I will be away from my desk for the next week for work, but I wanted to share a few pictures I took recently.
A valedictorian had her microphone cut out when she mentioned God in a speech at her commencement.
A Nevada high schooler who tried to use the G-word during her valedictorian speech had her microphone cut by school officials worried about what they said was possible proselytizing during a school sponsored event, reports the Associated Press.Officials from the Clark County school district cut off Foothill High School valedictorian Brittany McComb as soon as she began deviating from a pre-approved speech and reading from a version that mentioned God and made references to the Bible.
The local branch of the ACLU said the school did the right thing, but some of the 400 people attending the event disagreed and jeered when the ceremony went silent
Of course the ACLU agreed with this. The ACLU has never seen a civil liberty it understood fully or didn't want to twist to it's own perversions
Let her speak for Christ's sake.
The Republican controlled Senate, led by Bill Frist, thinks that it needs to prohibit free speech by disallowing the burning of the American Flag. He wants to do this by changing the Constitution.
This would put us with States such as Cuba, China, Nazi Germany and Iran as Countries that do not allow the burning of the American Flag.
Though it pisses me off when someone burns the flag, that is what living in a free country is all about. We should not limit speech simply because we find it reprehensible. If you are protesting something America does, what better way to get attention than to burn the American flag?
Another reason why Republicans are out of control, and need to lose power this fall.
Then, maybe we can get some fiscal discipline in Washington.
Foxnews picks up on the horrible Supreme Court Decision written by Radley Balko of The Agitator. Where is Hannity being upset about this? When did conservatives stop being conservatives? I guess it IS ok to sqush civil rights when it is done to stop people from doing things conservatives don't want you to do, like smoke weed, or drive after more than one beer.
That is because I am an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church. It was free, and quick, and I printed out my certificate on my computer.
See it here
Now I can purchase name badges and other cool clergy stuff. I won't get a ticket anymore if I don't put money in the meter.
A guy tape recorded his experience trying to cancel his AOL account. It's pretty freakin funny. And scary. Give a listen
The Supreme Court recently ruled that cops, if they have a warrant, do not need to knock and announce themselves before busting in hour house.
Cops are trained in paramilitary techniques, not The Constitution, and countless errors in busting the wrong door even lead to deaths of cops.
et's summarize: Cops mistakenly break down the door of a sleeping man, late at night, as part of drug raid. Turns out, the man wasn't named in the warrant, and wasn't a suspect. The man, frigthened for himself and his 18-month old daughter, fires at an intruder who jumps into his bedroom after the door's been kicked in. Turns out that the man, who is black, has killed the white son of the town's police chief. He's later convicted and sentenced to death by a white jury. The man has no criminal record, and police rather tellingly changed their story about drugs (rather, traces of drugs) in his possession at the time of the raid.
And add to that the earlier decision by the California Supreme Court about drunk driving and you can see how us Civil Libertarians are getting antsy.
You should realize that cops are not your friends, they are abusive paramilitary types who use their authority to abuse law-abiding citizens.
Read this to see how cops go too far in 'drug raids'.
Now the Supreme Court, anchored by these two Bush appointed assholes have given police more carte blance to piss on the 4th Amendment.
Read about this decision here
I haven't blogged for a week because I was on vacation. Vacation means getting away from everything, so I didn't blog at all. We went to Niagara Falls, and I intend to post some pictures soon.
So, as you may know, my wife and I were looking for a church to join. I'm not a huge bible thumper, but I acknowledge the benefits of belonging to a church. So, after much deliberation, we decided on the United Methodist Church. It has some people we already know, so we feel welcome, but not too many (like other churches we went to) where we would get sucked in to helping right away.
One of the things I found interesting about the Methodist Church was their use of grape juice in the communion service, more importantly Welch's Grape Juice. You see, Welch's grape juice was invented by Thomas Welch, a dentist and communion steward in the Methodist Church. He read about Louis Pasteur process of pasteurization, and applied that to unfermented wine, to make what we know today as Welch's Grape Juice.
More info can be found here or here
This allows people, such as children and those who wish not to consume alcohol, to take bread and wine during service.
In a blow to the do gooders around the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the House rejected a bill that would ban smoking most every place
This is good news for business owners who wish to choose what sort of customers they wish to have. It is also a blow to people like Rep. Susan Cornell, R-Montgomery, who wish to sit on both sides of the fence; Raking in billions in tobacco taxes to pay for their pork and pay increases while making smokers stay home and limiting the responsible use of a legal product by consenting adults.
In Texas, you cannot move your hands above your waist during a graduation ceremony. What a piece of shit.
I guess it's to stop people from praying.
In a terrifying decision by the Supreme Court of the Repulik of Kalifornia, police may now enter homes of people suspected of DUI, WITHOUT A WARRANT!
AP) SAN FRANCISCO Police may enter Californians' homes without warrants to arrest those suspected of driving under the influence, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a case testing the scope of the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.The 6-1 decision follows similar rulings in about a dozen other states. A dissenting justice said the majority handed authorities a "free pass" to unlawfully enter private homes and arrest people without warrants.
The case concerned the 2003 Santa Barbara arrest of Daniel Thompson, whom a neighbor suspected was driving drunk and notified authorities. They found a parked car matching the description the neighbor provided and went to the front door of the adjoining residence during a summer evening.
The door was open and a woman said the car's driver was asleep. Moments later, Thompson walked by the officers and they entered the house and arrested him. The neighbor confirmed it was the person she suspected of driving intoxicated and throwing an empty vodka bottle out the car door.
Thompson's blood-alcohol level was 0.21, almost three times the legal limit for driving. He was convicted and handed a three-year suspended sentence. He appealed.
I blame to do gooder assholes that make-up MADD. These dumb bitches are so distraught about people drinking and driving that they are willing to torch the constitution and any protections it affords against an ever intrususive state.
I'm sure the MADD folks are jumping for joy. It just gives me chills. First the Nazi reminescent "checkpoints" (note they are now doing this for seatbelts too!) and now these jackboot thug cops can enter your home without a warrent, "for the public good".
If ANYONE ever busts down my door for any reason, even if they are cops. They will leave in body bags.
