If you're at all familiar with me, you're probably quite aware that I hold LARPers and CosPlayers (and any other associated jackasses) in a fair amount of disdain.
It wouldn't be so bad if the LARP idiocy was contained to a Ren Faire, or if they restrained themselves from being dipshits in public.
CosPlayers wouldn't bother me too much, if the majority of them weren't sweaty otaku-fucks who act superior to the so-called "mundanes" - and don't get me started on the splinter-group of CosPlayers, the goddamned Furries. Fucking perverts.
It all boils down to this: If you can't pull off a decent costume or make-up for whatever event you're participating in, don't bother.
Case in point, the Sweaty Drow Matron:
Clicky For Bigger
Since when do drow elves have sparkly hair, and dress all in black? The schmuck in the center comes real close to pulling it off (nice touch on the eyebrows), but his cheap-ass ear tips that don't fit ruin the whole thing.
Of course, it doesn't help that Jabba the Drow's make-up is melting faster than chocolate in the Sahara.
Normally, I'd be content to mock these rejects privately, maybe emailing a link to a friend or two, but I felt the need to do so here.
Why?
Because, first and foremost, I'm an asshole. Besides that, however, there is another reason.
I discovered the butterelves via Google, and found this delightful little copyright notice at the bottom of the page:
©2002-2007 by Sander van Lambalgen. (Portrait-rights of any people appearing in the pictures belong to those people.) You may not use any of these pictures on another website, distribute them, or make them publicly available in any form (electronic or otherwise) without my explicit permission. This includes linking the images directly into another website. An exception is made for incidental linking to pictures from a message board or other community if those specific pictures depict a gathering of people belonging to that message board or community. Downloading and viewing these pictures for personal use is of course permitted. Contact me (email to photography at this domain) for higher quality versions of the pictures, or if you're interested in stock photography licensing.
Notwithstanding Fair Use (and I'm totally covered, since I'm criticizing the work, not doing it for profit, and God knows I'm not going to affect the potential market or value of that travesty), you don't get to tell people that they can't link to an image, or link it directly into their website, cocktard.
You've put the image online. That doesn't mean you forfeit your rights to said image, but you can't dictate how people link to it. Don't like it? Don't put it online.
As such:
http://juima.org/events/images/c/20060422-Elf_Fantasy_Fair-costumes-18-drow.jpg
Or, embedded:
Suck it.
UPDATE: Mr. Webmaster posted a response, and blocked me from hotlinking and embedding. That's how you do it! I like this guy! (You can cut and paste the URL above, if you want a direct link to the thing).
So, I was awakened Tuesday morning by a telephone call from M, one of the housemates here, requesting assistance from J or myself (or both), as he was about five miles from home, on his way to work, and his car was totaled.
Long story short, someone put their car sideways in front of him, and pow, goodbye car.
We got that situation as taken care of as we could at that point, and got M to work, and then came home. We went to our respective beds, and attempted to resume sleep.
No such luck - it's "Popular Kythri Tuesday!"
I'm already scheduled to get up early, as I need to get into Salem early to pick up a dress shirt for an interview on Friday.
My phone starts ringing about every 30 minutes, killing any hope of sleep.
I get up at one point to feed the cat, and for some reason, look out back to notice that our well-pump is leaking.
I call the landlord to alert him to the situation, and then hastily clean-up the kitchen to avoid any kind of dirty looks from the property owner.
I now no longer have any time to attempt to sleep, I have to bust ass to get out the door.
I get out the door late, and get up to Salem Center Mall to pick up my shirt, not really thinking about the lack of cars in the parking garage.
I enter the mall, notice just about everyone (including Men's Wearhouse) is closed. Turns out, due to the OH-SO-HORRIBLE weather, someone announced the mall was closing at 3pm - erroneously.
Word got out on the radio or whatever, so nobody was shopping, so the mall decided to close at 5pm. I arrived at about 5:30.
Well, FUCK.
I then head over to class, late for no reason.
I pull into the Chemeketa parking lot to discover, once again, a severe shortage of other cars.
Turns out that due to the OH-MY-GOD-IT'S-DAY-AFTER-TOMORROW-WE'RE-ALL-GOING-TO-DIE weather, Chekemeta cancelled classes.
I fucking drove all the way to Salem in traffic consisting of idiots for nothing.
Just friggin' wonderful.
What a fabulous day.
Then shut the fuck up.
A search for the phrase "Wal-Mart" done on this site may find some disparaging comments made by yours truly about the chain.
That I ever uttered those comments is something I'm mildly ashamed of.
This post was going to be about John Edwards and his hypocrisy of lambasting Wal-Mart, yet having a staffer name drop to try to snake a Playstation 3 for his family. You can check out Google News for those stories (hint: search on "Edwards Playstation").
Libtards: Shut the fuck up. It doesn't matter if Edwards knew that this "volunteer staffer" was doing this or not - Edwards is responsible for his staff, and if someone working for him is that much of a fucking moron, Edwards deserves every ounce of ridicule for this situation.
No, that'll be the extent of that in this post.
Instead, we'll be discussing the Anti Wal-Mart dipshits.
You see, when I was reading up on the Edwards stupidity, I came across a reference to WakeUpWalMart.com.
If you want to view the site, you can cut and paste. I'll be damned if I link to those stupid fuckers.
WakeUpWalMart is a pro-union bunch of anti-corporate thugs. They're fucking morons.
From their website:
- In Wal-Mart's America, workers are paid poverty level wages even when they work full-time.
- In our America, workers are paid a living wage with proper health and retirement benefits.
- In Wal-Mart's America, wealthy companies shift their health care costs onto taxpayers like you and your families.
- In our America, corporations live up to their responsibility and provide their employees with adequate and affordable health care coverage.
- In Wal-Mart's America, suppliers are forced to make their goods cheaper even if it means shipping U.S. jobs overseas.
- In our America, we value U.S. jobs and companies that buy and sell "Made in America."
- In Wal-Mart's America, women are paid less than men.
- In our America, women and men are treated equally - fair pay for everyone.
Their issue is that Wal-Mart doesn't pay it's employees enough, that full-time employees should make more than part-time employees, that Wal-Mart shoild pay health care and retirement benefits, that Wal-Mart shouldn't buy imported goods, and that women aren't treated as equal to men.
That last point is a topic for another day - suffice it to say, if you're a woman, and you can't perform the same physical duties as a man, THEN YOU'RE NOT FUCKING EQUAL, YOU STUPID BITCH.
But, back to the other issues.
Number one, pay. Now, I don't know how things are in Fantasy-World, but here in the real world, we don't pay $40K/year for unskilled physical labor. Let's face it, people - most of the people at Wal-Mart aren't hired for their brains.
Don't get me wrong - some of it is tough, hard, physical work. Our roommate, D, works graveyard at the local Wal-Mart Supercenter. He most definitely does some hard work there, moving and stocking some heavy stuff - but he himself will admit, it's not complicated stuff they're asking him to do.
Who in their right mind really believes that a fry-cook or a stockboy should make a wage that would allow them to support a family? If you're a fry-cook or a stockboy, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE A FAMILY TO SUPPORT.
Next up, full-time vs. part-time wages. When did the hours per week that you work entitle you to a higher wage? If you have two checkers, one working 40 hours/week, and the other working 20 hours/week, they're both doing the same job. In the real world, we compensate the 40 hour/week checker by paying them for the time they spent working - and in the real world, that means they make twice as much as someone working half the amount of time.
Health care and retirement benefits? Well, let's see...
D has been working at Wal-Mart for just over 90 days now. Not only has he received a pretty significant raise for the level and duration of employment, but he also has medical benefits. Realisitically, though, Wal-Mart is not, and should not be considered a career for anyone but management (or management wanna-be's).
If you want hire wages, or benefits, you need to take something into consideration: Wal-Mart is what we in the real world call a "starter job". You know, the job you get when you have no skills, no experience and no responsibilities. This is the job you get to put a few bucks in your pocket.
Yes, it's true that millions of people work these jobs for a large portion of their life. But you know what? That's their fucking fault.
God forbid that a couple of 18 year old kids have to share an apartment because their Wal-Mart job doesn't pay enough for them to buy a 2000 sq. ft. home in the nice part of town. That's life, assholes.
D works at Wal-Mart, and M works as an auto-detailer. Both of them make above minimum wage, but are still in the whole "minimum wage" class of job. Time will tell if they move above that station, but I'm quite sure they will. They're smart kids, they just need to put their time in at the bottom of the food chain, like everyone else in this country, and gain that "precious" work experience, so they can get promoted, or get a better job in a couple years.
Finally, the issue of purchasing imported goods, instead of buying American. Anti Wal-Mart (and anti-corporate dipshits everywhere) try to blame Wal-Mart, claiming that they "ship jobs overseas".
Why does Wal-Mart buy imported goods rather than domestically produced goods?
Could it be that interfering busy-body liberal dipshits have fucked things up to the point that employers have to pay $8/hr, plus benefits to some punk to pump gas? Here's how math works in the real world, morons: If I run a business selling a product, and I'm forced to pay increased labor costs, increased insurance costs, increased taxes on my business (because that's another thing you fucking idiots are big on, the taxation of businesses (and everything else), in order to remain profitable, I have to recoup those expenses somewhere.
There's two options to do that: Raise prices on the product I sell, or pay less for the product I sell.
Well, the tax-and-gouge liberals don't want to pay more for anything, and since businesses have to compete, Wal-Mart now goes overseas for it's product - and we all buy it.
Truthfully, I'd love nothing more than to buy American-made products, rather than Chinese or Taiwanese stuff, but let's face it - these days, the label "Made In America" means one thing: Expensive.
Years ago, Made In America used to mean quality merchandise - today, thanks to the liberal influence, there's little quality in American-made products. The Chinese, the Taiwanese? They're not stupid. Years ago, they realized that they can't make garbage and pass it off as expensive quality stuff - so they improved the quality of their merchandise.
They also went down another route - they continued to make inferior quality stuff, but they price it accordingly.
When you buy yourself a $20 DVD player, you know you're buying something disposable. When you pay $100, you expect (and normally receive) something that's going to last a while.
But I digress.
There's an easy solution to this problem: Stop letting liberals have anything to do with running this country.
There's an old saying: "Fast, Cheap, Good - Pick Two."
Let's expand that to the reality of this particular situation: "High Wages, Good Benefits, Cheap Domestic Products - Pick One."
You can't have it all, people. Businesses exist to make money - forcing them to pay outrageous rates for something a retard could do is ridiculous, and bad for every business out there.
But, of course, that's their goal - elimination of the (not-so)free market, and implementation of a fully socialist welfare nanny state.
That's why Wal-Mart (and any other profit-seeking corporation) is bad - because they promote and encourage the free market.
Inmates set for 'cold turkey' moneyPress Association
Monday November 13, 2006 1:43 AMPrisoners are poised to win undisclosed pay-outs after suing the Home Office because they were forced to stop taking drugs in jail, it was revealed.
Drugs charity DrugScope said the group of six inmates and former inmates who used heroin and other opiates were on the verge of settling out of court with the Prison Service.
The case - alleging the "cold turkey" withdrawal treatment they were forced to undergo amounted to assault - was scheduled to start at the High Court.
The size of the payouts under discussion has not been revealed. But the compensation levels are due to be finalised on Tuesday or Wednesday, legal sources said.
High Court judge Mr Justice Langstaff gave the go-ahead in May for a full hearing of the case. It focused on six test cases chosen from a total pool of 198 claimants. When finally resolved this week, all 198 may be handed compensation by the Prison Service - with sums potentially running into tens of thousands of pounds.
Mr Justice Langstaff said in May: "All claim that their treatment was handled inappropriately and so they suffered injuries and had difficulties with their withdrawal."
Barrister for the claimants Richard Hermer told the court at the time: "Many of the prisoners were receiving methadone treatment before they entered prison and were upset at the short period of treatment using opiates they encountered in jail. Imposing the short, sharp detoxification is the issue."
The prisoners were bringing the action based on trespass, because they say they did not consent to the treatment, and for alleged clinical negligence.
They also claimed human rights breaches under Articles 3 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which ban discrimination, torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and Article 8, which enshrines the right to respect for private life.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "It would be inappropriate to comment because the litigation is still ongoing."
Only in Britain.
And the United States, under Democrat leadership. Give it time. We already allow criminals to sue their victims for injuries sustained during the commission of a crime.
Hell, why not allow this? Take us to hell in a handbasket faster.
...and so does everyone else.
Seriously, does this stupid fucker have any grasp on reality at all?
http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=240377>1=7702
http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=6355
The show loses credibility? Hey, you stupid bastard, it's the FANS who vote for the winner - and the fans think that you fucking suck.
This is the same dipshit who compared himself to Jesus.
Moron.
I gotta give mad props to Justin Timberlake, too. Not only has he bagged a couple of nice pieces of tail (even if Diaz is a fucking moron), but he's actually pretty damned funny:
Following West's outbursts, the show's host, Justin Timberlake, commented, "After the show, Kanye will be in the parking lot accepting awards he did not win. Seriously though, I've got sexy covered, it's good to see someone's doing crazy."
2Pac and Biggie are dead, and Kanye is alive. Where's the justice?
I hope that the creators of petitiononline.com, gopetition.com and all the other faggy fucking online petition websites come down with severe cases of ass cancer and DIE.
Even the word "petition" just pisses me off these days.
The number of clueless fucking idiots that think that attaching their stupid name and email address to a stupid online petition is actually going to accomplish anything is just staggering.
Here's a clue:
NOBODY READS YOUR STUPID SHIT. NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR STUPID CAUSE, AND THE STUPID IDIOTS THAT SIGN YOUR STUPID PETITION. SHUT THE FUCK UP.
A sampling of the "top" petitions at one of the fagsites:
Save "Stargate Sg1 : The Alliance"
A computer game got cancelled! OH GNOEZ.
SpeedTV (formerly Speedvision) petition to increase broadcast of non-NASCAR related programming (WRC, F1, Motorcylce)
Blah blah blah. Rednecks.
stop the campaign of defamation and distortion against Islam
Some magazine published cartoons about Muhammad. The pigfucking Muslims are pissy about it. Oh darn.
Seriously, what aren't these fucking cretins pissy about? Muhammad was a pigshit-eating child rapist. Shut the fuck up already.
Cure for Floaters
An eye disease called floaters is too fucking funny to be cured. The comedy from "I have a real bad case of floaters." is too fucking gold to cure this disease.
SHUT UP.
Miner's Day: Appreciate, Honor and Remember
You load 16 tons, and what do you get?
NOT A FUCKING HOLIDAY. SHUT THE FUCK UP.
Rapists of 12-week-old baby should get LIFE
No, actually they should get fucking death. But, "The Undersigned" are a bunch of liberal fucking limeys that don't believe in the death penalty.
Therefore, they also deserve to die for not wanting baby-rapists to be executed.
You know, that last petition gives me an idea...
How about "People Who Believe In Online Petitions Should Get A Life" ??
Yet another case documenting the need for an enema:
Woman sues Earth Conservancy over son’s drowning in 2004 four-wheeling accidentBy KASIA KOPEC
kkopec@leader.netThe mother of a Nanticoke firefighter who drowned after a vehicle he was riding in plunged into a waterhole on Earth Conservancy land is suing the organization, alleging its negligence led to her son’s death.
James Bertrand, 30, died last April when the Jeep in which he was a passenger ran off a dirt roadway, down an embankment and into a 15- to 20-foot-deep waterhole on conservancy property in Newport Township. A Glen Lyon woman who was behind the wheel managed to escape the submerged Jeep through an open window.
Bertrand’s mother, Jacqueline Bertrand, also of Nanticoke, accuses the conservancy of failing to post the property, place a fence or other barricade around the property, maintain the property in a safe condition, warn the public of dangerous conditions and other violations.
She is seeking an unspecified amount of damages.
A state police investigation into the accident last spring resulted in no charges being filed.
At the time, conservancy executive director Mike Dziak said the property was open to the public for hunting and other recreational activities in the manner of state game lands, but motorized vehicles are strictly prohibited. Dziak also said the property -- a densely wooded parcel popular for partying and four-wheeling -- is not routinely patrolled.
Dziak said the accident and another in 1998 in which five people drowned could have been avoided if people obeyed rules prohibiting motorized vehicles on the property.
When the fuck are these assholes ever going to recognize personal responsibility?!
Even if the area WAS legally open to motorized vehicles, why the hell should anyone be responsible for this accident except the driver and the passengers?!
You've all undoubtedly seen the movie Liar, Liar, where they mention the case of the burglar who fell through the skylight, landed on a knife, cut himself, and sued the homeowner - and won.
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THE LIBERAL MENTALITY, PEOPLE?
Shit happens, and this is why we have insurance to cover stuff. I fell down at work - it's not my employer's fault, but they have insurance to cover my injury and medical care. I have no problem taking advantage of that care - that's why they have the insurance, to cover accidents.
But by no means am I entitled to sue my employer for me accidentally stumbling over a bag that was misplaced on the floor.
I fell. It was an accident. Shit happens. I don't get a million dollars, I don't get ten dollars. I get the medical coverage, maybe a bit of lost time coverage, and I go back to work.
Fuckers.
Gym Class Causes Diploma HeadacheMay 9, 2005 7:48 am US/Pacific
BOW, N.H. (AP) A decision to take Advanced Placement biology instead of gym will cost a Bow High School senior her diploma, but it won’t keep her from going to Trinity College in the fall.
Though Isabel Gottlieb is a good student, a trumpet player in the school band and holds varsity letters in three sports, she discovered last fall she was one gym class shy of having enough credits to graduate next month.
She asked for a waiver, but the school wouldn’t budge, telling her instead she had to drop a class to take gym.
“Why would I drop an AP biology class to take P.E.?” the 18-year-old asked. “It’s just not on my priority list.”
Gottlieb added the class last year after the school told her she had to take it, but then dropped it when she found out it was too much on top of classes she was already taking, including two Advanced Placement classes and calculus.
Gottlieb and her mother said the school suggested dropping either band, chorus, AP biology or calculus. But she and her mother decided sacrificing any of those would have diminished the quality of Gottlieb’s education.
It may not matter. Gottlieb already has been accepted to Trinity in Hartford, Conn., where she plans to major in biology.
As long as she gets her GED in time, there won’t be a problem.
So.
We all know about P.E. class. We know, as a society, we're a bunch of fatasses (for the most part). We know that exercise is good, and we know that it's important.
We also know that forcing students to take a P.E. class a few times a week for a short while is not going to instill in them a lifetime of desire to exercise and stay fit.
Beyond that, we should also know, if we have half of a brain, that P.E. isn't going to get you into most jobs, and advanced-placement science and mathematics classes WILL, or at least, will go a long ways towards that.
And it's not like the student in this incident is a lazy ass. Varsity letters in three sports. Meaning, outside of normal school time, she engages in a sports activity that requires exercise, and, OH MY GOD, PHYSICAL EDUCATION!
But, nope, no waiver. The administration will continue to keep on with a public school tradition of failure.
Time to take off the blinders, you lackluster educators.
Ga. Evolution Stickers Ordered RemovedThu Jan 13, 6:03 PM ET Top Stories - AP
By DOUG GROSS, Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - A federal judge Thursday ordered a suburban Atlanta school system to remove stickers from its high school biology textbooks that call evolution "a theory, not a fact," saying the disclaimers are an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.
"By denigrating evolution, the school board appears to be endorsing the well-known prevailing alternative theory, creationism or variations thereof, even though the sticker does not specifically reference any alternative theories," U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper said.
The stickers were put inside the books' front covers by public school officials in Cobb County in 2002. They read: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."
"This is a great day for Cobb County students," said Michael Manely, an attorney for the parents who sued over the stickers. "They're going to be permitted to learn science unadulterated by religious dogma."
In a statement, the school board said it was disappointed by the ruling and will decide whether to appeal. A board spokesman said no decision had been made on when, or if, the stickers would be removed.
"The textbook stickers are a reasonable and evenhanded guide to science instruction and encouraging students to be critical thinkers," the board said.
The stickers were added after more than 2,000 parents complained that the textbooks presented evolution as fact, without mentioning rival ideas about the beginnings of life, such as the biblical story of creation.
Six parents and the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) then sued, contending the disclaimers violated the separation of church and state and unfairly singled out evolution from thousands of other scientific theories as suspect.
At a trial in federal court in November, the school system defended the stickers as a show of tolerance, not religious activism.
"Science and religion are related and they're not mutually exclusive," school district attorney Linwood Gunn said. "This sticker was an effort to get past that conflict and to teach good science."
But the judge disagreed: "While evolution is subject to criticism, particularly with respect to the mechanism by which it occurred, the sticker misleads students regarding the significance and value of evolution in the scientific community."
The case is one of several battles waged around the country in recent years over what role evolution should play in the teaching of science.
Last year, Georgia's education chief proposed a science curriculum that dropped the word "evolution" in favor of "changes over time." The idea was dropped amid protests from teachers.
A school district in Dover, Pa., has been locked in a dispute over a requirement that science students be told about "intelligent design" — the concept that the universe is so complex it must have been created by some higher power.
Officials in Alabama said they do not think Thursday's ruling affects the several-paragraph evolution disclaimer in the front of that state's science books.
The disclaimer says that "any statement about life's origins should be considered theory, not fact," and lists four of the "many unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in your textbook." One of the questions is, "How did you and all living things come to possess such a complete and complex set of 'Instructions' for building a living body?"
OK, so, some of you know me.
You know that I'm not particularly devout - I'm more of an agnostic.
Depending on how well you know me, you'll also know that I believe in evolution.
However, I'm also intelligent enough to know that unless there's proof of something, of which for evolution there isn't, that something is only a theory.
Now, I understand that these stickers were inserted into the books under protest from parents that believe in creationism.
This rant isn't meant to dispute the existence of God.
I think that the "accepted" idea of creationism is a joke - but the fact of the matter remains, a LOT, and we're talking millions upon millions here, accept creationism as fact. Given that evolution isn't neccessarily fact, and given the fact that we have to have tolerance for all religions that aren't Christian, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a little sticker that says "evolution is a theory, it's not a proof."
I am sick and fucking tired of the liberal assault on Christianity. Why the fuck is it OK to be tolerant of the views and beliefs of Muslims, yet it's not alright to be tolerant of the views of the dominant religion on this planet?
When Christians complain about the assault, they're being paranoid, conspiracy-theorist, and bigoted.
When any other religion (especially Muslims) complain, they're correct and justified.
It's a damned shame that the Crusades weren't completed and expanded. I'm all for religious freedoms, but it seems that things would be a whole hell of a lot easier if we only had one religion (or none, period)...
What is with people and their attitudes lately?
There's assholes at work, assholes on the road, assholes in the stores, assholes in the service sector.
I get my oil changed at Jiffy Lube the other day, and even though I told the stupid fuckers that I wanted nothing but the cheap-ass oil change, they still try to sell me all kinds of crap.
Then, when I tell them that I prefer to get my maintenance other than oil changes done at the dealership, the peckerwood gets an attitude and asks me "Well, why don't you just get your oil changed there, then?"
What the fuck?!
As little as ten years ago, a bitch would get his ass fired for an attitude and comment like that.
You gotta love the liberal influence on today's society.
Goddammit.
So, the printer repair guy comes out today.
He works on 5 different printers, goes through 11 or 12 different print heads, and can't get anything to work?
Why? Because all of are print heads are garbage, and nobody ever ordered spare print heads.
So, now I'm busting ass trying to find a vendor.
OK, found one.
Too late to get stuff shipped out today, but if I can get it before the cut-off tomorrow, they can get them next-day shipped, so they'll be here on Monday.
Yay.
And people are still pissed, because they don't have their printers back.
I do have printers that suck back in there, and they might be acceptable for printing their labels, so we'll see how that works out.
So, two printers are back. And they still suck.
The guy dropped them off while we were at lunch, and then had to "leave for an emergency", so when I got back to test them, that's when I find out they blow.
I've got him coming back out tomorrow to work on them, but goddammit, this sucks.
People are still on my ass about the printers that THEY broke, and I can't do anything.
Blar.
http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.asp?repeatfrom3yearsago
The even scarier part is, there's a large number of lunatics that do believe this.
Hahahahah, this is too fucking funny!
Remember the crackhead posts I made? No? Check these links for reference:
http://www.kythri.net/archives/000069.html
And the follow-up post:
http://www.kythri.net/archives/000224.html
Well, go back and read those, and look for the name "Amy Gutierrez" or "Amy" in the news articles, or in my comments.
Done?
I've got another link for you:
http://www.co.linn.or.us/sheriff/Upload/inmrost1.htm
Now, do a search on that page for "Gutierrez".
See anything familiar?
And I'm a cold hearted asshole because I have no sympathy for a family of criminals.
Hey, Thomas Westbrook - can you let me know what visitation hours are for Amy, and if she gets conjugal visits?
So, I had to pay taxes again this year - but, goddamn, $106 is a damned sight better than $5000+.
I shall gladly pay, this year.
But, can someone PLEASE clue me into why we have a "National High Five Day", which is pretty fucking gay, in and of itself, and also, why is this fag holiday on tax day?
Who comes up with this shit?
OK, what the fuck is up with everyone and their in-bred brother putting those fucking fag-ass Fox Racing stickers in their back windows?
I swear to god, I saw a 500lb woman in a broke-ass 1984 Ford Escort driving around with a gigantic sticker filling up her entire rear window. There's no fucking way that fatty is going to be able to get onto a dirt bike without her crack swallowing it up.
IT'S NOT COOL, PEOPLE. IT'S FUCKING GAY.
I'm not saying that dirt bikes or motocross stuff is gay - far from it. But goddammit, stop fucking pasting those stupid fucking Fox stickers all over the place. It's not cool, it's not "hip". It's about as neat as those redneck "Cowboy Up!" stickers that were a "big thing" a couple years back.
I hope you Fox Racing sticker fiends fall into a fiery pit of doom populated by your brethren, the Calvin-pissing-on-(fill in the blank) sticker fuckers.
Maybe, if I'm lucky, we can also cast the Jesus-fish and God-bird jackholes.
Do you have to prove to yourself that you're a Christian? I thought pride was a bad thing. Stop fucking bragging about it - you're going to Hell.
And clue me in here - I saw a bumpersticker that said "JESUS IS THE ANSWER!"
Answer to what? It ain't the answer to "Who's going to make me a goddamned sandwich?" It ain't the answer to "Where'd I get this annoying, itchy rash?"
But hey - at least it's not as blitheringly stupid as the license plate frame that the same car had:
"JESUS! IT'S HELL WITHOUT HIM!"
WOW, YOU GUYS ARE SO WITTY AND COOL. Fucking morons.
Having faith isn't a bad thing. Being a Christian (or choose your religion, I really don't care) isn't a bad thing. Being an idiot is.
St. Peter's got his little checklist of names on it up there, and all of you stupid fucks who have a stupid religious sticker or icon on your car are getting little red marks in the "Too Retarded To Let Into Heaven" box next to your name.
And guess what?
I just did a Google Image Search for "I'm A Fucking Retard".
I found a new thing for you to display on your car:
Have fun, jackholes.
So, I live in an apartment complex.
Because of this, I don't have my own mailbox, or mail delivered to my door.
For my wing of the complex, mail is delivered to a series of 5 equal sized boxes, each of which contain smaller boxes.
2 of these larger boxes are comprised of two large boxes each, for large packages, and oversized items.
The other 3 larger boxes have 9 boxes each in them.
Perfect size for letters, magazines, small newspapers/ads, that kinda thing.
I frequently buy old RPG books and modules off of eBay, and from other online or mail-order sources. These modules are, normally, the perfect size to fit into a flat-rate Priority Mail envelope, which measures about 8.5"x11".
Never mind that the Priority Mail envelope is a stiff cardboard envelope. Never mind that the 5 magazines inside this envelope were packed with stiff cardboard inserts that you had to seriously fight to get it creased over and crammed in the mailbox so tight that it took me five minutes of fighting to get it out.
NEVER FUCKING MIND THAT THE FOUR LARGE PARCEL BOXES WERE ALL EMPTY, AND HE COULD HAVE PUT IT IN THERE!!
I swear to all that is holy, if I catch this dumb son of a bitch doing this again, I'm going to rip his fucking nuts off and make him eat them.
It's not hard to have just a little bit of respect for someone's stuff.
And the USPS won't do shit. When I called them, they asked "Was it damaged?" The answer, yes. "Was it insured?" No. "Well, we can't do anything unless it was insured, sorry."
Stupid fucking fuckers.
Too funny.
Looks like the cousin of the crackhead who tried to run from the cops and ended up catching the ditch decided to respond.
The original post is right here:
http://www.kythri.net/archives/000069.html
You can find crackhead junior's comments, and my reply at the bottom of the page.
I'm a cold-hearted asshole, sure. I'm sure that I'm not alone when I say "boo-fucking-hoo, crackheads. Go join your cousin, dipshits."
And for the benefit of the search engine: Josh Westbrook, Joshua Westbrook, was a fucking stoner idiot who decided to challenge Darwin, and Darwin won.
So, Thomas Westbrook - eat shit.
Cross-Border Church Visit Costs Man $10,000
Tue Feb 10, 7:49 AM ET
By Charles GrandmontMONTREAL (Reuters) - Crossing the U.S.-Canada border to go to church on a Sunday cost a U.S. citizen $10,000 for breaching Washington's tough new security rules.
The expensive trip to church was a surprise for Richard Albert, a resident of rural Maine who lives so close to the Canadian border the U.S. customs office is right next door to his house.
Like the other half-dozen residents of Township 15 Range 15, crossing the border is a daily ritual for Albert. The nearby Quebec village of St. Pamphile is where they shop, eat and pray.
There are many such situations in rural areas along the largely unguarded 8,900-km (5,530-mile) border between Canada and the United States -- which in some cases actually runs down the middle of streets or through buildings.
As a result, Albert says did not expect any problems three weeks ago when he returned home to the United States after attending mass in Canada, as usual.
The local U.S. customs station is closed on Sundays, so he just drove around the locked gate, as he had done every weekend since the gate appeared last May, following a tightening of border security.
Two days later, Albert was summoned to the customs office, where an officer told him he had been caught on camera crossing the border illegally.
Ottawa has granted special passes to some 300 U.S. citizens in that region so they can enter the country when Canadian customs posts are closed, but the United States canceled a similar program last May.
That forces local residents to make a 200-mile detour along treacherous logging roads to get home via the nearest staffed border checkpoint.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection would not comment specifically on Albert's case because of privacy laws.
"Since 9/11, we've enhanced our security and, yes, some of the situations require inconvenience to people, so we have to go along with what the regulations are," said Janet Rapaport, a public affairs officer with the bureau. She added that local residents had been told about the stricter controls.
Albert has appealed the fine, but he has not attended a Sunday mass since.
"I feel like I'm living in a jail," he said.
GIVE UNTO ME A FUCKING BREAKETH.
Someone needs to smack the Customs department down, and make someone there actually do their job.
Ground Zero gawker sues for garbage-truck injury A freelance photographer who suffered brain damage after falling off a garbage truck he climbed atop to take pictures of Ground Zero is suing the carting company for $50 million. Lawyers for the victim, Robert Levin, accuse Waste Management LLP and its truck driver of "failure to respect the plaintiff's rights as a pedestrian," according to court papers filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court.The carting company's attorney said Levin's own "negligence, carelessness and recklessness" caused him to fall off the truck on Dec. 19, 2001, at 1:40 a.m.
Levin sneaked on top of the truck, which was parked near Greenwich and Carlisle Sts. in lower Manhattan, to get a better view of the site of the terrorist attack.
"Obviously, he never thought in a million years the truck would move, so I don't think his actions were negligent," said Levin's lawyer Howard Klar of Manhattan.
John Marzulli
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/162971p-142881c.html
And we wonder why our country is going to hell.
How does crap like this even make it past the filing phase? I mean, seriously.
Hey, dumbass - you're not supposed to climb on a garbage truck.
"Obviously, he never thought in a million years the truck would move, so I don't think his actions were negligent," said Levin's lawyer Howard Klar of Manhattan.
HEY, HOWARD.
WHEN THE REVOLUTION COMES, YOU'RE UP AGAINST THE WALL, BUDDY.
Fucking jackasses.
So my brother just called.
Talked to him for a couple minutes.
Turns out he got "fired" from laundry detail.
Gist of the story is, his training flight was out for 12 hours getting fitted for their dress uniforms. No problems there.
Well, had this not been happening, part of this time, he'd have been doing laundry, since he's laundry-boy.
They get back, he goes straight to do his laundry like he's supposed to. Some TI tells him to get back to his dorm, because something else is going on.
He's ordered to stop doing laundry, and because of it, the next morning, there aren't enough towels for people to dry off with, or some such shit.
So, he's fired from laundry detail, and his TI bitches him out, and says she's going to put an "unsatisfactory" mark on his record.
Apparently, if he gets two of them, he gets recycled, and has to do basic training over again.
Now, not having been in the military, I don't have any expertise to back this up with, but I'd think that you could build discipline and the skills required for your soldiers to succeed in a LOT better ways than belittling them and yelling at them all the time.
I mean, it's not like this bullshit is instilling a big load of respect for senior officers, or anything...
So, apparently there's a problem with the fucking engine or something on my particular train for today's ride in.
They've known about it since yesterday evening.
So what do they do? They send a bus.
Does my ticket get cheaper? No.
So, the thing is cramped and smelly, because when you pack that many people, like sardines in a can, things get cramped and smelly.
The ride home wasn't much better.
Some dumb bitch is playing conductor, and tells me that I can't sit in the lower-level, because I'm not elderly, injured or disabled, which is what they reserve those seats for.
Now, here's the deal - I understand they're saving those seats to make it easier for people who need things made easier for them.
But there's seating in there for 16-20 people - it's like First Class, compared to Coach.
There's nobody sitting in there. There's no baggage in there. I'm getting on in Salem, and getting off at the very next stop, Albany.
But they're reserving the seats.
Stupid fat cunt. The other conductors are cool, and let me sit there if there's available seating.
And then she gives me shit when I hand her my ticket when I get off the train. "The other conductor told you that you needed to wait in your assigned seat before you wander off somewhere else on the train - we had this issue with you last week."
Uh, no. The other conductor didn't assign me a seat, Coach was crowded, so I went and sat in the Parlour/Lounge car. I forgot that he never took my ticket, and he chased me down when I de-trained.
OK, cool, fine. I remembered, and I made sure to give her my ticket. She's still pissy. "We assign seats for a reason!"
To which I retort, "We nothing, I've been riding this train damned nearly daily for a month, and I've never had an assigned seat. You're just the Amtrak Nazi."
She threatens to have me banned from Amtrak, to which I tell her to stick her train up her fat fucking ass, and I go inside and file a complaint with the agent in the station.
Best part is, this dumb bitch made them hold the train up so she could go into the station to report me to the agent, and have them call the "Amtrak Police".
She got real pissed when she found out I was filing a complaint against her, and she tried to get the agent to kick me out of the station. The agent told her that I'd been a regular passenger for a month, and that I've been nothing but polite and respectful the entire time, and that she was holding her train up, and needed to leave.
HAHAHAHAHAH, CUNT.
I'm glad that was my last ride for a while. This whole suspension nonsense is over on Wednesday.
Hey, it's celebrity foot-in-mouth day!
I seriously have to ponder how someone as dumb as this can remember to breath, and not swallow their tongue:
HOLLYWOOD VS. AMERICAPaltrow won't raise child in U.S.
Oscar-winning actress fears 'weird, over-patriotic atmosphere'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: January 17, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
American actress Gwyneth Paltrow said she will not raise her child in the United States because her homeland is too dangerous.
The Oscar-winning leading lady, who lives with her husband Chris Martin in London, is pregnant.
"I worry about bringing up a child in America," she said, according to the World Entertainment News Network.
"At the moment there's a weird, over-patriotic atmosphere over there, like, 'We're number one and the rest of the world doesn't matter,'" Paltrow said.
She added: "And the guns in school – it's not great."
As the Iraq war got underway last spring, a BBC Radio 1 entertainment column noted Paltrow had been speaking out about the conflict, but was careful not to take her comments too far.
She noted how much she loved her country despite her concerns, the BBC radio column said.
"It's pretty amazing how high the anti-American sentiment is in a lot of ways," Paltrow said of her adopted British home. "They call Tony Blair the vice-president!"
"I love America and I completely stand behind America," she said at the time. "But at the same time I'm a free thinking person and I question motives too and I question this war and the motives behind it."
America is too dangerous?! And the dumb bitch is living in London, England, with her smarmy Coldplay front-man Chris Martin, and says America is too dangerous for her child?!
How can someone have such a tenuous grasp on reality?!
The mayor of London himself said he felt safer in New York City than he did in London. England's violent crime rates are among the highest in the industrialized world, and higher than the United States, yet "America is too dangerous."
Fuck that. Let that dumb cunt have England, and let twats like Johnny Depp have France.
It's a damn shame there's not a way to keep this bitch out of the country.
And yeah, I've got a filthy mouth. Deal with it, or buy a ticket to England.
So, check out this article from the New York Post:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12292003/business/14640.htm
You can find the local mirror here:
http://www.kythri.net/videogames.html
OK, you're back.
It is inconceivable that a person could reduce the utter depravity of child molestation to a meaningless event.
But that's what Christopher Byron has just done.
A video game, a damned VIDEO GAME is 10,000 times worse than child molestation.
What a joke.
You could email Mr Byron at cbyron@nypost.com, but he's probably busy writing a follow-up article downplaying the horror of rape and murder and informing us of the terror that is Yu-Gi-Oh!
You could also email the NY Post editors at letters@nypost.com and let them know how offended you are.
If this isn't shades of Dr. Frederic Wertham, I don't know what is. Seduction of the Innocent, indeed.
YAY!
So, one of the few bright sides to this whole deal with me getting moved to salary with no raise, is that I was going to get a better severance deal than the 1-3 weeks.
Basically, it comes down to how long I've been there, and my job class.
Since they never gave me a raise, my severance sucks. The basic IT package for severance has been 8 weeks, plus the additional 3 weeks for being on the "transition team".
So, 11 weeks, total, plus whatever retention bonus may be there.
NOT SO FOR BRIAN!
He gets 5 weeks, plus the additional 3.
So, I've been there, so far, a total of 2.6 years, according to this paper.
I get 5 weeks, plus the 3.
Another guy, who's been there since February (read: LESS THAN A FUCKING YEAR) gets 8 weeks, plus the 3.
"But he's in a higher pay class!"
Fuck this place.
Yay.
So I'm officially a "Systems Administrator" after 2.5 years. Whee.
You know what's great? They made me salaried at my exact same rate. So now I get no overtime.
Cocksmokers.
Two articles for you:
A death on Kennel Road - Local - Remote
The life of Josh Westbrook - Local - Remote
So, first things first - read the title again.
No two ways about it, dipshit was in the wrong. He stole a car, and tried to run from the cops. Over a 1984 Datsun? What a fucking loser.
Secondly, Amy Gutierrez is a dumb whore. A crackwhore. I know Amy, and she's dumb as a brick. Amy will search for answers, and will consider a lawsuit? Give me a goddamned break.
I love her justification - "Josh stole cars sometimes. It was his way of survival."
GIVE. ME. A. FUCKING. BREAK.
She needs to be slapped with a fucking brick. I also know Captain Jeff Hinrichs. The man is beyond reproach.
And who the hell is Geoffrey Alpert? He's "studied police procedures for 20 years"?! Yeah, well, I read a book about giraffes once. I wouldn't say that I "studied" them. No mention of his qualifications, or even how he's related to this incident? Dumbass.
Again, boo-fucking-hoo. Now if a few more crackheads would follow Westbrook's example, Albany would be a lot cooler.
The article:
Basketball toss leads to criminal chargesALI MEYER reports
Updated: October 21, 2003 10:22 AM
A small-town basketball rivalry has led to criminal charges and a courtroom showdown. An Oklahoma teenager faces a year in jail because he threw a basketball at a group of kids.
The incident occurred last basketball season.If you know anything about the bad blood between Harrah high school and Shawnee high, you know, they're athletic matches can get very heated.
On Tuesday, a young man will be in court, accused of throwing a basketball after it was thrown at him.
A home video captured the hottest game in high school ball: Shawnee's Wolves versus Harrah Panthers in the Shawnee gym.
Even the cheerleaders go head-to-head. The Shawnee girls back-flip into the Harrah squad and the Harrah coach has to step in.
"The administration allowed this thing to get out of hand," said Mike Gassaway, attorney for the student. "They had insufficient security, insufficient policies and, by allowing the boys to tear down the sign, they created a powder keg that ultimately exploded."
The tension escalates.As the Harrah students tear down their opponent's banners, a young woman from the Shawnee crowd launches a basketball at the Harrah fans. In a matter of seconds, the ball comes flying back. Soon Shawnee students and officials are crowding around Ryan Mixon, the young man who threw the ball back.
"He simply got hit in the face from a basketball after it bounced off another guy. He threw it back from the direction it came," Gassaway said.
But in that return toss, a Shawnee cheerleader was hit. Her family says the force of the ball broke her wrist. A doctor's report shows the wrist was hyper-flexed, not fractured. Regardless, Mixon is facing state charges for his role in the courtside assault.
"Not over a gang fight. Not over a knifing," Gassaway said. "Not a cussing or a fistfight. Not over dope. Simply by being hit with a basketball."They're trying to put this young man in jail," Gassaway said. "They're trying to brand him a violent criminal and, in essence, ruin the rest of this life."
Mixon faces up to a year in jail and fines. But, Gassaway says, the worst punishment is having a violent crime on his record. If he's convicted he could have trouble enrolling in some universities or eventually getting a job involving government or security.The parents of the cheerleader said they didn't want to go on-camera.
The Oklahoma County district attorney's office is prosecuting Mixon. His case goes to trial Tuesday.
The link: http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=1490734
Of course the parents don't want to go on camera. They know it's a load of horseshit!
This litigious bullshit needs to stop, and it needs to stop now. I cannot believe a situation like this is allowed to happen in our legal system.
And the fact that they're looking at ruining a kid's life over a basketball that he threw, after HE got hit in the head with it first? What the hell is up with that?!
Yet another case of spilled-coffee tort-style nonsense (and yes, I know this isn't a tort case).
It's infuriating that people are allowed to get away with these lawsuits - there should be reform that punishes these people if they lose a suit like this.
Will someone please tell me why he's such hot shit?
I mean, he's supposed to be an "illusionist" or some such nonsense.
I've seen a couple of his "street magic" deals, and he was halfway cool there, but this crap lately, what the hell?
He balanced on a flagpole without a safety net for 35 hours.
He encased himself in a block of ice for 58 hours.
Now he's in a box suspended above a river.
Wheee. Yay.
What's the big fucking deal? So the guy has what may be an incredible stamina. What's so fucking cool about that?
He's been living on nothing but water for 43 days. Cool, I suppose, but, what's the big fucking deal?
I don't get it, I guess. Sure, I probably couldn't do it, nor would I want to. And I'm really not that impressed. He's a little whiner about people taunting him, and he's really not doing anything that cool...
More political rantings from me.
I'm not a minority hater, really, I'm not. I do have a major problem with "Equal Opportunity" and "Affirmative Action" though.
Perhaps at some point in time, these practices were needed. Nowadays, they're abused to get shiftless assholes employeed.
Now, to qualify my statement above, there are a couple groups of minorities that I hate.
I don't hate Hispanics. I like a lot of them, and some of those women are HELLAFINE. I hate what is commonly referred to as spics, though. I hate 18 illegals living upstairs of me, partying all day and all night, speaking English in their lameass attempts to get the white women walking down the street, but professing "No habla Inglais!" to the police, when they show up.
Stereotypes exist for a reason - people fit them. And the spic stereotype fits, to a T. I absolutely hate them.
But we're not talking about them today. We're talking about retards and other defectives (for the most part, mentally defective, but serious physical deformation can easily fit this category). I hate these "people".
Perhaps I don't have any compassion. I doubt that very much.
It's just, I think it'll save everyone on this overpopulated planet a hell of a lot of time, effort, money and emotion, if you terminate known defects in the womb.
If you know the kid is going to have Cerebral Palsy, GET RID OF IT. If you know it's going to be a Down's baby, GET RID OF IT.
Missing a limb? Buh-bye. Siamese? Buh-bye. If it can be detected, and it's bad or potentially bad, get rid of it, start over, try again.
But no. We can't do that. It's bad. It's wrong. It's cruel and illegal.
Give the tards my tax money. Give them jobs. Find things for them to do. Whatever it is, the mere existence of defective people detract from the quality of life of somebody.
To quote the article I'm writing about:
"People with disabilities require more training, more supervision and sometimes special equipment."
HRMM. A thought comes to mind: "Fuck 'em."
Here's a local news story - I've created a local copy of the article in case it goes away:
Low bidder loses out as state law boosts cuts for schools
The fact that something like this is not only allowed to happen, but legally mandated calls for someone to be put up against a wall, along with all the defectives.
Another quote:
""Socially, it's right to do, and economically, there's a reason, too," Mock said. "They go from being a tax receiver to a taxpayer.""
NO THEY DON'T!
They might become a taxpayer, sure, BUT THEY'RE STILL LEECHING OFF THE TAX MONEY, STILL BEING A RECEIVER!!
"Socially, it's right to do..."
Bullshit. Fuck Altruism. I'm very quickly beginning to think that Ayn Rand had it right. This is why we're not going to survive, people. Too much bullshit being done for the "social good".
So anyways, read that. If you still think I'm a heartless prick, then fine, I'm a heartless prick.
Yeah, so now they're married...
And the county is still pursuing it's case against him.
JUST LET IT GO, ALREADY...
Cop allowed to see wifeBy Jennifer Rouse
Albany Democrat-HeraldA suspended New York City police officer charged with taking nude photos of a Corvallis girl is now allowed to have contact with her.
The two were married two days after he got out of jail in September, but Linn County Circuirt Court Judge Rick McCormick had ordered him to stay away from her.
On Tuesday, after a hearing in which the girl appeared by phone from New York, McCormick lifted his earlier order. He decided there was no proof that allowing Nicole Womack De Gennaro to have contact with her new husband would put her in danger, or that it would prejudice the state's case.
De Gennaro's lawyer, David A. Hill, told the Corvallis Gazette-Times that the newlyweds had abided by the order.
The attorney also denied that De Gennaro had married the girl to keep her from testifying. Hill said Nicole De Gennaro would testify truthfully at the trial, scheduled to begin Nov. 3.
De Gennaro is accused of using a child in a sexually explicit display and encouraging child sex abuse.
He was arrested in September after the girl's parents found nude photos of the two together, taken in a Linn County motel room when she was still 17.
She moved to New York to live with him after she turned 18, and her parents have had no contact with her since. The two were married two days after his mother posted $25,000 bail to get him out of jail.
The two first met when De Gennaro came to the mid-valley to speak to high school students about his experiences in the aftermath of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
Yeah, her parents pushed the lawsuit, because she moved to NYC to be with him, and wants nothing to do with them.
They're not bitter, noooo... It's not revenge, of course not!
I swear to God, I didn't think a group of bigger idiots could exist.
Then I started working here 3-4 years ago, and met the development staff.
Now, in all fairness, I can't say all of them are stupid.
But, when 2 out of 20 people have some brains, the resulting 90% Stupidity Rate is fucking ridiculous.
"My application doesn't have a memory leak. It must be the server..." - Sure. The server causes YOUR app, and ONLY your app, to consume all available memory.
"What do you mean, why didn't I write error logging into my code?" - Troubleshooting, maybe?
"Well, obviously the problem is because you're running the application on Windows 2000 Server. I did my development on Windows NT 4.0 Workstation." - This is the best. We make Win2K Server boxes available for development and testing. They know this is where the app will run, upon release to production. YET THEY STILL DEV ON WinNT 4.0!! WHAT THE FUCK?!
Somebody, shoot me. Please.
Parking gear puts no stop to drunken driving casesBy Kathleen Burge, Globe Staff, 9/29/2003
The shopping mall parking lot had emptied and the street lights had dimmed but a red Acura, engine chugging, loitered in front of a dark Payless ShoeSource. In the early hours of a December morning, a patrolling police officer spotted the car, roused the sleeping driver, and gave him a sobriety test.
Attila Kiss, who had stopped on his way home from a Christmas party, failed the test. And although his car was not moving, he was charged and later convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.Should Kiss have been granted leniency because he tried to do the right thing, pulling off the road into the North Andover shopping mall when he felt impaired? Courts in Arizona allow a legal defense for drivers who pull over when they feel too drunk to drive. Kiss took his case to the state Appeals Court, arguing that Massachusetts should do the same.
Earlier this month, the justices declined to create such a legal defense for drivers, arguing that drinkers should make sure they can safely drive before they get behind the wheel. The court noted that other states, such as Utah, have also rejected the defense.
But defense lawyers who specialize in drunken driving cases say the ruling will motivate drivers who feel tipsy to stay on the road, rather than pull over to sober up. In that way, the court's decision encourages drunken driving, argues attorney J. Albert Johnson.
"Police have often taught that you should not drive after drinking, but also that if you feel you should not continue to operate, you should pull over and stop," Johnson said. "If we ignore that advice now, we are doing a grave disservice to everyone, including the motorist who is trying to do the right thing."
Officials at Mothers Against Drunk Driving disagree. They say that as drunken driving deaths have increased nationally in each of the past three years -- to more than 17,000 fatalities annually -- states cannot afford to do anything that might condone driving while drunk.
"If we had [such a defense], it would just be a case of someone avoiding responsibility for a crime they had committed," said Nicole Eagan, a spokeswoman for MADD Massachusetts. "It would certainly weaken the drunk driving laws that we are trying to improve."
William M. Bennett, the Hampden district attorney, argues that granting leniency to drivers who pull over could encourage drinkers to try to drive home.
"I think the better argument is that if a person is drinking and believes that they may be impaired, they should not attempt to operate the car in the first place," said Bennett, who was not involved in the Kiss case.
Kiss, now 34, was on his way home to North Reading from a holiday party at the Haverhill house of a work colleague in December of 2000, according to court papers. He had four beers at the party, he said, and stayed until about 1 a.m. He drank his last beer about 20 minutes before he left, court documents say.
He drove along Interstate 495 until he felt nauseous from overeating and pulled into the mall parking lot, according to Kiss's account in the court records. He arrived a few minutes before the police officer noticed him in his car, head back and eyes closed, and gave him the sobriety test.
When Kiss pulled over, he made an important mistake: He left the keys in the ignition and the motor running. According to state law, that put him in control of the car and vulnerable to drunken driving charges, even if his car was parked.
But defense lawyers say many people don't know they should turn off the car if they stop. And in the winter, they say, people often leave the motor on to keep the heater running.
A Lawrence District Court jury found Kiss guilty of operating under the influence of alcohol. Kiss couldn't be reached for comment and his lawyer did not return phone calls.
The case before the Appeals Court hinged largely on whether the mall parking lot was considered a public way, where drunken driving laws apply. Kiss argued it was not because at 1:48 a.m., the time of the police officer's report, the stores were closed.
But the Appeals Court disagreed, saying there were 24-hour services that might draw people to the parking lot around the clock: an ATM, newspaper boxes, and pay phones.
The Appeals Court justices spent little time discussing the "shelter defense" in their decision. Justice Kent B. Smith wrote for the court that "a better policy is for a person who drinks alcohol to anticipate and ascertain his or her ability to operate a motor vehicle before attempting to do so."
Kevin J. Reddington, a defense lawyer who won a drunken driving acquittal for former Red Sox slugger Mo Vaughn in 1998, argues that either the Supreme Judicial Court or the state Legislature should consider creating the shelter defense for drivers who pull over when they feel they might have had too much to drink.
Both Reddington and Johnson argue that because of the lag time between drinking alcohol and its effect on the body, drinkers could feel fine when they take the wheel but later realize they should not drive.
"The social implication [of the court's ruling] is that a person who feels that he or she is impaired would not receive any benefit by pulling off," Reddington said. "I question the social value of that type of law."
Kathleen Burge can be reached at kburge@globe.com
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
What's up with that? He's pulled off the road, into a parking lot, so he doesn't break the law and endanger people, and he's still busted.
And people wonder why I believe that law enforcement agencies and courts are inherently corrupt?
OK, now things have gone too far.
Check out the job description for a "Law Enforcement Records Clerk":
REQUIRES: HS/GED AND 2 YEARS WORK EXPERIENCE IN SECRETARIAL SCIENCE, WORD PROCESSING, DATA ENTRY OR RECORDS MANAGEMENT. CONSIDERABLE KNOWLEDGE OF OFFICE SUPPORT OPERATIONS INCLUDING WORD-PROCESSING, SPREADSHEET, DATA BASED SOFTWARE AND BASIC OFFICE EQUIPMENT. DUTIES: TELEPHONE/WALK-IN BUSINESS RECEPTION. PROCESSING, MAINTENANCE AND DATA ENTRY OF INCIDENT REPORTS. CLOSES: 2 OCT 03.
SECRETARIAL SCIENCE? WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! There's no such science! It's a damned secretary!!
I mean, things were bad enough when these people got called "Receptionist" or "Administrative Assistant" or "Office Administrator".
But "Secretarial Science" ?!?!
Give me a goddamned break!
Aww, poor telemarketers. If the Do Not Call list gets upheld, some might be out of a job!
Poor muffins. Maybe it's time for them to get a real job that doesn't involve bothering me at all hours of the day and night.
And to be perfectly honest, I'm not really sympathetic to the "an entire industry may have to make massive layoffs, and tons of people will be out of work!" line they're spouting.
See, I work in the semiconductor industry. We're making massive layoffs, and tons of people are out of work. If rumours persist, we're making more next week, and more in December, at my place of employment. I might be one of those layed off. I'm looking for another job, sure. If I get layed off, it'll suck.
But I'm not whining about it. I'm doing my thing. So are all the others that have been layed off.
So boo-fucking-hoo that some lazy fatasses that talk on a phone all day get laid off. I'm not going to be that depressed that Angelo from MCI, or Sandra from Verizon ain't going to be calling anymore. I hate that telemarketing shit so much, that I hope they all die in poverty and starvation.
Well, not really. But almost.
I also love how a do not call list is a violation of telemarketer's free speech. Please inform me how they're entitled to free speech over a service that I'm paying for? Anyone? It's my damned phone line, and my damned money that pays for their ability to call me.
Fuck 'em.
Monday, September 22, 2003 10:00 pmParents seek to ban books
By Jennine Zeleznik
Monitor Staff Writer
jzeleznik@themonitor.comMERCEDES — Four parents of Science Academy sophomores are determined to protect their children.
From books.
The board of directors for the South Texas Independent School District is expected to decide tonight whether to ban two books — Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land — from the high school’s 10th grade English Advanced Placement curriculum.
The books, part of the class’ summer reading list, may lead to “inappropriate sexual arousal of young teens,” parent Julie Wilde wrote in her complaint to the district.
“We feel this is inappropriate for the ages of the students at (the) Science Academy or at any South Texas ISD High School,” she continued in her letter, specifically citing Brave New World. “This is pornographic literature and we do not feel it has a place in any school funded by taxpayer dollars.”
Under school district policies, parents have the right to object to their children’s reading materials, and to obtain alternatives to those materials.
However, “A parent’s ability to exercise control over reading, listening, or viewing matter extends only to his or her own children,” the policies state under the section Guiding Principles. “When instructional resources are challenged, the principles of the freedom to read, listen, and view must be defended as well.”
As part of the district’s grievance process, the Science Academy’s principal first addressed the complaint. He formed a committee to reassess the materials — all of which have been in use for at least a decade at the district.The committee found that the books help to develop SAT vocabulary and Advanced Placement analytical skills for students who attend the eighth-best high school in the nation, according to Newsweek magazine.
“This book enriches and supports the curriculum and presents various sides of controversial issues so that students have an opportunity to develop, under guidance, skills in critical analysis and in making informed judgments in their daily lives,” the committee of five wrote in the June report.
Each of the titles has received praise from teachers, professors and critics alike. Stranger in a Strange Land — which Wilde said she did not read — is a 1962 Hugo Award winner about a boy raised by Martians who returned to Earth as a true innocent without knowledge of sex or religion, and is viewed by many as a science fiction masterpiece. Brave New World has been called one of the most brilliant satires written in English, about a dystopia where babies are born in laboratories, people pop “happy” pills like candy and sex is a casual act.
“The references to sexual behavior which the complainants cited as leading to sexual arousal are non-explicit attempts by the author to engage the reader in critical thought about human values and societal codes of conduct,” the committee wrote in its report on Stranger in a Strange Land. “The book addresses sexuality and portrays groups with radically different approaches to sexuality than that generally accepted as our societal norm. The book does not promote these lifestyles as desirable. The book does not give graphic descriptions of sexual acts.”
It is important to view language and sexual situations in the books in context, wrote Charles Suhor, field representative for the National Council of Teachers of English, in a letter to the board of trustees.
“The ethical and literary value of a work is distorted if one focuses only on particular words, passages, or segments,” he wrote. “An author’s broad moral vision, total treatment of theme, and commitment to realistic portrayal of characters and dialogue are ignored when protesters focus only on aspects that are offensive to them. Unfortunately, there is shock value in isolating and listing selected passages from a book; but this does not reveal anything about the fundamental message or theme in the work, and it does not provide insight into its teachability or its literary quality.”
Neither group of parents could be reached by deadline.
After failing at the high school level, the parents took their grievances to the superintendent, who backed the committee’s decision. Next, the complaint went to the board of trustees. At its August meeting, the board chose to table the item.
It is expected to address it tonight — which, ironically, is right in the middle of Banned Books Week.
“It is not only the right of parents, but their responsibility to be involved in what their kids are reading,” said Beverley Becker, associate director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, which sponsors awareness of banned and challenged books.
“But there’s a line that they cross when they ask that in addition to their kid, that nobody else have access to that book. When they go that next step that nobody else can have access, that’s when we come to a problem.”
The American Library Association reports more than 7,000 challenges to books in the last decade — more than 60 percent of them from parents. In 2002, people issued 515 book challenges— though that may be as little as 25 percent of that total number of challenges made, Becker said, because people voluntarily report the challenges to the association.
“It’s an individual decision of what you want to read — it’s not through a majority rules,” Becker said. “If you’re going to be a well-informed citizen and consider different ideas, you need to look at them all and make an educated decision for yourself. Look at the argument from all sides — even the side that you don’t agree with.”
At South Texas ISD, dozens of educators, students, parents and alumni have written the school or spoken before the board of trustees in defense of the books and curriculum.
“In our experiences with school curricula, we have found that there are few instructional materials that do not include something that is offensive to someone,” Suhor, of the National Council of Teachers of English, wrote. “If literary works that are duly selected by English teaching professionals are removed because the works offend particular individuals or groups, there will soon be little or no literature left to teach in our schools.”
———
Jennine Zeleznik covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4434.
Can you believe this nonsense? It's ludicrous!
PORNOGRAPHIC LITERATURE?! It's not fucking erotica! It's not Penthouse Letters!
I'd bet hard currency that these "parents" as they call themselves (hey, being a biological sire or dame doesn't make you a parent!) haven't even read the books, and are freaking out that the word "sex" is mentioned in them.
In fact, now that I go back over the article, one mother admits that she hasn't even read Stranger in a Strange Land.
I'm pumped at the defense of these books by teachers, students, parents and alumni. Banning books. I still can't get over my fury at these people.
Add them to the list of people who need to be up against the wall.
I'm surprised that they haven't tried to ban the health books. Oh wait. It's already been done.
Church also named in suit over alcohol-related deathAssociated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- The parents of a University of Pittsburgh football player who fell to his death through a church ceiling filed a $75 million lawsuit against the priest accused of giving him alcohol.
Billy Gaines, 19, died in June after attending a cookout at the St. Anne Catholic Church in Homestead in western Pennsylvania. Police said the cookout was hosted by the Rev. Henry Krawczyk, who also has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The suit said Krawczyk served alcohol for several hours to a group of teens, including Gaines, on the night of the accident. Gaines crashed through a ceiling while trying to get to the roof through a crawl space that Krawczyk had shown him, the suit said.
The complaint, filed in federal court in Philadelphia last Thursday, also names the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and three Pittsburgh-area parishes.
Gaines' parents contend Krawczyk had been accused several times of giving alcohol to minors, but had not been disciplined or removed from his position. In addition to $75 million, they want to be compensated for money their son would have made in his lifetime.
Krawczyk's attorney, David Cercone, did not immediately return a phone call left at his office after business hours Monday evening by The Associated Press. The Rev. Ronald Lengwin, the spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, declined to discuss the details of the suit, but said church officials had acted "in a responsible manner."
So, I don't know that the priest isn't in the wrong, here. If it's true that he acted irresponsibly, and provided alcohol to minors, then he should be punished.
However, the parents lawsuit alleges that he has been doing this for a while, and hasn't been reprimanded. Shouldn't perhaps the state sue the parents for knowingly allowing their child to attend this unsafe and irresponsible event?
Plus, apparently $75 million isn't enough. Compensation for money their son would have made in his life? As if their entitled to THAT? Man, I'd love to see the defense find witnesses that say Mr. Billy Gaines was the crappiest player on the team, so here's a buck-fifty as compensation for the money he'd have made sucking cock in an alley.
You know, the next legal reform out there should have some kind of clause in it that disallows translating life into dollar figures, or specifically cap the dollar amount able to be sought. Maybe $50k/year of life? Or maybe take the average length of life, subtract how old dead person was, and pay like that.
I don't care if this guy was the next Michael Jordan, and would have made $75 million or twice that in his career - the parents don't deserve one dime of that.
So, those of you not familiar with Schwan's, I pity you.
Basically, Schwan's is this frozen-foods delivery service. They have these big yellow refridgerated trucks, they come to your house, you give them your order, they go to the truck and get it for you.
It's like a mobile freezer-aisle of your grocery store, only the food's better with Schwan's. They've got some badass desserts, and all kinds of entrees and meals and stuff.
Anyhow, they drive around your neighborhood every couple of weeks, or every month, and they come by to see if you want to order everything.
The stupid guy was supposed to come to my place today, AND HE DIDN'T DO IT.
Rat bastard. I wanted more pirogi.
R. Kelly Compares Himself to Bin LadenSep 13, 8:11 AM EST
R. Kelly, who gained fame with songs such as "I Believe I Can Fly," now compares himself to Osama bin Laden.
The R&B singer was indicted last year on child pornography charges after a videotape purportedly showed him having sex with an underage girl. Kelly, who's free on bond, has denied the charges.
"People can say whatever they want about you without knowing the facts," Kelly tells Blender magazine in its October issue. "They can criticize you without even knowing you, and hate you when they don't even know you. All of a sudden, you're, like, the bin Laden of America. Osama bin Laden is the only one who knows exactly what I'm going through."
But he's kept himself busy in the recording studio for the past six months, and says song ideas come to him in the kitchen, on the basketball court, everywhere.
"I love music, and music loves me back. We're kind of married, and I'm pregnant by music," the 36-year-old says. "I have three to four years' worth of work you've never heard in the vaults. I've come up with at least 20 to 25 albums."
Give me a goddamned break. Not to say that bin Laden didn't fuck underage women, but...
R. Kelly already has a rap sheet. He's already been hammered for hooking up, or trying to hook up, with Aaliyah. Now he videotapes himself and a 14 or 15 year old?
Refer to my previous post on this subject matter - I'm not calling him an idiot, I'm not commenting on his alleged crime.
BUT YOU'VE GOT TO BE SOME KIND OF WONDER FUCK TO VIDEOTAPE YOURSELF DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS, IN THIS DAY AND AGE!
If you've got to take pictures, if you've got to tape it, then make goddamn sure she's 18, so there's no fucking questions, ok?!
I still don't get how he can get off with comparing himself to bin Laden. That's like, uhhh...I can't even come up with a suitable comparison this late.
Dumb bastard.
Maybe I'm just tired of hearing the same damn names shouted out over and over again from my downstairs neighbors at their two little bastard children (ECHO!! RAIN!! COME HERE, GIRLS!!) every five fucking minutes, but I'm getting really tired of the whole "I want a unique name for my child!" schtick.
Yeah, so it's not my choice what you name your hellspawn. Fine. I still get to have my own opinion, and this is my website.
I just notice that there's a whole lot of this baby-naming thing happening. The number two name for a girl in 2002, according to the Social Security Administration was Madison. I know 4 girls who have named their daughters Madison. REAL FUCKING UNIQUE.
Let's take that name for a second. In 1990, it was the 216th most common name for a female baby. In 1991, it was 133rd. 1993, 78th. In 1995, 29th. In 1998, it became the 9th most common name.
I'm curious what lowest common denominator television show/music video/crap movie had a character named Madison in it, that made all these crack-addled blondes name their kids the same thing.
Take a look at the Popular Baby Names register if you get a second. Kinda humorous to see how many people have absolutely no originality at all.
And yeah, I realize that "Echo" and "Rain" aren't in the top 1000 names from 1990 until 2002. Fine. They're unique. Great.
They're still stupid and annoying. Give your kids a real name, stop appropriating other nouns or verbs.
I mean, hey, while you're at it, why don't you name your newborn son "Trucker" or "Puddle" or some such stupid shit?
AUGH!
So, I get my Explorer.
I like my music, so one of the first things I'm doing is upgrading the sound system.
The SHO had some decent Infinity speakers, my amp & subs, and my nifty Alpine deck.
At the very least, the deck, subs, amps and new speakers are going into the Explorer.
I'll probably add this 6-disc changer which decodes MP3's along with my XM Radio gear, and be done with it.
Anyhow, an SUV doesn't have a trunk. A trunk hides a subwoofer box.
I'm scouting around online for ideas on how to mount subs in the truck (the box I have would work fine in a trunk, but I don't like it in the Explorer), and I find http://www.sounddomain.com.
Cool, I think. It's a webpage for people to show off their custom systems and stuff, broken down by year, make and model.
Cool in theory.
I find shit like this idiot:
LET ME START OFF BY TELLING U IM ONLY 16 AND IM ROLLIN ON DUBZ HOW THAT SOUND
Sounds like you're a little bitch who got mommy and daddy to give you their old car when they decided to upgrade, and then spend too much money on some ugly-ass fucking wheels.
Fags. They've taken what could have been a cool site, with people trading information and ideas about how to do some tight custom audio work, and turned it into a fucking "Fast and the Furious" poser world headquarters.
The worst is the guestbook on the site. If you thought the "owner" of this ugly fucking Explorer was illiterate, check out the people who think his ride is "phat".
"Dandruff" and a "crushin" system? I swear to God, I'm going harm somebody.
Not bad for a 24 yr old just outta school!!!
OK, so you bought an Explorer. Yay. I like my Explorer, but by no means is it indicative of any kind of success or status. It's a fucking Explorer, and it's a 4-5 year old Explorer, at that.
Oh, and apparently that grille-guard/brush guard (which I dig, don't get me wrong - I was looking at the same one) makes his otherwise stock vehicle "the hottest Explorer around".
And will someone please tell me what the fuck is up with all the fucking ghetto gutter slang? Whips? Give me a goddamned break.
Awww! Check out the do-rag on page 2! He's a real playa!
Why do I even bother?
Did you not expect people to get pissed off at your liberal rhetoric, Johnny?
Actor Johnny Depp Disavows Anti-American Quotes
Thu September 4, 2003 08:41 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Denying any anti-American sentiment on his part, actor Johnny Depp said on Thursday that quotes attributed to him as likening the United States to a "dumb puppy" were inaccurate and taken out of context.
"I am an American. I love my country and have great hopes for it," Depp said in a statement released by his Los Angeles-based publicist. "It is for this reason that I speak candidly and sometimes critically about it. I have benefited greatly from the freedom that exists in my country and for this I am eternally grateful."
Depp, currently starring in the swashbuckling film "Pirates of the Caribbean," issued the statement a day after the German news magazine Stern published an interview in which he ridiculed Washington's confrontation with France, where he lives, over the U.S. war in Iraq.
The magazine quoted the actor as saying "America is ... like a dumb puppy that has big teeth that can bite and hurt you, aggressive." He was further quoted as saying he wanted his children to "see America as ... a broken toy" that they should explore, get the feel of, then "get out."
Explaining his comments a day later, Depp he had been using a metaphor that was taken "radically out of context," adding, "There was no anti-American sentiment."
"What I was saying was that, compared to Europe, America is a very young country and we are still growing as a nation," he said. "My deepest apologies to those who were offended, affected, or hurt by this insanely twisted deformation of my words and intent."
His spokeswoman added that the Kentucky-born Depp, 40, lives in the south of France with his family because his wife, actress-singer Vanessa Paradis, is French.
Big suprise that he lives in France...(yeah, I'm guilty of stereotypes. Deal with it.)
So...
A 21-year-old man kidnaps and sexually assaults a 12-year-old boy.
He gets 18 years in prison.
He serves his time, he gets designated a "sexually violent dangerous offender" by the State of Oregon, and gets released.
He's gotten himself banned from the Salem Public Library for, not once, but TWICE, intentionally looking at porn on the 'net.
In addition, he's now banned from city parks, parking structures, and other city property where children can be.
He's "served his time" and as such, is no longer under any supervision by any authority.
Please tell me why the hell we allow sick fucks like this to remain alive, number one.
Number two, what kind of goddamned moron, after getting released for sexual assault, goes and surfs porn at a public library?!
The article: http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=60411
So, you probably have seen this elsewhere (Rachel Lucas and Fark carried it right around the same time I posted), but:
BERLIN (Reuters) - Hollywood star Johnny Depp said on Wednesday the United States was a stupid, aggressive puppy and he would not live there until the political climate changed.The 40-year-old actor, who stars in the "Pirates of the Caribbean," told the German news magazine Stern he was happier staying in the south of France with his wife, the French actress and singer Vanessa Paradis, and their two children.
"America is dumb, it's like a dumb puppy that has big teeth that can bite and hurt you, aggressive," he said.
"My daughter is four, my boy is one. I'd like them to see America as a toy, a broken toy. Investigate it a little, check it out, get this feeling and then get out," said the star of the off-beat films "Edward Scissorhands" and "Dead Man."
Depp slammed George W. Bush's administration for its criticism of French opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
"I was ecstatic they re-named 'French Fries' as 'Freedom Fries'. Grown men and women in positions of power in the U.S. government showing themselves as idiots," he told Stern.
You gotta love the hypocrites that take and take from this country, and it's people, yet find every chance they can to bitch about how much it sucks. Hey fucker, if you don't like it, stop using it.
I do have to agree with his comment about the "Freedom Fries" bullshit, however. The rocket scientist in charge of that initiative should be put down before he causes anyone harm.
You've got to be some kind of jackass to pull something like that.
(Oh yeah - welcome to my blog thing.)
