Profile: Smut Lawyers, LLC
How do legal beagle defenders of porn live with themselves, you might ask? By consistently deluding themselves into thinking that graphic videos and still pictures of people perversely bonking one another is constitutionally protected speech. Of course, they draw the line at defending child porn. Why? Because they don't want to have a 'bad' reputation.
Southern California's San Fernando Valley is the epicenter of the adult entertainment industry. The majority of XXX videos on the market have their roots in this strip of dingy suburbs northeast of downtown Los Angeles. But when the Valley's porn purveyors need a lawyer -- and they always need a lawyer -- many head over the Sepulveda Pass to the upscale enclave of Westwood, where the law offices of Weston, Garrou & DeWitt rest high in an innocuous white office tower.
There, surrounded by sports memorabilia, generations of family photos, and a panoramic view of the West L.A. hills, attorney Clyde DeWitt has carved out a reputation as one of the pre-eminent specialists in adult entertainment law. The five-partner practice is one of the only firms in the U.S. to focus on this unusual area, which encompasses issues from free speech to contracts to copyrights.
"It's a lot of fun," says DeWitt, a stocky 55-year-old with a rumbling baritone voice. "First Amendment is the centerpiece of what we do, because the overwhelming majority of our clients' problems are the government trying to regulate them in one way or another."
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Running Amuck
A Washington State judge effectively rules that homosexuality is the equivalent of race and ethnicity, thus finally enabling some Caucasion males the ability to claim minority status. Twisted.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks was the second trial judge in four weeks to strike down Washington's Defense of Marriage Act, overwhelmingly approved by the Legislature six years ago.
Hicks, in a 38-page ruling, wrote, "The clear intent of the Legislature to limit government approved contracts of marriage to opposite-sex couples is in direct conflict with the constitutional intent to not allow a privilege to one class of a community that is not allowed to the entire community."
But Hicks went further, finding that under Washington's Constitution, homosexuals are a so-called suspect class, groups with such immutable characteristics as race or sex that entitle them to equal protection of the law.
King County Superior Court Judge William Downing, in his Aug. 4 ruling, had declined to find homosexuals a protected class, based on federal law.
Hicks' finding surprised some legal observers and outraged gay-marriage opponents.
"The court is taking a significant step in deciding the issue this way," said Peter Nicolas, a University of Washington law professor who teaches a course in sexual-orientation law. "A lot of decisions, including some from the U.S. Supreme Court, have said just the opposite."
A Washington State judge effectively rules that homosexuality is the equivalent of race and ethnicity, thus finally enabling some Caucasion males the ability to claim minority status. Twisted.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks was the second trial judge in four weeks to strike down Washington's Defense of Marriage Act, overwhelmingly approved by the Legislature six years ago.
Hicks, in a 38-page ruling, wrote, "The clear intent of the Legislature to limit government approved contracts of marriage to opposite-sex couples is in direct conflict with the constitutional intent to not allow a privilege to one class of a community that is not allowed to the entire community."
But Hicks went further, finding that under Washington's Constitution, homosexuals are a so-called suspect class, groups with such immutable characteristics as race or sex that entitle them to equal protection of the law.
King County Superior Court Judge William Downing, in his Aug. 4 ruling, had declined to find homosexuals a protected class, based on federal law.
Hicks' finding surprised some legal observers and outraged gay-marriage opponents.
"The court is taking a significant step in deciding the issue this way," said Peter Nicolas, a University of Washington law professor who teaches a course in sexual-orientation law. "A lot of decisions, including some from the U.S. Supreme Court, have said just the opposite."
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
The Intolerance of the "Tolerant" Left
To be a conservative Republican in San Francisco is almost like being a Ronald Reagan admirer in Cuba. I think the only thing that prevents some of these Brownshirt leftists from harrassing me is the fact that I'm of Asian descent (sometimes, playing the race card can be a good thing). (Link via Mark Shea)
The Bay Area prides itself on its openness and acceptance, but many local Republicans said they have been met with intense hostility for their political beliefs. They said they've endured everything from rude remarks to threats and physical violence.
Some said the McCarthy-era paranoia about Communists aptly describes how they often feel.
"There's a lot of teachers out there that are closet Republicans because they are so afraid if they say anything in their workplace, they will be retaliated against," said Karen King, the chair of the County's Republican Party. "That's the ugliness that I would like to get rid of. At the end of the day, I'd like to think the opposition believes in free speech as well."
Jennifer Kerns, a spokeswoman for Republican Assembly candidate Steve Poizner's campaign, said trying to register voters as Republicans in San Mateo County can be a depressing -- or even dangerous -- activity.
"One person had hot coffee thrown on him. Others have had registration forms torn up or kicked off tables. They've also been called racial slurs," Kerns said of voter-registration workers.
To be a conservative Republican in San Francisco is almost like being a Ronald Reagan admirer in Cuba. I think the only thing that prevents some of these Brownshirt leftists from harrassing me is the fact that I'm of Asian descent (sometimes, playing the race card can be a good thing). (Link via Mark Shea)
The Bay Area prides itself on its openness and acceptance, but many local Republicans said they have been met with intense hostility for their political beliefs. They said they've endured everything from rude remarks to threats and physical violence.
Some said the McCarthy-era paranoia about Communists aptly describes how they often feel.
"There's a lot of teachers out there that are closet Republicans because they are so afraid if they say anything in their workplace, they will be retaliated against," said Karen King, the chair of the County's Republican Party. "That's the ugliness that I would like to get rid of. At the end of the day, I'd like to think the opposition believes in free speech as well."
Jennifer Kerns, a spokeswoman for Republican Assembly candidate Steve Poizner's campaign, said trying to register voters as Republicans in San Mateo County can be a depressing -- or even dangerous -- activity.
"One person had hot coffee thrown on him. Others have had registration forms torn up or kicked off tables. They've also been called racial slurs," Kerns said of voter-registration workers.
Much Like His Native Fresno
Republican US Senate candidate Bill Jones seems to be an afterthought for most folks in California. Darned shame too, 'cause even though I fault Jones for switching his endorsement from Bush to McCain back in 2000, and for midwiving California's short lived and unconstitutional 'open primary' system, I really really can't stand Baghdad Barbara Boxer.
Support from Bush — which seems tepid at best — won't do Jones much good in a state where only two of five likely voters say they back the president. And though a public embrace from Schwarzenegger, whose job-approval rating stands above 60%, might help, the freshman governor so far has kept Jones at arm's length.
This is Jones' quandary. Despite campaign swings by such high-profile Republicans as Vice President Dick Cheney, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party has not given Jones the kind of support it has given candidates in other states, a disengagement that has left the former Fresno-area rancher mired in a political bog of low name recognition, low fundraising and low voter interest.
(...)
Only half of likely Republican voters were satisfied with Jones as their candidate, though 77% said they would vote for him, according to an August poll by the Public Policy Institute of California. Nearly three-fourths of Democrats were satisfied Boxer was their candidate, and 87% said they'd vote for her.
Republican US Senate candidate Bill Jones seems to be an afterthought for most folks in California. Darned shame too, 'cause even though I fault Jones for switching his endorsement from Bush to McCain back in 2000, and for midwiving California's short lived and unconstitutional 'open primary' system, I really really can't stand Baghdad Barbara Boxer.
Support from Bush — which seems tepid at best — won't do Jones much good in a state where only two of five likely voters say they back the president. And though a public embrace from Schwarzenegger, whose job-approval rating stands above 60%, might help, the freshman governor so far has kept Jones at arm's length.
This is Jones' quandary. Despite campaign swings by such high-profile Republicans as Vice President Dick Cheney, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party has not given Jones the kind of support it has given candidates in other states, a disengagement that has left the former Fresno-area rancher mired in a political bog of low name recognition, low fundraising and low voter interest.
(...)
Only half of likely Republican voters were satisfied with Jones as their candidate, though 77% said they would vote for him, according to an August poll by the Public Policy Institute of California. Nearly three-fourths of Democrats were satisfied Boxer was their candidate, and 87% said they'd vote for her.
Get Thee To The Confessionals!
Mischievous Catholic boarding school students get caught pulling a big prank that the German media fell hook, line and sinker for.
Reports that a Catholic boarding school had objected to new sweet wrappers for portraying "fruits in sexual positions" turned out to be based on a prank by schoolboys, shame-faced officials said.
Germany's tabloid press had trumpeted the allegations of "sugar candies depicted as having sex with lemons" on the wrappers of new Maoam candies by the Bonn-based Haribo confection company.
The source of the complaints was a letter from St Blasien Jesuit College near Bonn, stating that wrappers in bright yellow, red and green colours show lemons, limes, strawberries, cherries and oranges playfully engaging in sex.
"We are shocked at the shameless presentation of sexual practices on the wrapping," wrote the college in a letter complaining about the new packaging of Moaom fruit chews.
But the letter turned out to have been a hoax perpetrated by pupils at the school who admitted writing it and posting it on the Internet "as a joke".
Mischievous Catholic boarding school students get caught pulling a big prank that the German media fell hook, line and sinker for.
Reports that a Catholic boarding school had objected to new sweet wrappers for portraying "fruits in sexual positions" turned out to be based on a prank by schoolboys, shame-faced officials said.
Germany's tabloid press had trumpeted the allegations of "sugar candies depicted as having sex with lemons" on the wrappers of new Maoam candies by the Bonn-based Haribo confection company.
The source of the complaints was a letter from St Blasien Jesuit College near Bonn, stating that wrappers in bright yellow, red and green colours show lemons, limes, strawberries, cherries and oranges playfully engaging in sex.
"We are shocked at the shameless presentation of sexual practices on the wrapping," wrote the college in a letter complaining about the new packaging of Moaom fruit chews.
But the letter turned out to have been a hoax perpetrated by pupils at the school who admitted writing it and posting it on the Internet "as a joke".
Friday, September 03, 2004
Liberal, Shrill and Stupid
An anti-Bush protestor hits the trifecta of obnoxiousness.
A massive protest outside Madison Square Garden featured at least one sign asking where John Hinckley was.
The prominently displayed sign read, "Where is John Hinckley when we really need him?" It featured a bullet hole with dripping red blood.
(...)
When asked how he interpreted the sign, the man who refused to be identified, said, "Gosh, I don't know."
An anti-Bush protestor hits the trifecta of obnoxiousness.
A massive protest outside Madison Square Garden featured at least one sign asking where John Hinckley was.
The prominently displayed sign read, "Where is John Hinckley when we really need him?" It featured a bullet hole with dripping red blood.
(...)
When asked how he interpreted the sign, the man who refused to be identified, said, "Gosh, I don't know."
California's Pedophile Protection Act
From our bulging "Evil Fruits Produced by Worshippers at the High Altar of Abortion" file:
Openly lesbian California Senator Sheila Keuhl (D) authored and is promoting Senate Bill 1313 in the State of California. The bill has gotten past both houses of the Democratically controlled California State Legislature and is on its way to Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk for signature. SB 1313 drastically reduces the requirements for mandatory reporting of the known or suspected sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children. Critics are calling this bill the "Pedophile Protection Act."
Under existing criminal law, all persons who regularly come into contact with children are required to report any instance where there is reason to believe that a child has been molested or abused. Typical mandatory reporters include pastors, priests, church volunteers, teachers, school volunteers, and medical personnel. Incredibly, SB1313 would completely eliminate mandatory reporting for anyone who can be characterized as a "volunteer."
Critics warn that if SB1313 passes, thousands of victims of past and continuing sexual abuse may go unnoticed. SB1313 also eliminates mandatory reporting in cases where children are having sex with each other, and severe emotional abuse many no longer be a reportable event at all.
(...)
The issue was given national coverage following the presentation of evidence that Planned Parenthood had seen over 30,000 children in California, and that not one instance of reporting to law enforcement could be found. State-required demographic data provided by Planned Parenthood to the State of California demonstrated that the volunteers and paid staff of Planned Parenthood had seen children ages 6 and under for sexually transmitted disease treatment. Ackerman and others could not find a single report coming from Planned Parenthood to any law enforcement agency concerning these children.
From our bulging "Evil Fruits Produced by Worshippers at the High Altar of Abortion" file:
Openly lesbian California Senator Sheila Keuhl (D) authored and is promoting Senate Bill 1313 in the State of California. The bill has gotten past both houses of the Democratically controlled California State Legislature and is on its way to Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk for signature. SB 1313 drastically reduces the requirements for mandatory reporting of the known or suspected sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children. Critics are calling this bill the "Pedophile Protection Act."
Under existing criminal law, all persons who regularly come into contact with children are required to report any instance where there is reason to believe that a child has been molested or abused. Typical mandatory reporters include pastors, priests, church volunteers, teachers, school volunteers, and medical personnel. Incredibly, SB1313 would completely eliminate mandatory reporting for anyone who can be characterized as a "volunteer."
Critics warn that if SB1313 passes, thousands of victims of past and continuing sexual abuse may go unnoticed. SB1313 also eliminates mandatory reporting in cases where children are having sex with each other, and severe emotional abuse many no longer be a reportable event at all.
(...)
The issue was given national coverage following the presentation of evidence that Planned Parenthood had seen over 30,000 children in California, and that not one instance of reporting to law enforcement could be found. State-required demographic data provided by Planned Parenthood to the State of California demonstrated that the volunteers and paid staff of Planned Parenthood had seen children ages 6 and under for sexually transmitted disease treatment. Ackerman and others could not find a single report coming from Planned Parenthood to any law enforcement agency concerning these children.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Could the Radical Left Be Any More Shrill?
Sometimes it's just really hard to see these folks as fellow human beings. From outside the GOP Convention in New York:
A featured performer at a National Organization for Women rally accused President Bush of having "savagely raped " women "over and over" by allegedly stealing the 2000 presidential election.
Poet Molly Birnbaum read aloud to a crowd of feminists gathered in New York's Central Park on Wednesday night, as part of a NOW event dubbed "Code Red: Stop the Bush Agenda Rally."
"Imagine a way to erase that night four years ago when you (President Bush) savagely raped every pandemic woman over and over with each vote you got, a thrust with each state you stole," Birnbaum said from the podium. (If something is pandemic, it affects many people or a number of countries.)
"A smack with each bill you passed, a tear with each right you took until you left me disenfranchised with hands shackled and voice restrained. Thanks for that night, Mr. President, I can barely remember my tomorrows," Birnbaum said to applause.
(...)
Another poet, Stacey Ann Chin, declared from the podium that men have no right to tell women not to have an abortion.
Men will not decide "if I am allowed to eject something from my womb. Be it rape or error, it has always been my right, always been my body to do with as I choose," Chin screamed to cheers. Chin said she wants her message to be so powerful that Bush will cower in fear."
I want to be that voice that makes George Bush so scared he hires two butch black bodyguards. I want to write the poem that the New York Times will not print because it might start some kind of black or lesbian or even a white revolution," Chin said.
Sometimes it's just really hard to see these folks as fellow human beings. From outside the GOP Convention in New York:
A featured performer at a National Organization for Women rally accused President Bush of having "savagely raped " women "over and over" by allegedly stealing the 2000 presidential election.
Poet Molly Birnbaum read aloud to a crowd of feminists gathered in New York's Central Park on Wednesday night, as part of a NOW event dubbed "Code Red: Stop the Bush Agenda Rally."
"Imagine a way to erase that night four years ago when you (President Bush) savagely raped every pandemic woman over and over with each vote you got, a thrust with each state you stole," Birnbaum said from the podium. (If something is pandemic, it affects many people or a number of countries.)
"A smack with each bill you passed, a tear with each right you took until you left me disenfranchised with hands shackled and voice restrained. Thanks for that night, Mr. President, I can barely remember my tomorrows," Birnbaum said to applause.
(...)
Another poet, Stacey Ann Chin, declared from the podium that men have no right to tell women not to have an abortion.
Men will not decide "if I am allowed to eject something from my womb. Be it rape or error, it has always been my right, always been my body to do with as I choose," Chin screamed to cheers. Chin said she wants her message to be so powerful that Bush will cower in fear."
I want to be that voice that makes George Bush so scared he hires two butch black bodyguards. I want to write the poem that the New York Times will not print because it might start some kind of black or lesbian or even a white revolution," Chin said.
They Can't Handle the Truth!
Establishment GOPers in Illinois are aghast over Alan Keyes sounding like, I don't know, the Pope?
Illinois Republican Chairman Judy Baar Topinka said Wednesday her party's nominee for U.S. Senate, Alan Keyes, should apologize for his "idiotic" comment vice presidential daughter Mary Cheney and all homosexuals are "selfish hedonists."
But Keyes refused to back down Wednesday, even as Vice President Dick Cheney addressed the Republican National Convention.
"In a homosexual relationship, there is nothing implied except the self-fulfillment, contentment and satisfaction of the parties involved in the relationship," said Keyes, who holds a Ph.D from Harvard University. "That means it is a self-centered, self-fulfilling, selfish relationship that seeks to use the organs intended for procreation for purposes of pleasure. The word pleasure in Greek is hedone and we get the word hedonism from that word."
"You have intervened in order to try to personalize the discussion of an issue that I did not personalize," Keyes told reporters at an Illinois delegation caucus. "The people asking me the question did so and if that's inappropriate, blame the media. Don't blame me."
(...)
Building up to his trademark high-decibel fever pitch, Keyes shouted, "We shall deal with the challenge that is being mounted today to the family structure throughout our country: Gay marriage activists who are demanding that we should take marriage off the foundation of procreation, child rearing, responsibility to the future, that is the true heart of marriage and place it on a basis of selfishness, pleasure-seeking and self-fulfillment."
Some delegates clapped enthusiastically. Other rolled their eyes and clapped silently. Topinka stayed in another room during his speech.
After his eight-minute speech, Keyes was asked if heterosexual couples who don't or can't have children are hedonists.
"The heterosexual relationship is haunted by the possibility of the child, which means you have to commit yourself somewhere to your head to the possibility of a lifelong commitment that involves not only selfish pleasure but sometimes sacrifice."
Establishment GOPers in Illinois are aghast over Alan Keyes sounding like, I don't know, the Pope?
Illinois Republican Chairman Judy Baar Topinka said Wednesday her party's nominee for U.S. Senate, Alan Keyes, should apologize for his "idiotic" comment vice presidential daughter Mary Cheney and all homosexuals are "selfish hedonists."
But Keyes refused to back down Wednesday, even as Vice President Dick Cheney addressed the Republican National Convention.
"In a homosexual relationship, there is nothing implied except the self-fulfillment, contentment and satisfaction of the parties involved in the relationship," said Keyes, who holds a Ph.D from Harvard University. "That means it is a self-centered, self-fulfilling, selfish relationship that seeks to use the organs intended for procreation for purposes of pleasure. The word pleasure in Greek is hedone and we get the word hedonism from that word."
"You have intervened in order to try to personalize the discussion of an issue that I did not personalize," Keyes told reporters at an Illinois delegation caucus. "The people asking me the question did so and if that's inappropriate, blame the media. Don't blame me."
(...)
Building up to his trademark high-decibel fever pitch, Keyes shouted, "We shall deal with the challenge that is being mounted today to the family structure throughout our country: Gay marriage activists who are demanding that we should take marriage off the foundation of procreation, child rearing, responsibility to the future, that is the true heart of marriage and place it on a basis of selfishness, pleasure-seeking and self-fulfillment."
Some delegates clapped enthusiastically. Other rolled their eyes and clapped silently. Topinka stayed in another room during his speech.
After his eight-minute speech, Keyes was asked if heterosexual couples who don't or can't have children are hedonists.
"The heterosexual relationship is haunted by the possibility of the child, which means you have to commit yourself somewhere to your head to the possibility of a lifelong commitment that involves not only selfish pleasure but sometimes sacrifice."
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Borrowing From Kathy Shaidle: A Man, A Mission, and A Fax Machine
Bill Donahue of the Catholic League plans on asking the IRS to investigate a church that appears to have hosted a partisan political rally. This is a no no for tax exempt organizations.
The Catholic League said the bishop of Miami's New Birth Baptist Church, Bishop Victor T. Curry, "welcomed" former Democratic presidential candidate Rev. Al Sharpton and the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Terry McAuliffe.
"Rev. Sharpton, speaking from the pulpit, added to the politicized atmosphere by shouting, 'We're not people who are going to be beat twice,'" Catholic League President William Donohue said."
But no one was more partisan than McAuliffe: 'Bush has misled us for four years and will not mislead us for the next four years. Get out to vote and we'll send Bush back to Texas.' Consequently, the Catholic League will ask the IRS to revoke the tax-exempt status of this church," he added.
Bill Donahue of the Catholic League plans on asking the IRS to investigate a church that appears to have hosted a partisan political rally. This is a no no for tax exempt organizations.
The Catholic League said the bishop of Miami's New Birth Baptist Church, Bishop Victor T. Curry, "welcomed" former Democratic presidential candidate Rev. Al Sharpton and the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Terry McAuliffe.
"Rev. Sharpton, speaking from the pulpit, added to the politicized atmosphere by shouting, 'We're not people who are going to be beat twice,'" Catholic League President William Donohue said."
But no one was more partisan than McAuliffe: 'Bush has misled us for four years and will not mislead us for the next four years. Get out to vote and we'll send Bush back to Texas.' Consequently, the Catholic League will ask the IRS to revoke the tax-exempt status of this church," he added.
Monday, August 30, 2004
Proving Once Again Why They Are The Lame-Stream Media
Who's more stupid? Liberals in the lame-stream media or liberals who consistently deny that there is a liberal bias in the lame-stream media?
After sending out a routine press release responding to a judge's decision against the partial-birth abortion ban, the National Right to Life Committee received a scathing email from Todd Eastham, a Reuters editor in Washington.
"What's your plan for parenting and educating all the unwanted children you people want to bring into the world," Eastham asks. "Who will pay for policing our streets and maintaining the prisons needed to contain them when you, their parents and the system fail them?"
"Oh, sorry. All that money has been earmarked to pay off the Bush deficit," Eastham continues.
"Give me a frigging break, will you?"
Douglas Johnson, NRLC's legislative director, received the email and said he was shocked to see Eastham's response.
"It is sad, but revealing, to see an editor for a major news service so casually and gratuitously express such blatant hostility to both the Bush Administration and to the right to life of unborn children," Johnson said in response.
"We can only wonder at how such vehement opinions may color Mr. Eastham's reporting or editing on subjects such as abortion and the Bush Administration," Johnson added.
Who's more stupid? Liberals in the lame-stream media or liberals who consistently deny that there is a liberal bias in the lame-stream media?
After sending out a routine press release responding to a judge's decision against the partial-birth abortion ban, the National Right to Life Committee received a scathing email from Todd Eastham, a Reuters editor in Washington.
"What's your plan for parenting and educating all the unwanted children you people want to bring into the world," Eastham asks. "Who will pay for policing our streets and maintaining the prisons needed to contain them when you, their parents and the system fail them?"
"Oh, sorry. All that money has been earmarked to pay off the Bush deficit," Eastham continues.
"Give me a frigging break, will you?"
Douglas Johnson, NRLC's legislative director, received the email and said he was shocked to see Eastham's response.
"It is sad, but revealing, to see an editor for a major news service so casually and gratuitously express such blatant hostility to both the Bush Administration and to the right to life of unborn children," Johnson said in response.
"We can only wonder at how such vehement opinions may color Mr. Eastham's reporting or editing on subjects such as abortion and the Bush Administration," Johnson added.
Defrocked Priests Are All Crazy
But we all pretty much knew that already, didn't we. At least it was an interesting end to, what was for me at least, an otherwise boring Olympics.
Vanderlei de Lima was tiring. That much was clear.
The compact, 35-year-old Brazilian had slipped ahead of the Olympic marathon pack 63 minutes into Sunday's race, but his pursuers had sliced his 40-second lead to 25 as they pounded from Marathon toward Athens on roads still radiating heat. After an hour and 52 minutes, in the 22nd mile, Italy's Stefano Baldini and the United States' Meb Keflezighi were poised to pass the laboring Brazilian, with world-record holder Paul Tergat of Kenya not far behind.
De Lima never got the chance to discover if he could have held off the fresh-looking Baldini and the smooth-striding Keflezighi.
The course of his race — and, perhaps, of the Athens Olympic marathon finish — changed when a defrocked Irish priest with a history of trespassing at sports events and a hand-lettered sign alluding to the Bible affixed to his back darted onto the road and pushed the startled De Lima into spectators watching the final event of the Games.
The intruder, identified by police as 57-year-old Cornelius Horan, had run onto the track of a British Formula One Grand Prix race last year wearing a kilt and beret similar to those he wore Sunday. He also had caused a disturbance on the grounds of Wimbledon last year and tried to disrupt cricket and rugby matches.
Horan, whose sign bore the words, "The Grand Prix Priest. Israel Fulfillment of Prophecy Says The Bible. The Second Coming is Near," was subdued by several bystanders and a Hellenic National police officer who was escorting the runners on a bicycle. Horan was arrested and will appear in court in Athens today, police sources said, though it's unclear what the charges against him will be.
But we all pretty much knew that already, didn't we. At least it was an interesting end to, what was for me at least, an otherwise boring Olympics.
Vanderlei de Lima was tiring. That much was clear.
The compact, 35-year-old Brazilian had slipped ahead of the Olympic marathon pack 63 minutes into Sunday's race, but his pursuers had sliced his 40-second lead to 25 as they pounded from Marathon toward Athens on roads still radiating heat. After an hour and 52 minutes, in the 22nd mile, Italy's Stefano Baldini and the United States' Meb Keflezighi were poised to pass the laboring Brazilian, with world-record holder Paul Tergat of Kenya not far behind.
De Lima never got the chance to discover if he could have held off the fresh-looking Baldini and the smooth-striding Keflezighi.
The course of his race — and, perhaps, of the Athens Olympic marathon finish — changed when a defrocked Irish priest with a history of trespassing at sports events and a hand-lettered sign alluding to the Bible affixed to his back darted onto the road and pushed the startled De Lima into spectators watching the final event of the Games.
The intruder, identified by police as 57-year-old Cornelius Horan, had run onto the track of a British Formula One Grand Prix race last year wearing a kilt and beret similar to those he wore Sunday. He also had caused a disturbance on the grounds of Wimbledon last year and tried to disrupt cricket and rugby matches.
Horan, whose sign bore the words, "The Grand Prix Priest. Israel Fulfillment of Prophecy Says The Bible. The Second Coming is Near," was subdued by several bystanders and a Hellenic National police officer who was escorting the runners on a bicycle. Horan was arrested and will appear in court in Athens today, police sources said, though it's unclear what the charges against him will be.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
What Media Bias?
One out of over 2,000 delegates in the Republican Party decides to drop out of the convention and vote Democrat, and UPI deems it to be newsworthy.
One out of over 2,000 delegates in the Republican Party decides to drop out of the convention and vote Democrat, and UPI deems it to be newsworthy.
It's Only Inappropriate When Conservatives or Republicans are Involved
"Billary" will be making a publicized appearance at the Riverside Church of New York. Not a peep from the Americans(?) United for the Separation of Church and State Brownshirts.
"Billary" will be making a publicized appearance at the Riverside Church of New York. Not a peep from the Americans(?) United for the Separation of Church and State Brownshirts.
It May Be the State Capitol
But it seems to me that the scandal involving California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley is barely on the radar screens of anybody outside of Sacramento. Heck, I wonder if most people in California even know what the Secretary of State even does. Anyway, a summary of the situation by Sacto radio guy Eric Hogue:
Kevin Shelley was on course to become a major player for the Democrat Party in the next gubernatorial campaign. After a 'leak' to the San Fran Chronicle on Sunday, August 8th, Shelley is now facing a deep investigation from the FBI and may not finish his term in Sacramento.
Over the past month, Shelley is the target of illegal campaign contributions and practices, a charge of abuse behavior in his office and with co-workers...and today in the Sacramento Bee a charge that he is down right vulgar, if not perverted.
There are also reports of Shelley leaving his office for hours only to return looking tattered, carrying a toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash.
But it seems to me that the scandal involving California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley is barely on the radar screens of anybody outside of Sacramento. Heck, I wonder if most people in California even know what the Secretary of State even does. Anyway, a summary of the situation by Sacto radio guy Eric Hogue:
Kevin Shelley was on course to become a major player for the Democrat Party in the next gubernatorial campaign. After a 'leak' to the San Fran Chronicle on Sunday, August 8th, Shelley is now facing a deep investigation from the FBI and may not finish his term in Sacramento.
Over the past month, Shelley is the target of illegal campaign contributions and practices, a charge of abuse behavior in his office and with co-workers...and today in the Sacramento Bee a charge that he is down right vulgar, if not perverted.
There are also reports of Shelley leaving his office for hours only to return looking tattered, carrying a toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash.
Friday, August 27, 2004
What's Really Sad is That I'm Not Even Surprised
From Jack Fowler at The Corner:
When I saw the name – Richard Casey – of the federal judge who struck down Congress’ ban on partial-birth abortion this week, I had a queasy feeling that he was a product of Catholic education. Is he ever: Casey (a Clinton appointee) graduated from the College of the Holy Cross (my alma mater too) in 1955 and Georgetown University Law School in 1958. The double-Jebbie grad is a mover amongst the hierarchy: According to the Fall 1999 issue of the Holy Cross Magazine, Casey received the “Blessed Hyacinth Cormier O.P. Medal at the Angelicum in Rome. ... The citation recognized his ‘outstanding leadership in the promotion of Gospel Values in the field of justice and ethics.’” His good buddy, Syracuse Bishop James Moynihan, wrote a gooey hosanna to Casey last year in the diocesan newspaper, referring to his being a daily communicant and having a special devotion to rosary. And Catholic New York reports that Casey and Cardinal Edward Egan “have been friends for years and have visited Lourdes together three times.”
From Jack Fowler at The Corner:
When I saw the name – Richard Casey – of the federal judge who struck down Congress’ ban on partial-birth abortion this week, I had a queasy feeling that he was a product of Catholic education. Is he ever: Casey (a Clinton appointee) graduated from the College of the Holy Cross (my alma mater too) in 1955 and Georgetown University Law School in 1958. The double-Jebbie grad is a mover amongst the hierarchy: According to the Fall 1999 issue of the Holy Cross Magazine, Casey received the “Blessed Hyacinth Cormier O.P. Medal at the Angelicum in Rome. ... The citation recognized his ‘outstanding leadership in the promotion of Gospel Values in the field of justice and ethics.’” His good buddy, Syracuse Bishop James Moynihan, wrote a gooey hosanna to Casey last year in the diocesan newspaper, referring to his being a daily communicant and having a special devotion to rosary. And Catholic New York reports that Casey and Cardinal Edward Egan “have been friends for years and have visited Lourdes together three times.”
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Would You Have Expected Anything Else From the Party of Clinton?
Rather than answering the charges on an issue that Scary Kerry himself raised, the 'Rats are scurrying about like cockroaches looking for dirt on the Swifties.
According to a report in the New York Daily News, one of the targets is veteran James Zumwalt, son of illustrious Adm. Elmo Zumwalt.
The paper says it has received part of the dossier on Zumwalt, which claims he "attempted to kill himself with an overdose of prescription drugs," after the murder of his ex-wife's fiance, John Kowalczyk, and was "convicted of reckless driving after chasing Kowalczyk at a high speed on the highway."
Zumwalt was one of the veterans who signed an initial letter opposing Kerry in May.
Rather than answering the charges on an issue that Scary Kerry himself raised, the 'Rats are scurrying about like cockroaches looking for dirt on the Swifties.
According to a report in the New York Daily News, one of the targets is veteran James Zumwalt, son of illustrious Adm. Elmo Zumwalt.
The paper says it has received part of the dossier on Zumwalt, which claims he "attempted to kill himself with an overdose of prescription drugs," after the murder of his ex-wife's fiance, John Kowalczyk, and was "convicted of reckless driving after chasing Kowalczyk at a high speed on the highway."
Zumwalt was one of the veterans who signed an initial letter opposing Kerry in May.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Throw the Bum Out!
Floridians will be voting for state judges on Aug. 31, and the man who sentenced Terry Schiavo to death is being opposed by a local attorney named Jan Govan, whom I am presuming is against starving people simply because they are unable to move or orally communicate.
Floridians will be voting for state judges on Aug. 31, and the man who sentenced Terry Schiavo to death is being opposed by a local attorney named Jan Govan, whom I am presuming is against starving people simply because they are unable to move or orally communicate.
Res Ipsa Loquitur
Vincent Damon Furnier, aka Alice Cooper, on rock stars and politics:
"If you're listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you're a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we're morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal."
Vincent Damon Furnier, aka Alice Cooper, on rock stars and politics:
"If you're listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you're a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we're morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal."
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