This man is much more dangerous than many realize.
Read the entire holocaust-denying, moral relativism embracing, nuclear-armament justifying interview. This man is a clear and present danger to the peace and stability of the world.

While I am a firm believer in Godwin's law, there are times when it is inappropriate. This is one of those times.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a cunning zealot with delusional visions of world conquest and global manipulation. He reminds me, more than any other politician of the past fifty years, of a nascent Adolf Hitler. The West will dismiss or ignore him at its peril.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 08:35 0 comments

 
Report of Gunshots on Capitol Hill
This smells like a probe or test of security reaction time to me.

But then again, I worry too much.

UPDATE:

Like I said, I worry too much.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 12:24 1 comments

 
Calling for enforcement of existing laws= "fueling the problem"
according to John McCain.

NYO - News Story 1: [McCain] cautioned against ghettoizing immigrants, which he noted has brought about disastrous results in France, and criticized elements in his own party as "nativist" before lambasting the punditry of Rush Limbaugh, Lou Dobbs and Michael Savage for helping to "fuel the problem," according to two of the sources.

Umm, did I miss someting? I don't know of ANYONE in mainstream conservative circles that is calling for "ghettoizing immigrants". What most conservatives want are border controls and enforcement of existing immigration laws. McCain, however, wants to pander to illegal immigrants and sell out his party's base in the process.

Sigh. This is yet another reason that I will NEVER cast a vote for John McCain. I don't particularly care if that means Hillary gets elected -- I'd rather face a failed liberal Democrat presidency than see McCain destroy the conservative wing of the Republican Party.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 09:58 0 comments

 
And you thought Krystal Nacht was passe . . .

Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.

Meanwhile, Bush, Chirac and Blair are all auditioning for the role of Chamberlain at Munich. Will any of them be foolish enough to announce they have achieved "peace in our time?"
- posted by MrSpkr @ 09:55 1 comments

 
Well, this pretty much undermines everything I learned as a child . . .
about the police.

WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team reporter David Collins said Joshua Kelly and Llara
Brook, of Chantilly, Va., got lost leaving an Orioles game on Saturday. Collins
reported a city officer arrested them for trespassing on a public street while
they were asking for directions
.
"In jail for eight hours -- sleeping on a
concrete floor next to a toilet," Kelly said.

They were lost and asking a police officer for directions . . .

Read the whole thing.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 09:23 0 comments

 
My wife is on television . . .

Pretty cool.

My wife teaches at a private school funded by the Dallas Salesmanship Club (a group of very successful area businessmen who donate time and resources to various charitable programs, including the school). The students at the academy typically score very well on state and national achievement tests. They also tend to do well in high school (the academy is only for grades K-6) and often go on to college.

It is a remarkable success rate for an inner city school.

Anyway, this is a screenshot from the report. Amy is helping one of her kids while the others work on their project by planting seeds. Amy is the tall one in the white dress and green top. 8^)

Not that I'm proud of her or anything . . .
- posted by MrSpkr @ 09:32 0 comments

 
Just when I think things can't get any worse over here . . .
I am reminded how bad things are getting elsewhere.

Take Great Britain, for example. Apparently, if you are accused of rape in Great Britain, you can go free while awaiting trial (as long as you promise to stay home during the evening hours).

Sigh. This animal will only face two or three years of real prison time once convicted. What is wrong with this picture?
- posted by MrSpkr @ 11:55 0 comments

 
This picture sums up my feelings

about President Bush's speech last night.

I can not continue to support a President or political party which is unwilling to secure our borders and actively work to stop illegal immigration and reduce the incentives for coming to the country illegally. Illegal immigrants already in the United States should face deportation, not a ticket to become a citizen (for a certain fee, of course).

Sigh. Most depressing. Bush is out of step with his party and the American people on this issue. His handling of immigration, more so than any other issue, may cost the Republicans the House of Representatives in November. And if the Republicans in the Congress can't face that fact, they deserve to lose it.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 10:36 1 comments

 
Of my two boys. . .
I feel closest to my oldest son -- he looks most like me, acts and thinks most like me, and enjoys many of the same interests I had as a boy. Unfortunately, he also has my temper and deals with anger about as well as I do.

This weekend, he told me I was his idol.

Wow. Is that a burden or what? I want so desperately for him to be happy, but not spoiled; content, but not ambivalent; loved, but not smothered. Every day I worry that I am screwing up my role as a father (not only for him, but for my other kids, too). I am, quite frankly, a grumpy old man with a very short fuse. I am also an only child and feel completely inept at raising my kids. I thank God every day for my wife, who is one of the best moms and teachers I know.

I pray about these things a lot, but not nearly enough.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 09:59 2 comments

 
Weight Loss Challenge II
Today was our first weigh-in. Sans clothing (there's an ugly visual), I'm at 223.5; she's at 160.0.

I'll be posting regular reports. The tricksy MrsSpkr waited until the morning after I cooked a rack of beef ribs (barbecue is a major weakness), then fixed biscuits with chocolate gravy for breakfast today (another major weakness). In short, she isn't fighting fair.

I'll retaliate with chocolate for Mother's Day.

One more thing -- the Prize. An all-expense paid weekend away for the winner (loser stays home with the kids). I'm thinking about DC; she's set for the beach.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 13:01 3 comments

 
Can the Rangers be any more irrelevant?
The Texas Rangers, that is. Michelle Malkin reports on the Ranger's new uniform for the opening game of their series with the Yankees. Here's a picture:

Look closely at the uniform logo. "Los Rangers"? What the hell is management thinking? I mean, it's not as though Rangers' management are the sharpest tools in the shed anyway. They never can quite understand that having big hitters isn't enough if your pitching sucks. They've become baseball's version of the 1980's Miami Dolphins teams -- able to score high numbers every game and still lose.

Until recently, however, I haven't perceived them as being completely tone deaf in regards to the fans. Oh sure, there was that whole "let's pay Alex Rodriguez $220 million, then trade him within a year" business, but I thought that was just an extension of the "we love hitters, not pitchers" philosophy that has been around since Nolan Ryan retired.

But now, Ranger's management not only appear to step square into the middle of a hot political fray, but choose to do so in a manner that would put them at odds with a majority of Americans! What, if anything, are they thinking?
- posted by MrSpkr @ 12:43 0 comments

 
To paraphrase Will Rogers . . .
the nice thing about our local newspaper, the Dallas Morning News, is that it doesn't try to burden readers with both sides of the story.

Fisking this article is pointless. We all know the issues. It would be nice if a "news story" would refrain from editorial comments and inflammatory headlines and simply report facts.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 12:27 0 comments

 
Like father . . .
like son?
- posted by MrSpkr @ 17:45 0 comments

 
Lottery Number Sources Part III
Kristin Campbell was having a great time at her best friend's wedding in Houston when she was struck in the arm by a bullet. The bullet was fired into the sky by an angry man over a mile from the wedding party. The round broke through a window and struck Ms. Campbell just as she was preparing to chase the bride's bouquet. Ms. Campbell was not seriously injured.

Wow.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 09:10 0 comments

 
What.the.$#&*^?
I am a lawyer. I've been licensed for four years. Before that, I worked in law firms for five years. I did well in law school, and I passed the bar on my first try. I follow legal matters as a hobby. I would say that I am fairly well versed in the law.

But I still don't understand how some juries reach the conclusions they do.

Take, for example, the jury that was considering the death penalty for Zacarias Moussaoui. How does a jury UNANIMOUSLY find that the government has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt

That the actions of defendant, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI, resulted in the deaths of approximately 3,000 people?

while finding that the government has proved, beyond a reasonable doubt,

That the actions of the defendant, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI, resulted in serious physical and emotional injuries, including maiming, disfigurement, and permanent disability, to numerous individuals who survived the offense?

and

That the Government has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the actions of defendant, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI, were intended to cause, and in fact did cause tremendous disruption to the function of the City of New York and its economy as evinced by the following: . . .

The deaths of 343 members of the New York City Fire Department, including the majority of its upper management

. . .

The deaths of 37 Port Authority officers [and] The deaths of 38 Port Authority civilian employees

. . .

the deaths of 23 New York City police officers

. . .

The deaths of 3 New York state court officers

. . .

The death of 1 Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

. . .

The death of 1 Master Special Officer of the United States Secret Service

. . . [and]

The destruction of approximately 12 million square feet of office space.

and

That the actions of defendant, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI, were intended to cause, and in fact did cause, tremendous disruption to the function of the Pentagon as evidenced by the following:

The destruction of the Naval Operations Center and the loss of the majority of its staff

. . .

The destruction of the Naval Intelligence Plot and the loss of the majority of its staff

. . .

The destruction of the Army Resource Management Center and the loss of its staff

. . .

[and] The destruction of 400,000 square feet and the damage of over 1 million square feet of office space.

How the heck can one rationalize these conflicting positions?


Oh yeah, that's right.


You can't.


Very frustrating.


Even more frustrating are the so-called "mitigating circumstances". Here, the jury heard, and at least some accepted, that some of the following constitute Mitigating Factors that should weigh against imposition of the death penalty:

(F) That ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI believes that his execution will be part of his Jihad and will provide him with the rewards attendant to a martyr's death.

So, if he next believes that the most evil punishment anyone could give him would be to force him to eat steak once a day for the rest of his life, we should immediately begin lining up herds of cattle to "punish" him?

(H) That ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI . . . [had] a hostile relationship with his mother.

And this makes him different from any number of other people how?

(I) That ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI's father had a violent temper and physically and emotionally abused his family.

Which of course explains why Moussaoui felt he was justified in murdering a large number of total strangers.

(J) That ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI's father abandoned Zacarias and his siblings, leaving Zacarias's mother to support and raise their children on her own.

Wait a second. I though Moussaoui's father "had a violent temper and physically and emotionally abused his family"? Wouldn't his abandoning his family be a good thing?

(K) That ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI was subject to racism as a youngster . . .

Of course, this is the reason Condoleeza Rice periodically cruises the back alleys of Washington, D.C., murdering transients to relieve the anxiety caused by the racism she was subjected to as a youngster, right?

(M) That ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI's two sisters and his father all suffered from psychotic illnesses.

If this is a factor, shouldn't we lock those folks up, too, as a preventative public health measure?


The Special Verdict Form continues in this vein for several pages. This is ridiculous. If the guy caused the deaths damages that the jury UNANIMOUSLY AGREED he caused, how can the jury fail to find him culpable for the 3,000 deaths related to 9-11?

My guess is that you had 1-3 juror holdouts who were simply unwilling to go along with the death penalty. If so, they should have disclosed their visceral opposition to imposing the death penalty during voir dire. They had no business being on this jury because they were incapable of being impartial jurors due to their bias. I find it incredible to believe that the jury failed to impose the death penalty if Moussaoui did the things the jury unanimously agreed he did. If not in this case, then when?
- posted by MrSpkr @ 19:38 0 comments

 
Earl Woods, R.I.P.
The Big "C" finally caught up with Earl Woods, who died today at 74.

I mention this because Mr. Woods is one of my Dead Pool picks -- and the first one to die. I picked him primarily for two reasons -- (1) he had prostate cancer that didn't seem to be getting better, and (2) he was ill enough to miss a major tournament Tiger appeared in last fall.

I now have 81 Dead Pool points, and am in 9th place.

Steve

P.S. Is this all morbid? You bet, but it is my way of dealing with that which all must eventually face.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 16:25 0 comments

 
Another visit on immigration . . .
Several major lobbying groups want the cheap labor that illegal immigration provides. Agricultural companies want cheap manual labor. So does the construction industry. Ditto the retail and fast food industries. Illegal immigration is nothing more than another governmental subsidy to these industries.

These industries provide millions to the election campaigns of these career politicians. Is it any wonder that many career politicians are unwilling to irritate these donors?

Were politicians serious about immigration, they would pass the House bill as an initial measure to protect the borders. To address the long-term situation, I favor allowing private citizens to bring qui tam actions against corporations and individuals who violate federal immigration laws. If we privatize the enforcement of immigration law, allowing private citizens to hold companies responsible (and removing some responsibility for enforcement from wishy-washy politicians), we might well make some significant headway in the fight to eliminate the incentives to illegal immigrants.

I've posted on this before. I still think it is worth discussing.

(Cross posted in comments at Right Wing News).
- posted by MrSpkr @ 16:08 0 comments

 
Somewhere, Alex P. Keaton is crying
Louis Rukeyser, R.I.P.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 13:44 0 comments

 
Weight Loss Challenge I
Amy and I have challenged each other to a weight loss contest. I'm not sure what the winner gets, but we have until August 1, 2006, to see who can lose the most weight. I'll be posting my diet, exercise, and other tidbits here from time to time (as well as my weight) as a sort of progress report.

Weigh in is this evening. My goal is to lose 40 pounds (dropping to the mid-190's). We'll see what happens.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 10:47 2 comments

 
Is that a wad of cash in your g-string or are you just happy to see me?
Anna Nicole Smith, the young widow of her beloved husband, J. Howard Marshall II. Smith married Marshall in 1994. She was 26, he was 89. But they were in love, according to Smith (who openly wept in the Supreme Court chambers when her late husband's death was discussed during oral arguments last February).

The complicated legal proceedings can be described as follows: Boy meets girl. Boy marries girl. Boy dies, leaving an estate worth an estimated $1.6 billion. Boy's son sues girl in Texas to exclude girl from will. Boy's son wins, and girl gets nada.

Meanwhile, girl goes into bankruptcy in California. Bankruptcy judge awards girl $450 million, or the amount that stock in boy's company increased during boy and girl's 14 month marriage. Boy's son appeals, challenging jurisdiction. The circuit court rules the bankruptcy court had no jurisdiction and zeroes out girl. Girl appeals, cries, and gets the Supreme Court to overturn the Circuit Court decision. Boy's son and girl go back to the bankruptcy judge to try the remainder of the case.

And the lawyers all lived happily ever after.

The end.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 10:32 0 comments