no fine (for speaking true words) after all!

Woman off hook over bumper sticker

By CHANDLER BROWN , DAVID SIMPSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/05/06
Bashing President Bush will not cost an Athens woman $100 after all.

Denise Grier, who was cited in DeKalb County for her "I'm Tired of All the BUSH—" car decal, has had her case thrown out.
"We couldn't prosecute it," DeKalb Recorders Court Chief Judge R. Joy Walker said because Georgia's lewd decal law was ruled unconstitutional in 1990. Walker said a letter of dismissal was mailed to Grier's home last week.

Police Sgt. R.S. Caviness pulled Grier over on Chamblee Tucker Road about 9:30 p.m. March 10, according to police records obtained under Georgia's Open Records Act. He issued her a ticket for $100.

The portion of the Georgia code that Caviness cited on the ticket prohibits on vehicles "any sticker, decal, emblem, or other device containing profane or lewd words describing sexual acts, excretory functions, or parts of the human body."

However, the Georgia Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional in 1990, ruling it violated the First Amendment right to free speech............

this has nothing to do with politics

it has to do with protecting our children. there IS no devil but there IS evil out there in the form of REAL men (and women too). watch your babies and keep them safe

Homeland Security Deputy Press Secretary arrested

POLICE REPORT:

Deputy Press Secretary for U.S. Department of Homeland Security Arrested on Polk County Charges

Brian J. Doyle, DOB 4/7/50, the Deputy Press Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Public Affairs in Washington, D.C., was arrested this evening at his residence in Silver Springs, Maryland, on 23 Polk County charges related to the use of a computer to seduce a child and transmitting harmful materials to a minor. Doyle's arrest is the result of a joint investigation by the Polk County Sheriff s Office, working with Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Jerry Hill s office, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Inspector General s Office.


The Investigation
On March 12, 2006, Doyle contacted a 14-year-old girl whose profile was posted on the Internet, and initiated a sexually explicit conversation with her. The girl was actually an undercover Polk County Sheriff s Computer Crimes detective. Doyle knew that the girl was 14 years old, and he told her who he was and that he worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. During future online chats, Doyle gave the undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old girl his office phone number and his government-issued cell phone number, so that they could have telephone conversations, in addition to their online chatting. Doyle used the Internet to send hard-core pornographic movie clips to the girl and used the AOL Instant Messenger chat service to have explicit sexual conversations with her. The investigation revealed that the phone numbers given to the detective were in fact Doyle s, and that the AOL account used was registered to Doyle. Doyle also sent photos of himself to the detective, which were not sexually explicit but did serve to further positively identify him..................

and this

Sex tourism thriving in Bible Belt

By Verna Gates and Mickey Goodman

ATLANTA (Reuters) - In a sleazy hotel room, "Brittany," then aged 16 and drugged into oblivion, waited for the men to arrive. Her pimps sent as many as 17 clients an evening through the door.

A "john" could even pre-book the pretty young blonde for $1,000 a night, sometimes flying in and then flying out from a nearby airport.

None of this happened in Bangkok or Costa Rica, places that have become synonymous with sex tourism and underage sex.

It took place in Atlanta, the buckle of the U.S. Bible Belt, where the world's busiest passenger airport provides a cheaper, more convenient and safer underage sex destination for men seeking girls as young as 10.

"Men fly in, are met by pimps, have sex with a 14-year-old for lunch, and get home in time for dinner with the family," said Sanford Jones, the chief juvenile judge of Fulton County, Georgia.

A new federal law passed in 2003 ensures that American sex tourists landing on foreign soil and hiring prostitutes under the age of 18 can get 30 years in prison.

But in Georgia, punishment for pimping or soliciting sex with a girl under 18 is only five to 20 years, according to Deborah Espy, the Deputy District Attorney of Fulton County.

"Men are coming to Atlanta to have sex with a child," said LaKendra Baker, project manager for the Center to End Adolescent Sexual Exploitation (CEASE)...........

wow, MORE good news to make us feel even SAFER

if i were a terrorist (which by the way i AM NOT) this is the sort of info i'd be looking for. now i wonder to myself, 'self i say, why is THIS public'? i sure as hell wouldn't release this bit o' news UNTIL AFTER it was corrected.

nbc30.com
Coast Guard, FBI Tension Threatens Sea-Based Response
Justice Watchdog Asserts Potentially Dangerous Reactions
POSTED: 9:17 am EDT April 4, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Squabbling between the Coast Guard and the FBI could lead to confused and potentially disastrous responses to terrorism incidents at sea, a government investigator said Monday.
Disagreements over the roles the two agencies should take in responding to a maritime terrorism threat or attack come as intelligence analysts continue to believe that al-Qaida and other terror groups are likely to launch attacks on ports, warships, cruise ships or ferries, said Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine.
The bickering came to a head in last year's weeklong anti-terrorism drill, TOPOFF 3, in which the Coast Guard said the FBI repeatedly blocked Coast Guard plans to try out a new team in a mock assault on a ferry off the coast of Connecticut, Fine said in a partially blacked-out, 103-page report. The FBI wanted to limit the assault to its elite Hostage Rescue Team. The Coast Guard ultimately changed the scenario to circumvent the FBI's role as the lead agency, Fine said. ..........

Glenda in the Land of Oz: Cake Pony

Glenda in the Land of Oz: Cake Pony

i HAD to link to this. strange isn't even the word for it. there IS no word for it

the nutmeg grater: i had NO idea glenn tilbrook was going to be in new haven tonight~

the nutmeg grater: i had NO idea glenn tilbrook was going to be in new haven tonight~

while i was at the guardian, i found this too

and i just couldn't resist........

The strange case of the man who took 40,000 ecstasy pills in nine years · Usage increased to 25 tablets a day at peak· Memory problems and paranoia may be lasting (duh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

David McCandlessTuesday April 4, 2006The Guardian
Doctors from London University have revealed details of what they believe is the largest amount of ecstasy ever consumed by a single person. Consultants from the addiction centre at St George's Medical School, London, have published a case report of a British man estimated to have taken around 40,000 pills of MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, over nine years. The heaviest previous lifetime intake on record is 2,000 pills.
Though the man, who is now 37, stopped taking the drug seven years ago, he still suffers from severe physical and mental health side-effects, including extreme memory problems, paranoia, hallucinations and depression. He also suffers from painful muscle rigidity around his neck and jaw which often prevents him from opening his mouth. The doctors believe many of these symptoms may be permanent.
The man, known as Mr A in the report in the scientific journal Psychosomatics, started using ecstasy at 21. For the first two years his use was an average of five pills per weekend. Gradually this escalated until he was taking around three and a half pills a day. At the peak, the man was taking an estimated 25 pills every day for four years. After several severe collapses at parties, Mr A decided to stop taking ecstasy. For several months, he still felt he was under the influence of the drug, despite being bedridden..........

it is rather difficult for me to feel sorry for mr a. as a matter of fact, i don't give a flying yoo hoo (i do NOT wish him ill mind you)

from the guardian: silence in class

some observations about us from a foreign eye

University professors denounced for anti-Americanism; schoolteachers suspended for their politics; students encouraged to report on their tutors. Are US campuses in the grip of a witch-hunt of progressives, or is academic life just too liberal? By Gary Younge

Tuesday April 4, 2006
The Guardian


After the screenwriter Walter Bernstein was placed on the blacklist during the McCarthyite era he said his life "seemed to move in ever-decreasing circles". "Few of my friends dropped away but the list of acquaintances diminished," he wrote in Inside Out, a memoir of the blacklist. "I appeared contaminated and they did not want to risk infection. They avoided me, not calling as they had in the past, not responding to my calls, being nervously distant if we met in public places."
As chair of African American studies in Yale, Paul Gilroy had a similar experience recently after he spoke at a university-sponsored teach-in on the Iraq war. "I think the morality of cluster bombs, of uranium-tipped bombs, [of] daisy cutters are shaped by an imperial double standard that values American lives more," he said. "[The war seems motivated by] a desire to enact revenge for the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon ... [It's important] to speculate about the relation between this war and the geopolitical interests of Israel."..........

he's just vile

and disgusting and a hypocrite

Limbaugh called alleged Duke rape victim a "ho[ ]"


Summary: On his national syndicated radio program, Rush Limbaugh referred to the alleged victim of a rape by members of the Duke University lacrosse team as a "ho[]."
During the March 31 broadcast of his national syndicated radio program, Rush Limbaugh referred to the alleged victim of a rape by members of the Duke University lacrosse team as a "ho[]." During an on-air discussion with a caller, Limbaugh said that former Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton was "trying to figure out how he can get involved in the deal down there at Duke where the lacrosse team ... supposedly, you know, raped some, uh, hos." Limbaugh's made the comment about a recent incident in Durham, North Carolina, in which an exotic dancer was allegedly raped by three members of the Duke lacrosse team. The incident has invoked further controversy because the victim, an African-American, has alleged that her attackers used racial epithets. Prompted by another caller to apologize for his words, Limbaugh said that he had made the statement because he was "running on fumes today," and called it a "terrible slip of the tongue." But he then added that there are "some inconsistencies" in the case and rephrased his apology, telling the second caller, "I regret that you heard me say it." .........

(he didn't APOLOGIZE FOR saying it. he apologized the caller HEARD him say it)

audio here

i don't know if this is frightening or sad

(from raceandhistory.com)

or a combination of both.

Khaleej Times Online >> News >> TODAY'S FEATURES
Fatwa against statues triggers uproar in Egypt
(AFP)3 April 2006
CAIRO -A fatwa issued by Egypt’s top religious authority, which forbids the display of statues has art-lovers fearing it, could be used by Islamic extremists as an excuse to destroy Egypt’s historical heritage.
Egypt’s Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, the country’s top Islamic jurist, issued the religious edict which declared as un-Islamic the exhibition of statues in homes, basing the decision on texts in the hadith (sayings of the prophet).
Intellectuals and artists argue that the decree represents a setback for art -- a mainstay of the multi-billion-dollar tourist industry -- and would deal a blow to the country’s fledgling sculpture business.
The fatwa did not specifically mention statues in museums or public places, but it condemned sculptors and their work.
Still, many fear the edict could prod Islamic fundamentalists to attack Egypt’s thousands of ancient and pharaonic statues on show at tourist sites across the country.
“We don’t rule out that someone will enter the Karnak temple in Luxor or any other pharaonic temple and blow it up on the basis of the fatwa,” Gamal al-Ghitani, editor of the literary Akhbar al-Adab magazine, told AFP.
Wave of criticisms
Gomaa had pointed to a passage from the hadith that stated: ”Sculptors would be tormented most on Judgment Day,” saying the text left no doubt that sculpting was “sinful” and using statues for decorating homes forbidden.
Gomaa’s ruling overturned a fatwa issued more than 100 years ago by then moderate and highly respected mufti Mohammed Abdu, permitting the private display of statues after the practice had been condemned as a pagan custom.
Abdu’s fatwa had “closed the issue, as it ruled that statues and pictures are not haram (forbidden under Islam) except idols used for worship,” Ghitani pointed out.
Novelist Ezzat al-Qamhawi said Gomaa’s ruling would “return Muslims to the dark ages.”
Movie director Daud Abdul Sayed said the fatwa “simply ignored the spiritual evolvement of Muslims since the arrival of Islam... Clearly, it was natural that they forbid statues under early Islam because people worshipped them............



by the way, isis is a personal favorite of mine

(from moonlightmysteries.com)

if in fact the following is true:

representative mckinney was NOT wearing her identification pin, an officer asked her THREE times to stop and she DID NOT, THEN he placed his hands upon her at which point she hit him

SHE SHOULD HAVE HER ASS ARRESTED.

if that is NOT how it went down of course she should be vindicated..........(she claims she was ASSAULTED and feared for her life)

i have NO idea if the officer in question let WHITE MEN who were NOT wearing their identification pins into wherever ms mckinney was going. i have NO idea if he was racially profiling her OR simply doing his job. just because someone is a democrat doesn't make 'em right (look at the liebs for example)

U.S. Attorney Reviewing McKinney Case


By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer Mon Apr 3, 7:14 PM ET
WASHINGTON - U.S. Capitol Police on Monday sought an arrest warrant for Rep. Cynthia McKinney after she tangled with a uniformed officer last week. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein said he was reviewing the merits of the case.
We are working with Capitol Hill police to fully understand and appreciate the incident," principal assistant U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
McKinney framed the matter in terms of race. "The issue is racial profiling," McKinney, who is black, told CNN.................

and from cnn McKinney: Race sparked tiff with police

Lawmaker faces possible charges after allegedly striking officer


Saturday, April 1, 2006 Posted: 0234 GMT (1034 HKT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Georgia, faces possible criminal charges for a Wednesday altercation with a Capitol Police officer, one of her lawyers said Friday that the real issues were "sex, race and Ms. McKinney's progressiveness."
In a news conference featuring actor Danny Glover and singer Harry Belafonte, McKinney said she would be exonerated and that "this whole incident was instigated by the inappropriate touching and stopping of me, a female, black congresswoman."
She had little else to say, citing the ongoing investigation into her allegedly striking a police officer after he failed to recognize her at a security checkpoint and tried to stop her from passing.
One Republican congressman dismissed the star-studded news conference. "Rep. McKinney appearing with the star of "Lethal Weapon"? Not exactly the message you want to be sending," said Ron Bonjean, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert............

casey austin sheehan has been dead for two years today

i posted the other day on rep kingston calling cindy sheehan a beatnik among other things......

she has gotten an apology from him (AFTER writing him a letter and calling him a liar).

Congressman apologizes for calling Cindy Sheehan 'nutcase'

After a sharp note from anti-war mother and activist Cindy Sheehan to a Georgia congressman who dubbed her a "nutcase," the congressman has apologized.
Over the weekend, Sheehan responded to a blog post from Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), who had called her a "nutcase" over her criticism of the Iraq war.
"How dare you psychoanalyze me and call me a 'nutcase!' Sheehan quipped. "How dare you call me a beatnik and lie about me in your blog!"
"This upcoming Tuesday, will be the 2nd anniversary of my son's death," Sheehan added. "Casey Austin Sheehan was a man filled with integrity and courage. He was a hero who never backed down from the right thing his entire life. He was an amazing person who did not hide when his commander in chief sent him to a war based on lies even when he knew they were lies. He carried out his duty, unlike his commander in chief."
RAW STORY received the following letter from Kingston's office Monday afternoon.
According to Kingston's blog, "Kingston commented [to a Democratic staffer who told CongressDaily] that Sheehan was "a nutcase" and lamented that too many of the human interest stories coming out of the war in Iraq center on anti-war activists like Sheehan and filmmaker Michael Moore and do not give proper service to heroic tales of U.S. soldiers.".......

one down (but way too many more to go)

not to worry though, he's going to pursure a career where he can help chuch (christian only i'm sure) and state do the vulcan mind meld

Tom DeLay Says He Will Give Up His Seat
The embattled former Republican leader tells TIME that he will leave Congress and not seek reelection
By MIKE ALLEN/SUGAR LAND, TEXAS
Rep. Tom DeLay, whose iron hold on the House Republicans melted as a lobbying corruption scandal engulfed the Capitol, told TIME that he will not seek reelection and will leave Congress within months. Taking defiant swipes at "the left" and the press, he said he feels "liberated" and vowed to pursue an aggressive speaking and organizing campaign aimed at promoting foster care, Republican candidates and a closer connection between religion and government.
"I'm going to announce tomorrow that I'm not running for reelection and that I'm going to leave Congress," DeLay, who turns 59 on Saturday, said during a 90-minute interview on Monday. "I'm very much at peace with it." He notified President Bush in the afternoon. DeLay and his wife, Christine, said they had been prepared to fight, but that he decided last Wednesday, after months of prayer and contemplation, to spare his suburban Houston district the mudfest to come. "This had become a referendum on me," he said. "So it's better for me to step aside and let it be a referendum on ideas, Republican values and what's important for this district."
DeLay's fall has been stunningly swift, one of the most brutal and decisive in American history. He had to give up his title of Majority Leader, the No. 2 spot in the House Republican leadership, in September when a Texas grand jury indicted him on charges of trying to evade the state's election law. So he moved out of his palatial suite in the Capitol, where he once brandished a "No Whining" mug during feisty weekly sessions with reporters, and moved across the street to the Cannon House Office Building, home of many freshmen. ......

just wondering here. is it 'christian' to lie and cheat?

and this from wapo DeLay to Resign From Congress

remember this: if you DON'T feed the animals (and i'm NOT talking the four legged ones here) they WILL go away

in connecticut, we have what is known as

the tracey thurman law

tracey was a young woman with a child living in torrington connecticut. on many occasions she called the police to report abuse and threats by her husband. the police did little IF anything.

tracey was brutally attacked (slashed to pieces) by her husband. she lived but had and still to this day (MANY years later) severe injuries. tracey sued torrington and WON (2 million i believe). so now our state arrests ANYONE (man OR woman) who they think has perpetrated domestic abuse. NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS. it's a GREAT law.

and when i saw this, i had to tell you about tracey

Yanni Won't Face Charges in Florida

This March 2006 file photo originally provided by the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office,shows music star Yanni after his arrest at his Manalapan,Fla., home on March 3. Authorities said Friday, March 31,2006, that the 51-year-old musician, whose legal name is John Christopher, won't be charged with domestic battery in an alleged domestic dispute with his girlfriend. He was arrested after allegedly verbally abusing and pushing his girlfriend during a late night argument. (AP Photo/Palm Beach Sheriff's Office)

if you like the sopranos OR even if you don't

here's edie falco doing a psa on animal cruelty

http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=edie_link1

Edie Falco: Stop the Violence

leave the coyotes (and bear and wolves and others) ALONE

Coyotes have little impact on United States sheep-farm fortunes, according to a new conservation study. The report argues against long-running predator-killing programs managed by federal and local governments as well as by private livestock associations. Photograph courtesy USFWS

Coyote-Kill Programs Don't Protect U.S. Farms, Study Finds
Nicholas Bakalar for National Geographic News
March 28, 2006
Predator-control programs are very effective at killing coyotes, but they do little to help the United States sheep farmers they are designed to protect, according to a new study.
Black bears, grizzly bears, mountain lions, bobcats, and wolves have been effectively removed from most U.S. farming areas, leaving coyotes as the top livestock predators.
(Related news: "Are Coyotes Becoming More Aggressive?")
To protect sheep from coyotes, U.S. federal, state, and local governments—along with private livestock associations—have killed about 80,000 coyotes a year in recent decades, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
But these efforts have not prevented a dramatic decline in domestic sheep populations—and the sheep industry—over the past 60 years, according to a report in the March issue of Conservation Biology. ..............

according to mccain, falwell is no longer an agent of intolerance

if falwell isn't i shudder to think WHO would be

VIDEO: McCain Says Jerry Falwell is No Longer an ‘Agent of Intolerance’
This morning on Meet the Press, Sen. John McCain declared that right-wing Rev. Jerry Falwell is no longer an “agent of intolerance,” as McCain described him in 2000. Watch it:....

Transcript:
RUSSERT: Do you believe that Jerry Falwell is still an agent of intolerance?
MCCAIN: No, I don’t. I think that Jerry Falwell can explain to you his views on this program when you have him on...................

here are a few falwell quotes:

“Grown men should not be having sex with prostitutes unless they are
married to them”

“I had a student ask me, "Could the savior
you believe in save Osama bin Laden?" Of course, we know the blood of Jesus
Christ can save him, and then he must be executed”

“If you're not a born-again Christian, you're
a failure as a human being”

“Textbooks are Soviet propaganda”

“(re: 9/11 attacks) "...throwing God out of
the public square, out of the schools, the abortionists have got to bear some
burden for this because God will not be mocked and when we destroy 40 million
little innocent babies, we make God mad...I really believe that the pagans and
the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are
actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the
American Way, all of them who try to secularize America...I point the thing in
their face and say you helped this happen."”

another surprise (NOT)

from americablog a link to a story in the washington post

describing how we effed up the construction of 142 heath centers across iraq - at the cost of MILLIONS of course. the health clinic construction project was awarded to parsons, inc. they have a total of approximately one BILLION dollars worth of total contracts in iraq. yup, let's just give 'em one BILLION dollars and have them walk away from their half assed never finished projects

a three part story (with part iii coming tuesday)

from the la times

the lifeline
part i: bringing back the wounded
part ii: the journey through trauma
part iii: battle on the homefront

the series is by david zucchino
photographs by rick loomis

awwwwwwww condo-loser had a bad lil' trip?

and i don't mean 'shrooms either

Rice heading home after bumpy British visit
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to head back from her trip to northwest England after a visit which shaped up as a public relations nightmare.
Anti-Iraq protests again dogged Rice and her host, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, throughout her two-day trip to his constituency of Blackburn, a dreary former mill town of 100,000 people best known as a footnote in a Beatles song.
Some 200 demonstrators posting banners proclaiming "War on terror, war on Islam" and "Bring the troops home" greeted the two as they arrived at the town hall Saturday to meet with local Muslim leaders.
At a joint news conference, Rice reacted to a statement by her host that the Guantanamo detention centre was "an anomaly," by saying the US would close the facility the day it was no longer needed.
"The United States does not desire to keep Guantanamo in being any longer than it is needed," she said.
"We don't want to be the world's jailer," she said. "That's not the United States, (or) the purpose of US policy."
Rice came to Lancashire on what was supposed to be a feel-good visit to Straw's constituency to repay his October trip to her home state of Alabama. But the journey was plagued by problems from the start.................

(image from: theheretik.typepad.com/ the_heretik/images/)