regarding what the media calls domestic spying by the National Security Agency, Mr. Clinton said that President Bush may have broken the law when he authorized the National Security Agency to conduct surveillance on US-based terrorists.

Asked if he thought Bush had gone too far by circumventing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to wiretap terrorists, Clinton told ABC's Nightline audience, 'As a legal proposition, I don't know.'

He claims it would have been better if his successor had followed established legal guidelines and that 'it seems to me that unless there's a reason not to, we ought to use that surveillance court.'

Then without batting an eye, Clinton told viewers yet another whopper and was given yet another pass by the media. He said that when he was president, he always tried to work within the constraints of the law.

Rapist Hulett gets 60 days

2006-01-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

The story of Vermont Judge Edward Cashman and convicted rapist Mark Hulett landed on Sean Hannity's radar last week when the TV and radio talk show political pundit weighed in on the judge's 60-day sentence of the rapist. According to News Hounds, "Actually, Judge Cashman gave the rapist three years to life, but suspended all but 60 days because the state said he would not receive treatment in prison. If he rejects treatment or neglects other parts of his sentencing, he faces life in prison. But that fact is never mentioned by Hannity who seems more interested in dictating what Vermont should do than he is in having any real discussion about the issues of criminal sentencing, rape or child abuse."

At the same time, the White House is more interest in "the trafficking of humans" than the light sentence placed on the Vermont rapist.

In a recent Washington Times op/ed (A 60-day travesty), "(Cashman) is a mockery of our judicial system. In sentencing a confessed child rapist to just 60 days in jail recently, because punishment 'accomplishes nothing of value,' he has abdicated his judicial responsibility. State prosecutors formally asked him yesterday to reconsider his decision, but so far the judge has refused. Should he continue to do so, Vermont legislators should follow all means necessary in removing him from the bench. Unfortunately, neither Judge Cashman's resignation nor his impeachment will help the little girl whom Mark Hulett raped over a four-year period. Nor will it help her family, who one day will have to explain to her what happened."

Cashman acknowledged that the "short sentence was the only way he could work around prison policies that prevent getting Hulett into sex offender therapy quickly to protect the public. But the judge also announced he no longer believes in punishment." In response, the state said it will provide treatment to the rapist in "a move to convince (Cashman) to reconsider a controversial sentence freeing Hulett after 60 days. The state will also reconsider the underlying policy that prompted the sentence." Originally Hulett "was considered a low-risk for re-offense, which meant he didn't qualify for in-prison treatment."

Sixty days in jail? If I was the little girl's father, by day 61 Hulett would be wishing he was back in prison.

Steadier aim necessary

2006-01-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

It's probably a lot easier to hit a slow moving target, especially when it's a humongous whale. Perhaps that's why a Japanese whaling ship "narrowly missed an inflatable boat carrying (Greenpeace) protesters, causing one to fall into the freezing sea ..." Assuming, of course, the Greenpeace hacks were the intended target.

Don't hate me because I'm a blogger

2006-01-12T21:13:00.000-08:00

It's clearly obvious to me that many bloggers enjoy spreading havoc across cyberspace either through lies, deceit, harassment, threats, libel or any other sordid means. As discussed in an earlier topic, difficulty in fighting a blog attack arises from specific laws protecting the digital community. Therefore, it's harder to fight the libel often found in these extreme blogs much less track down the typically anonymous bloggers.

As various legal measures are taken to protect the average citizen, bloggers (generally speaking) tend to pick up the torch for a warped belief that they have the right to, for example, essentially libel someone. In other words, there seems to be a disgusting trend that the rights of one person to attack another outweigh the victim's rights to defend themselves. This thought process runs parallel to some believing it is perfectly legal to download music or software they have no license for.

Here's what I found this evening:

"Whoever...utilizes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet... without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person...who receives the communications...shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

As Declan McCullagh writes, "This ridiculous prohibition, which would likely imperil much of Usenet, is buried in the so-called Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. Criminal penalties include stiff fines and two years in prison." Declan adds, "Think about it: A woman fired by a manager who demanded sexual favors wants to blog about it without divulging her full name. An aspiring pundit hopes to set up the next Suck.com. A frustrated citizen wants to send e-mail describing corruption in local government without worrying about reprisals. In each of those three cases, someone's probably going to be annoyed. That's enough to make the action a crime. (The Justice Department won't file charges in every case, of course, but trusting prosecutorial discretion is hardly reassuring.)"

Actually, the three examples given by Declan are ridiculous. Since a blog is something a person visits or stumbles upon as opposed to having forced into their life, there is no expection for criminal action to take place. The same goes for someone establishing suck.com or fark.com; these and other sites are not characterized as being transmitted and would potentially have additional protection by the same laws shielding Saturday Night Live, Hustler and Doonesbury. There is always that Constitutional amendment. What number is it again? Anyway, example three fails the test as well since the un-signed e-mail is not intended to annoy or harass anyone. As written, the e-mail is "describing corruption in local government." The author of that e-mail is doing their civic duty.

Sure, the law is open to abuse just as is any other law. The situation is not as dire (if at all) as Declan writes.

Now, annoy me with an e-mail or comment in response to this blog and the situation just might become dire.

What is your name?

2006-01-12T20:34:00.000-08:00

It never occured to me that it could be illegal for a police office to ask, What is your name? Until recently, it was illegal in Ohio. Now that it's not, the ACLU and others find this simple question a breach of civil liberties.

Passed by the state legislature as a tool to fight terrorism, the ACLU akins the Ohio Patriot Act to McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee.

The bill now allows police officers to "ask, 'What's your name?' ... Failure to identify oneself could land an individual in jail." An additional provision in the bill "instructs local law enforcement to lend assistance when able to federal authorities carrying out provisions of the Patriot Act." Once inacted, anyone who applies for an Ohio driver's license must "sign a form that they haven't supported terrorist organizations."

Marion Barry will probably be re-elected despite this ...

2006-01-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

Having already spent six months in prison on drug charges and now facing further incarceration for income tax evasion, D.C. councilman and former Washington D.C. mayor Marion Barry is accused of failing "a court-ordered drug test in November ... The Washington Post reported in Wednesday's editions that Barry, 69, tested positive for cocaine following an Oct. 28 guilty plea to misdemeanor tax charges."

Perhaps he can vie for the U.S. presidency with Jonathon 'The Impaler' Sharkey as his running mate. Jonathon is honing his political skills by running in Minnesota's gubernatorial race. As the leader of the Vampyres, Witches and Pagans Party, Jonathon said that his platform includes "the impaling of terrorists, rapists, drug dealers and other criminals, (an) emphasis on education, tax breaks for farmers and better benefits for veterans." He has already filed as a candidate in the 2008 presidential elections.

moron (noun): a stupid person; a dolt

2006-01-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know, enough with the sports already. However, it makes things so much easier when the fodder is simply handed out on silver platters with a side of absurdity.

In speaking about being snubbed for inclusion on the 2006 U.S. men's Olympic basketball team, Ron Artest showed why he's the NBA's shining star:

Artest upset over Olympic shun?: "Yeah, I'm kind of upset about that. Me, being one of the better players in America, separate from the NBA, I want to play for the United States team in the Olympics ... I'm an American, I might not be a class act, but I'm an American."

Marcus Vick is a hoodlum

2006-01-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

I would rather draft my deceased grandmother, Ryan Leaf or Terrell Owens than have to deal with Marcus Vick. This punk is pure hoodlum. The most recent in a string of illegal and inane events involves Marcus' brandishing of a firearm on three unsuspecting teenagers at a McDonald's.

His history of unlawful activity includes:

Kicked off the Virginia Tech football team for unsportsmanlike conduct during a recent bowl game.
Speeding and driving with a suspended drivers license.
A drug arrest and a sordid array of other ineptness.

Marcus and Maurice Clarett seem to be cut from the same cloth. As written on SportsFan Magazine, "(Clarett has) wasted more opportunities than many ever receive and has been given more second chances than deserved because his potential on the field is so great. But from filing false police reports to bad-mouthing Ohio State in a national magazine and trying to bend NFL rules to go pro before eligible, the former running back from Youngstown has managed to tackle himself." If you recall, Maurice was recently arrested amid accusations he tried to mug someone at gun point. A spooky trend among NFL hopefuls.

For some reason this all brings me to the topic of racism in the NFL's upper echelon. Why, I don't know, but the New Orleans City Council decided it needed to pass a unanimous resolution to request the Saints hire former NFL player Doug Williams as the team's new coach. There seems to be no hint of this being a racial decision; however, I have my doubts. Again, SportsFan Magazine writes, "The next time someone tells you about how the NFL coaching fraternity is 'racist', ask them to explain this one. Mike Sherman went 4-12 with the Packers and that was his first losing season. He got fired and is looking for work as we speak. Herm Edwards went 4-12 with the Jets (giving him an NFL career head coaching record of 39-41). Edwards moved from the Jets to the Chiefs and got a raise of about $1M per year. I don't begrudge Edwards that position in the least; I do note however that coaching decisions are probably most often made on the basis of 'personal contacts' and 'friendships' and not always on the basis of race."

What illegal downloading has led to ...

2006-01-09T18:14:00.000-08:00

The music industry has a notoriously sordid history in the continued endeavors of finding ways to control piracy and other copyright infringements. The latest conflict involves Coldplay's newest CD. As seen on Eminent Domain, the CD comes with a number of restrictions. Essentially, "the CD can't be burnt onto a CD-R or ripped to a hard drive and converted to MP3 files. The CD might not play in some computers, DVD players, car stereos, or personal CD players." If that's not insult enough to the innocent consumer, "except for manufacturing problems, we do not accept product exchange, return or refund."

Live in China? Then you're not reading this.

2006-01-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

China has been receiving help from such companies as Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft in the filtering of Internet searches within the country. Concurring Opinions offered some insight into the situation by asking, "Is it acceptable when Yahoo or Google help France and Germany filter out pro-Nazi websites? Hypothetically, would it have been acceptable for Yahoo or Google to have helped the Nazi regime in identifying Jews? Where should the line be drawn?"

Most recently, Microsoft worked with Beijing officials to shut down the site of a Chinese blogger who opposed the countries political and social actions. The Associated Press reports, "Microsoft's China-based web-log-hosting service shut down the blog at the Chinese government's request, said Brooke Richardson, group product manager with Microsoft's MSN online division at the company headquarters in Redmond, Washington."

Companies like Microsoft and Google are not guided with a moral compass. Those, and any other company looking to make a profit, are guided by capitalist principles (and there is nothing wrong with that). As China opens up more and more for venture opportunities, we will begin seeing a greater number of companies selling their soul for economical greed.

In November 2005 a global summit convened to try and solve an array of issues. Among those was a shift of Internet control to a global level. Several countries —— including China, Cuba and Iran —— formed a coalition intent on "(wresting) control of the Internet from the United States ..."

Shortly after the summit, several interesting events occurred. The first involved a Chinese blackout of the news media and the Internet after several demonstrators were murdered by police. In referring to the atrocity, Reporters Without Borders noted China's constrictive measures taken to whitewash press coverage of the event. Efforts included the successful coverup of an Internet message about the police action that eventually distorted global views of the events surrounding the demonstration and subsequent events. Reporters Without Borders noted, "It is a striking demonstration of ChinaÂ’s capacity to censure both the traditional media and the Internet."

In a similar vane, Iran holds a death grip on its national media outlets and the Internet. Late last year the story came out about Omid Sheikhan, an Iranian blogger sentenced to a year in prison and 124 lashes for satirizing his country's political leaders.

Control of the blogging community is also an issue here in the United States. Whether it's the censorship of a university student accused of violating professional conduct codes or Eugene Kane's interest in blog control, there are definitive attacks on freedom of speech. However, there is a conflict of knowledge many have regarding the important role libel plays in controlling in a protective manner the aforementioned freedom of speech.

Coonass

2006-01-06T21:13:00.000-08:00

I am not offended by the term coonass. Of course, I'm speaking as a coonass.

I bring this up because of a post on The Volokh Conspiracy about a woman who found the term racially offensive. According to a 12/25/2005 post on Volokh:

This reminds me of a case I wrote about in You Can't Say That!, in which a black woman won a large settlement after receiving a joke certificate designating her an 'honorary coonass'. She thought this was a racial slur, when it's actually a mildly derogatory slang word for 'Cajun.' The Coonass case was a bit more egregious, however, in that the complainant in that case actually won a jury verdict; the complainant's in the 'Ride Them Hard' case won a settlement, apparently largely because the school district's lawyer was thought to have mishandled the investigation, and the distict was afraid this would make them look bad before a jury. (Also, the 'coonass' case was decided in federal court, where it should have been easily dismissed by the judge under current hostile environment doctrine, even if it was a slur; New Jersey, in contrast, allows hostile environment doctrine, even if it was a slur; New Jersey, in contrast, allows hostile environment complaints based on a single remark, making much more difficult to get a case dismissed.) Regardless, this might just win my vote for the most ridiculous case of the year.

Freedom of speech tested

2006-01-06T17:25:00.000-08:00

Late last year a Marquette dental student was suspended from the university when officials determined that a few of his blog entries violated professional conduct codes. The situation created a frenzy in the blogging community as well as mainstream media. In a vapid media release, the university announced that "the suspension has been overturned. Rather, the student will face three semesters of probation."

Ohio State in the news; it's not just for beating Notre Dame

2006-01-02T21:09:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure who is giving former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett advice on life and living, but things aren't going well for the young man. The latest news involves him attempting to rob "two people at gunpoint in an alley behind a bar."

It was in 2002 that Maurice helped the Ohio State football team win the national championship. The following year he "was charged with misdemeanor falsification for filing a police report claiming that more than $10,000 in clothing, CDs, cash and stereo equipment was stolen from a car he borrowed from a local dealership." He sat out that season and unsuccessfully tried to enter the NFL draft on two occassions.

This reminds me of former LSU star running back Cecil Collins. This kid was a phenomenon whose rising star was sure to outshine that of teammate Kevin Faulk, now of the New England Patriots. In just 72 carries he rushed for 596 yards. It came to a quick end when "he was arrested twice and thrown off the LSU team. He transferred to Division I-AA McNeese State but then failed a court-ordered drug test. Collins then spent the next three months in prison and a halfway house."

Despite all of that, the Miami Dolphins gave him a shot and he was doing well before being "arrested on a burgary charge."

Mike Tice out as Vikings coach

2006-01-01T18:51:00.000-08:00

After this year's fiasco of a season that rivals anything the New Orleans Saints have ever done, Mike Tice has been fired. If nothing else, he has his ticket scalping operation to fall back on.