The Rant

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posted by Bob Clasen (who else) By Matthew Jones LONDON (Reuters) - British youngsters convicted of crimes that do not carry a jail term could be made to wear U.S.-style "chain-gang" uniforms when they perform community service sentences. Home Office minister Hazel Blears outlined plans for young offenders to be identifiable when doing community service because she said the public needs to see criminals punished. "People feel very strongly that they don't often see justice being done," Blears told Sunday's Observer newspaper. "I would like to see a very quick connection to community punishment, that people see being done. I want them to be identified." Community sentences typically involve activities such as picking up litter or removing graffiti. The sentences are usually given to offenders convicted of non-violent crimes, such as vandalism or driving without insurance. Blears' comments come only days after Prime Minister Tony Blair made a cra...

___________________________________________________ Breast Reductions on the Rise as More Women Choose to Reduce in Order to Increase Their Quality of Life LOS ANGELES, CA, April13, 2005 – Despite the national media attention on breast augmentation and breast implants, a different trend can be seen at plastic surgeons’ offices all over the nation: an increase in the number of women receiving breast reductions. Over 113,000 women will elect to have their breasts made smaller this year, an increase of 11% from previous years. While many people may find this information surprising, in truth, overly large breasts can cause serious physical pain. The weight of pendulous breasts causes structural demands on the neck and back that can create chronic pain. Depression and self-consciousness to the point of lowered self-esteem are also commonly documented. “Many people don’t understand the daily pain endured by women with overly large breasts,” said Dr. Grant Stevens. “Chronic neck, should, and ...

Can you believe Sanchez get a pass. Four Top Officers Cleared by Army in Prison AbusesBy ERIC SCHMITT Published: April 23, 2005 ASHINGTON, April 22 - A high-level Army investigation has cleared four of the five top Army officers overseeing prison policies and operations in Iraq of responsibility for the abuse of detainees there, Congressional and administration officials said Friday. Among the officers was Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, who was the top commander in Iraq from June 2003 to July 2004. He was the highest-ranking officer to face allegations of leadership failure in connection with the scandal, but he was not accused of criminal misconduct. Advertisement on error resume next plugin = ( IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.4"))) if ( plugin Barring new evidence, the inquiry, by the Army's inspector general, effectively closes the Army's book on whether the highest-ranking officers in Iraq during the Abu Ghraib prison scandal should be held acc...

I hope the moralistic right-wingers remember the Clinton years. DeLay Seeks GOP Senators' Support By Mike AllenWashington Post Staff WriterWednesday, April 13, 2005; Page A05 House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) implored Republican senators yesterday to stick with him while he addresses questions about his travel and his dealings with lobbyists, as House Democrats unveiled plans to try to make ethics a defining issue for the year. As DeLay left a 90-minute luncheon with his party's senators, he told reporters that his basic message was "Be patient; we'll be fine." Start of rightcontent.inc --> Wednesday's Question: Which senator holds the record for most votes cast?Sen. Robert C. ByrdSen. Edward M. KennedySen. Ted StevensSen. Strom Thurmond _____Message Boards_____ • Post Your Comments _____Free E-mail Newsletters_____• Daily Politics News & Analysis See a Sample Sign Up Now • Campaign Report See a Sample Sign Up Now • Federal Insider See a ...

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 (SF Chronicle)Conservatives ponder judicial impeachmentDana Milbank, Washington Post Washington -- Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is a fairlyaccomplished jurist, but he might want to get himself a good lawyer -- andperhaps a few more bodyguards. Conservative leaders meeting in Washington on Friday for a discussion of"Remedies to Judicial Tyranny" decided that Kennedy, a Ronald Reaganappointee, should be impeached, or worse. Phyllis Schlafly, doyenne of American conservatism, said Kennedy's opinionforbidding capital punishment for juveniles "is a good ground ofimpeachment." To cheers and applause from those gathered for a conferenceon "Confronting the Judicial War on Faith," Schlafly said that Kennedy hadnot met the "good behavior" requirement for office and that "Congressought to talk about impeachment." Not to be outdone, lawyer-author Edwin Vieira told the gathering thatKennedy should be impe...

posted by Bob Clasen 4-10-05 Instead of sun worshippers, our beach was covered with cars. The sand was watered down to make the beach a parking lot. It is amazing how much effort goes into getting ready for a three day event. All the streets are protected with concrete barriers to prevent sightseers from being squashed. A very large area from our house down to the Aquarium is cordoned off with chain link fences to prevent anyone from getting in without paying. This year, the entire Shoreline Village and all the new restaurants in the Pike area were included within the venue, so if you just wanted to come into these areas, you had to pay. We paid. ($52 bought a three day pass) Also constructed were many overpass bridges that allowed ticket buyers to cross over the race track at various points to get to restaurants, and other venues. We walked up the green belt, which was quickly transformed into a “dead” belt by all the traffic. Very many large temporary bleachers were laborious...

Today, it sounded like a cloud of angry hornets were buzzing outside of my office window on Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach, California. However, the cause of this pestilential sound was not insects but race cars. Friday was the beginning of the Grand Prix: practice runs and qualifying races. Although neither of us is a racing fan, per se, since the Grand Prix has taken over our neighborhood completely, I bought two three day passes for general admission and plan to spend some time wandering around, watching the races, have a few drinks at the restaurants which were trapped within the venue, and especially, watching what sort of human being enjoys to come out for the Grand Prix. Unfortunately, we are going to miss the Miss Toyota contest tomorrow night, as we have a prior engagement with friends. The weather is cooperating this year. The prediction is cool but sunny, in the upper 60's, which should encourage more people to come out. Last year, it rained quite a bit the entire weeken...

"Sin City" and the primal man. 4-3-05 I saw the “graphic novel” movie Sin City yesterday. This sort of comic book for adults evokes a certain kind of primal male sensibility. The male hero in this kind of book is a warrior, a fighter, good for nothing but destruction and mayhem. There are few mothers or children to be found in “Sin City.” There are no office workers or even politicians, except corrupt ones. The authority figures are all corrupt, the Senator with a psychotic serial murderer son, which he uses his power to protect. Even the Cardinal, who hides his corruption behind the cover of religious respectability. Women in the movie are young, beautiful, sexy and usually prostitutes or cocktail waitresses in seedy bars. The outer world is corrupt, including the police, who cannot be relied upon to fight crime. So beneath the thin veneer of civilization, do men long for the good old days of their warrior past? Are women really the fountainhead of civilization, of cul...

Let's hope Terri Schiavo has gone to a better place. And let's hope the grandstanding politicians, clergy, and newsmedia don't turn this into an attack on the courts and Michael Schiavo for as long as they can get traction on this story, but rather look at what is an appropriate state "surrogate law". Who should make health care decisions for a person who has not written advance health care directive? What if there is a family dispute? Does some relative have priority, and if there is a dispute, how is this to be resolved? What is extraordinary medical treatment? Should the state keep every "living" person alive no matter how expensive, no matter how hopeless? This should be decided by state legislatures, not the assholes in Washington. The polls seem to indicate that this is not something that should be decided in the heat of a polical circus.

OK The bullshit that the right wing talking heads are pulling out to keep the grandstanding alive is really over the top. Larry Klayman --- the guy that tried to be the private attorney general to impeach/embarrass of former president, is now advocating that Jeb Bush send in state troopers to take custody of Terri Schiavo..... Does he really believe the judical system is a conspiracy and should be disregarded. Michael (Weiner) Savage ---- puts on the nurse to claim Michael Schiavo caused Terri Schiavo's brain injury with a VonBulow like injection of insulin. Savage suggests this is like the Nazis killing handicaped babies. Joe Scarborough --- puts on "fair and balanced" list of guests, but clearly states that he wants her life saved. He denies that feeding tubes, surgically inserted into someone's stomach through her navel is not "life support". He argues that the 18 other judges that have supported Judge Greer, don't look at the factual record, but mere...

I know the article below is long and if you read Chapt 166 of the Texas Health and Safety Code its just so much legalese. However, George Bush signed this 1999 law. Why then, is he now saying the rights of the patient trump the findings of the surrogate (the husband), the doctors who testified in the Florida proceedings, and the Florida courts. This article points out that the hospital could have cut off life support without going to court, over the objection of the parent. March 16, 2005 Life-Support Stopped for 6-Month-Old in Houston Yesterday Sun Hudson, the nearly 6-month-old at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, diagnosed and slowly dying with a rare form of dwarfism (thanatophoric dysplasia), was taken off the ventilator that was keeping him alive. A Houston court authorized the hospital's action, and Sun died shortly thereafter. Today's Houston Chronicle and Dallas Morning News have most of the details. Both papers report that this is the first time in the Un...

Bob: I have been an estate planning attorney for 30 years. I have recommended "living wills" - health care directives to every estate planning client that comes in to my office. I can only remember 1 instance where someone didn't sign a "pull the plug" order. The overwhelming number of clients do not want to be kept alive in the sort of condition that Schiavo is in ---- FOR 15 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't think the exception should swallow the rule. Both of my parents could have been kept alive weeks or months beyond their actual date of death. They both told my brothers and I what they wanted....Terminate all care except hydration and pain management. They died with dignity. This circus created by the right to life lobby is ridiculously cruel to both the patient, her husband, and ultimately her parents and family. Certainly in California, and I imagine in Florida, the conservator of the person has the right to make these ultimate decisions with court supervisi...

How many think this is the worst sort of political grandstanding in which Ms. Shiavo's fate is totally irrelevant to the Republican party. This woman has been unable to do anything for herself for 15 years. The matter has been litigated up and down the Florida courts. Does Tom DeLay really give a damn other than to try a create a wedge issue for the midterm election in which Florida Senator Nelson will have to take a position.

Senators May Block Social Security Vote By Charles Babington and Jim VandeHeiWashington Post Staff WritersFriday, March 11, 2005; Page A01 President Bush's bid to add individual accounts to Social Security faces such formidable opposition in the Senate that its supporters may be unable to bring it to a vote, according to a Washington Post survey of senators. An overwhelming majority of Democratic senators said they will oppose, under any circumstances, Bush's plan to allow younger workers to divert a portion of their Social Security payroll taxes into individual investment accounts that would follow them into retirement. A few others said they will not support such accounts if they require substantial government borrowing. Even many Republicans say that is inevitable because the alternative involves unacceptably large cuts in benefits or tax increases to replace the diverted taxes or both.

Senators May Block Social Security Vote By Charles Babington and Jim VandeHeiWashington Post Staff WritersFriday, March 11, 2005; Page A01 President Bush's bid to add individual accounts to Social Security faces such formidable opposition in the Senate that its supporters may be unable to bring it to a vote, according to a Washington Post survey of senators. An overwhelming majority of Democratic senators said they will oppose, under any circumstances, Bush's plan to allow younger workers to divert a portion of their Social Security payroll taxes into individual investment accounts that would follow them into retirement. A few others said they will not support such accounts if they require substantial government borrowing. Even many Republicans say that is inevitable because the alternative involves unacceptably large cuts in benefits or tax increases to replace the diverted taxes or both.

Brother Cato Kim offers the following guide to the red doper diaper babies: "Wm. K Flint" wrote: I visited www.discoverthenetwork.org , A Guide To The Political Left, I dragged down on the DTN Directory tap, released on individuals and was disappointed in not finding your picture. There is a great picture of Ted Kennedy (huge tits). Be sure to launch the visual maps. Be patient, it takes a few minutes to load. It's interesting to see where all the money comes from and where it goes. I would guess that the political left has about ten times more money that the rightous right. So, get with it, counselor. Get your picture posted. Cato Kim

I personally feel this appointment is typical of the Bush administratrion when it wants to send a big FU to some organization like the UN. If you read Molly Ivens book "Bushwacked" you would note that Bush appointed a Christian Fundamentalist Non-Doctor as the US representative to the World Health Organization. FU WHO! Look what we are sending to the UN as ambassador. FU UN!!! Bush Nominates Weapons Expert as Envoy to U.N. By STEVEN R. WEISMAN Published: March 8, 2005 WASHINGTON, March 7 - President Bush on Monday chose John R. Bolton, a blunt-spoken conservative known for his sharp skepticism of the United Nations and international diplomacy, as the new American ambassador to the world organization. Administration officials said his appointment would strengthen efforts to hold the United Nations to effective standards. But the nomination brought expressions of concern from many diplomats speaking on the condition that they not be identified by name or country, many of who...

By Mike AllenWashington Post Staff WriterWednesday, March 9, 2005; Page A08 Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who has spent weeks attempting to recruit Democratic support for a plan to restructure Social Security, said yesterday that Republicans "made a strategic mistake" by initially focusing on a proposal to create individual investment accounts. The accounts, the centerpiece of President Bush's proposal, would benefit young and poorer workers by letting them use compound interest to help make up for any benefit reductions, Graham said. But he said the accounts, by themselves, will not fix the solvency problem Social Security faces as baby boomers begin to retire.

Mark Franchetti, Moscow March 08, 2005 SMARTLY dressed in suit and tie, the young lawyer cut an incongruous figure as he was borne through the streets of Moscow alongside crowds of impoverished pensioners in a red sea of hammer-and-sickle flags. Although several decades younger than most of those around him, Yuri Vassilyev, 33, was happy to admit to their common cause: a fondness for Joseph Stalin, the dictator whose purges are blamed by Western historians for the deaths of up to 20 million Soviet citizens. "Look, everyone makes mistakes," Mr Vassilyev said. "Stalin wasn't a saint, but he was a great man who built up a strong state. "After years of lies about him, the truth is coming out. We owe a lot to him. He turned the Soviet Union into a superpower that was feared and respected. A man like Stalin is what Russia needs now." Increasing numbers of Mr Vassilyev's countrymen are taking a similarly sepia-tinged view of the dictator in the run-up to May...