Hey y'all...gonna be travelling for 10 days. However unlike some lazy-ass bloggers, I'll have a lap top with me and will be checking in periodically.
First stop...Cooperstown, New York for the induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame of Anthony Keith Gwynn:
I'll be spending the rest of the week in New York, where maybe I'll see a show, maybe go to a few great restaurants, or maybe I'll just look at strange people:
Then it's off to Nashville, Tennessee for the first annual Insufferable Pricks Party Convention...otherwise known as Prickfest:
And perhaps a few other assorted characters. Expect limited reportage from the convention as the goings-on are a continuation of that Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy.
"Jessica's law sends an unmistakable message to potential child abusers: Act-out and the state of Oregon will take you off the streets for years and years," the governor declared at a bill-signing ceremony held at the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. "We will not tolerate the sexual abuse of Oregon's children. And anyone who even thinks about hurting a child should know that the full weight of Oregon law will fall on them, and they will be spending a very long time behind bars."
NEW YORK (July 25) -- Two middle-school students in Oregon are facing possible time in a juvenile jail and could have to register as sex offenders for smacking girls on the rear end at school.
Cory Mashburn and Ryan Cornelison, both 13, were arrested in February after they were caught in the halls of Patton Middle School, in McMinnville, Ore., slapping girls on the rear end. Mashburn told ABC News in a phone interview that this was a common way of saying hello practiced by lots of kids at the school, akin to a secret handshake.
The boys spent five days in a juvenile detention facility and were charged with several counts of felony sex abuse for what they and their parents said was merely inappropriate but not criminal behavior.
"Sex Offender" Ryan Cornelison is released into the custody of his parents
On the surface, it appears as if the District Attorney has backed off a little:
District Attorney Bradley Berry has since dismissed the felony counts. The boys face 10 misdemeanor charges of harassment and sexual abuse. They face a maximum of up to one year in a juvenile jail on each count, though Berry said there was no way the boys would ever serve that much time.
"An appropriate sentence would be probation," he said. "These are minor misdemeanor charges that reflect repeated contact against multiple victims. We never intended for them to get a long time in detention."
Well...good for Berry! Except for this:
The Mashburns' lawyer said prosecutors offered Cory a plea bargain that would not require him to register as a sex offender, which the family plans to reject.But the boys, if convicted at an Aug. 20 trial, still face the possibility of some jail time or registering for life as sex offenders.
ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?!?
My guess is that DA Bradley Berry endured too many wedgies and rat-tails when he was in junior high. And because of that, he's prepared to ruin the lives of two kids who were engaged in some stupid teenage game?
NEW YORK (Reuters) -The 2007 hurricane season may be less severe than forecast due to cooler-than-expected water temperatures in the tropical Atlantic, private forecaster WSI Corp said on Tuesday.
The season will bring 14 named storms, of which six will become hurricanes and three will become major hurricanes, WSI said in its revised outlook. WSI had previously expected 15 named storms of which eight would become hurricanes and four would become major hurricanes.
"Because the ocean temperatures have not yet rebounded from the significant drop in late spring, we have decided to reduce our forecast numbers slightly," said Todd Crawford, a WSI seasonal forecaster.
I can't wait until someone at Prickfest teaches me a little photoshop. I would have loved to have done something with this:
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (Reuters) - As many U.S. cities and states arrest illegal immigrants in raids and toughen laws against them, a Connecticut city is offering to validate them under a controversial, first-in-the-nation ID card program.
Starting Tuesday, New Haven will offer illegal immigrants municipal identification cards that allow access to city services such as libraries and a chance to open bank accounts.
Supporters say the cards will improve public safety and give undocumented workers protections now afforded legal residents. Critics contend it will unleash a flood of illegal immigration, straining services and wasting taxpayer money.
New Haven officials overwhelmingly approved the program last month in a 25 to 1 vote.
Of course the "bigots" are not going to take this sitting down:
Opponents hope to rally the public against it. Southern Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Reform says the ID cards will change "the entire country as we know it" and is organizing a protest on Tuesday at city hall.
"There are millions of illegal aliens right around us that when these ID cards are available to them, they will rush to them and get some identification that will allow them to go to other cities," said Ted Pechinski, who leads the group.
"Green cards? We don't need no steenkin' green cards! We're moving to New Haven!"
Since New Haven is so eager to embrace the illegal alien community, here's a little help:
North Carolina-based Americans for Legal Immigration PAC has circulated a flier in 40 states urging illegal workers to move to New Haven, said its president William Gheen.
"Maybe New Haven needs to learn, if they want the illegals, then they'll get the illegals," he said.
Fatima, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, said she is eager to apply for the card. "The ID will help me because it's a way to be in this country and get people to know who you are, especially for people who crossed the border and lost their papers," she said. "I feel safe here in New Haven."
DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – A father accused of driving drunk and fleeing the freeway crash that killed his 9-year-old son pleaded not guilty yesterday to gross vehicular manslaughter and other charges.
Marcos Munoz Sanchez, 33, faces several felony and misdemeanor charges, including child endangerment, driving under the influence and hit-and-run. If convicted, he could be sent to prison for up to 15 years.
Deputy District Attorney Melissa Vasel said Munoz was driving on Interstate 8 near Texas Street on Saturday when he crashed into a car parked on the shoulder around 1:40 a.m. His son, Alex Munoz , was in the passenger seat and died as a result of the impact.
Vasel told the judge that a witness came out of a nearby restaurant shortly after the crash and saw a man running from the area. Later, police saw a white pickup circling the restaurant parking lot.
Vasel said police saw the same truck again later that day near the family's Linda Vista apartment and contacted the men inside.
Marcos Munoz , the passenger, had minor injuries and glass in his hair and clothes, authorities said. Another man, Raul Munoz Sanchez, was driving the pickup. The men are believed to be related, Vasel said.
Vasel told the judge that Raul Munoz 's blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.19 percent after his arrest. Marcos Munoz 's blood-alcohol content measured 0.11 percent a little more than three hours after the collision. The legal threshold for drunken driving is 0.08 percent.
Deputy Public Defender Paul Rodriguez said Marcos Munoz has no significant criminal record, except for a misdemeanor conviction from 2005.
Of course our illegal alien amnesty supporting Union Tribune saves this bit of information for the last line of the story:
Police have said that both men were in the country illegally and were not licensed drivers.
If Marcos Munoz had been deported after his misdemeanor conviction, perhaps he could have killed his son on a Mexican freeway instead.
Well...let's give credit for once to Johnny Sutton. After his congressional testimony yesterday, he made the rounds on radio and television and faced some of his biggest critics. First up, his interview with Lou Dobbs:
Johnny's big argument is that "We had a jury trial! We had a jury trial!" Of course there never had to be a trial in the first place. Dobbs explains succinctly why so many Americans are pissed of at this weasel:
"The effect of your prosecution was to side with the drug dealer against two border patrol agents."
Even Sutton admits his case relied on the testimony of a drug dealer...he had nothing else but this dirtbag's word:
These guys were banking that that dope smuggler wasn't going to show up and if he didn't we had no case...
So let's see...who's word would I take? Two border patrol agents with impeccable service records? Or a drug dealer who not once, but TWICE, was caught smuggling drugs over our border.
Sutton still doesn't get it. All he comes back with is "We had a jury trial!" Because we all know how smart juries can be:
A 13-year-old boy was sexually assaulted near a Poway middle school Monday after a homeless man lured him with alcohol to a hillside encampment, sheriff's officials said yesterday.
Jesus Mora Nava, 30, was arrested hours later after a short pursuit by deputies and booked into jail on suspicion of several child molestation charges.
Nava is being held without bail. He also is being detained on federal immigration violations.
Nava promised the boy alcohol and led him to a nearby hillside, where it appeared Nava had been camping out, sheriff's Capt. Glenn Revell said.
Investigators said Nava gave the boy a drink before sexually assaulting him.
Jesus Mora Nava loves our "open borders" policy
Of course Nava has already been through the open borders revolving door:
Nava was arrested after a short chase. Investigators say he was identified based on the victim's statement and help from local businesses.
Nava entered the country illegally after being deported from the Imperial Valley in May, said Lauren Mack, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.
Nava also has been arrested for public intoxication, Revell said.
“We are concerned he has possibly tried to lure other young people in a similar situation, and we'd like other possible victims to summon the same courage and come forward,” Revell said.
Don’t we have enough homegrown criminals without the added public safety menace of known, convicted criminal aliens being released from prisons and jails to disappear and commit more crimes?
In the early 1980s, the Oakland A’s accounting department was freaking out. The books were off $1 million. After an investigation, it was determined Rickey was the reason why. The GM asked him about a $1 million bonus he had received and Rickey said instead of cashing it, he framed it and hung it on a wall at his house.
Dude...give it up. Picking fights with Michelle Malkin will eliminate what's left of your ridiculous career in "journalism". For the full blast, go over to Michelle's post:
But with clueless Geraldo, the immigration debate is always and only about one border–the southern border. It’s only about one kind of immigrant: Hispanic illegal aliens. And it’s all about one cheap set of talking points: All illegal aliens are hard-working angels, all ICE agents are jack-booted thugs, and everyone who believes in enforcing immigration laws is an “anti-immigrant radical.”
Remember: Geraldo’s so over the cliff, his answer to whether any criminal aliens should ever be deported was a blubbering digression about John Lennon.
Geraldo is worse than worthless. So I won’t waste another word. There’s too much work to do.
NEW YORK (July 14) - A tourist who suffered a broken neck at Yankee Stadium when another fan fell on him is recovering from his injuries.
Paul Robinson, 53, of Kirkland, Wash., was sitting in the stadium's steep upper deck with his wife and 13-year-old son last Sunday when an unidentified fan standing above him took a violent tumble down several rows of seats.
"His neck is in a big brace. He's not paralyzed. Luckily, the surgery was very, very successful," said Steven Osborne, a spokesman for Montefiore Medical Center. "And this is a miracle, because that vertebrae, if you go a fraction of an inch, you're paralyzed, or you can't breathe."
The man crashed into Robinson's head, breaking his vertebrae, then came to rest in the next row.
In typical Yankee fan fashion:
The man who fell was dragged away by his friends and never bothered to apologize or check how badly Robinson was hurt. The family believes he was drunk.
"I found it odd that they didn't even ask if Paul was OK," Robinson's wife, Kathy, told the Daily News. "It's very steep up there, but if it was an innocent trip, they would ask if Paul was OK."
Yankee fans always seem to be doing stupid and drunken things:
NEW YORK -- A fan who jumped from the Yankee Stadium upper deck to the netting behind home plate was released from a hospital Wednesday and appeared in court to face criminal charges.
Eighteen-year-old Scott Harper plummeted about 40 feet onto the large screen during the eighth inning of Tuesday night's game between New York and the Chicago White Sox. After the final out, he was carried on a stretcher from the ballpark to Lincoln Medical Center, his head immobilized in a neck brace.
Harper had told three friends he was sitting with that he was going to test whether the net would hold his weight -- and then he jumped, police said.
It was the second time in five years a fan dropped from the upper deck at Yankee Stadium. In May 2000, 24-year-old Stephen Laurenzi of Yonkers, N.Y., was unconscious for a short time while sprawled on the net as a game between Boston and New York went on. He also was arrested and taken to a hospital for observation.
And just so you don't think that the Yankees have a monopoly in New York on stupid, drunk fans:
NEW YORK - A New York Mets fan has filed suit, contending a drunken, 300-pound man fell on her during the home opener at Shea Stadium and broke her back.
Ellen Massey, a 58-year-old Manhattan lawyer, sued the team, the beer concession, the union that represents the security guards at the ballpark and “John Doe,” the unidentified man who toppled on her.
Massey had surgery for spinal injuries and was hospitalized for about two weeks, said her lawyer, Stephen Kaufman. Doctors put rods and screws in her back and will have to operate on her again, he said.
Massey said that on April 9 she was in the second row of the right field upper deck near a “visibly intoxicated” man who was “acting in a rowdy, boisterous and dangerous manner for a long period of time.”
Exit question. Was Flounder from Animal House a Yankees fan or a Mets fan?
SEATTLE (AP) -Detroit slugger Gary Sheffield had an idyllic view of the New York Yankees when he joined the team before the 2004 season.
Those opinions quickly changed, and once again, Sheffield isn't shying away from sharing his thoughts.
The latest controversy surrounding Sheffield surfaced Friday, with comments he made to HBO's Real Sports, in an episode scheduled to air Tuesday night. Sheffield had strong words for Yankees' manager Joe Torre and shortstop Derek Jeter...
Sheffield claims black and white players in the Yankees clubhouse were treated differently, specifically how players Tony Womack and Kenny Lofton were handled by Torre. In the interview with HBO, Sheffield says the black players on the Yankees' roster would be "called out" in the clubhouse by Torre, while the white players would be called into Torre's office to discuss matters.
"I think it's a, a way of, the way they do things around there, you know," Sheffield told Real Sports. "They run their ship differently."
Gary Sheffield isn't the only player who feels Joe Torre treated black players differently than white players, as Sheffield's former teammate, Kenny Lofton, chimed in with his thoughts yesterday before his Rangers played in Anaheim.
"All I can say is, Sheffield knows what he's talking about," Lofton told The Associated Press when asked to respond to Sheffield's comments about Torre. "That's all I'm going to say."
Lofton's one-year tenure in pinstripes was a tumultuous one, as he was signed to a two-year deal by George Steinbrenner to hit leadoff and replace Bernie Williams in center field, only to have Torre declare the job an open competition in spring training.
During the team's season-opening trip to Japan that March, Lofton griped about being batting ninth in the opener despite the fact that he hit .174 with no steals during spring training.
Of course Sheffield and Lofton have plenty in common. Despite being blessed with awesome athletic abilities, these chronic whiners have never been able to settle down and find a home. Sheffield has been with 7 different teams, Lofton with 11.
Funny...if Torre was such a racist, you'd think a leader like Derek Jeter would speak out. But according to Sheffield:
... when it was mentioned that the Yankees' most prominent player - Derek Jeter - is black, Sheffield quickly clarified that Jeter is "black and white."
When asked the significance of that, Sheffield said, "It's really no significance. It's just you ain't all the way black."
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.
OK, well as you know by now, Cranky tagged me.
My 8 random facts:
*I have two cousins who were Republican congressmen (one from North Carolina, the other from Virginia), and a 3rd who ran for congress last year.
*I was a Washington DC Bicycle Courier in the summer of '86
*I once was involved in a crime in which me and my accomplices stole a Pepsi stand. We were never caught. I hope the SDPD doesn't read this blog.
*I was a registered Democrat until 2003. I know. I can't believe it either.
*I once owned a '75 MG Midget. I drove it for about a year before it died. The car sits at my grandmother's house in the country as my uncle still hopes to restore it.
*I had a full-blown mustache by the time I was 15.
*I dated a "rodeo princess" from Yuma, Arizona. Until I caught her cheating on me with a roommate.
*I was once a "witness" in a murder trial. I didn't actually "witness" the murder, however.
YORKTOWN - The attorney for the Billy Fischer family, whose daughter was cut from the Yorktown High School junior varsity cheerleading squad, says her clients have no other option but to sue the school district.
"At this point we are planning on going forward with a lawsuit," said Lisa Duke of the San Antonio law firm of Anderson and Duke. "We have not filed the paperwork yet, but we will soon."
Incoming freshman Wycoda Fischer was cut after tryouts were held for six positions on the squad. Seven girls tried out. The family contends that because an exception was made for the varsity cheer squad, nine girls were allowed on instead of the eight called for in the high school's cheerleader constitution, that an exception should also be made for allowing Wycoda on the squad. The high school principal and cheerleading sponsor approved the expanded JV squad, but superintendent Deborah Kneese ordered tryouts.
There's a cheerleading constitution?
Boo Hoo. Your kid got cut from the cheer squad. Fine...let her try out for a real sport then if your little girl needs that self-esteem boost. Because nobody will tease her if her attorney gets her on the cheer squad.
Of course since little Wycoda was the only one who was cut, you'd think that the school could come up with one more cheer uniform for her and avoid this whole mess.
Seems like Georgia knows how to handle its illegal immigration problem:
Illegal aliens are leaving Georgia for "more hospitable" states. Like Tennessee. Which should mean more fun for my friends at Six Meat Buffet. Theylove illegal aliens...
Note this. Many are selling their cars...and returning to Mexico! But you know...tough enforcement laws don't work, ask Michael Chertoff...
First up, the controversy of Carver Elementary School. As noted earlier here, there are over 100 Sudanese Muslim students attending Carver...a public school in the San Diego Unified School District:
Point in fact...the memo from the San Diego School District states that the Muslim students are allowed to pray during "non-instructional" time. There is a lunch period from 12:00pm to 12:50pm at Carver Elementary. Wouldn't this be an OK time for these Muslim students to get their prayer on? Or is Islam so rigid that if the students miss the proper positioning of the sun, that these students risk the ire of allah? Funny, I don't seem to remember Hakeem Olojuwon calling time out in the middle of a Rockets game so he could pray...and allah never smote him at half court.
Now on one point (and I can't believe I am doing this) I actually agree with Ibrahim Hooper. Students of all faith should be allowed to pray. However to set aside a full hour of what should be instructional time (to segregate students by faith and gender for an hour of prayer) is wrong. That is approximately 200 hours of "instructional" time each year that my tax dollars support.
Of course since this involves the encroachment of our public schools by religious zealots, the ACLU has been quick to respond:
To complete the O'Reilly doubleheader (so to speak), last night O'Reilly spoke up on the San Diego Padres' decision to have a gay "pride" night on the same night as a give-away night for kids:
By the way, Sandy Rios, baseball doesn't have a "halftime".
Full disclosure. I had plans to attend that game and was about to purchase tickets when I heard of the planned pride "festivities." I cancelled those plans when I found out that it would be "pride" night.
I have no problem with the gay men's choir singing the national anthem before a game. I have no problem with a homosexual group purchasing a block of tickets to a game...the San Diego Padres have accommodated all groups wishing to purchase tickets.
My problem is this. The gay "pride" group specifically chose this night out of all nights to make a statement. There is a gay "pride" weekend coming up and no doubt this group wanted exposure for their upcoming event. What better way to do it than by pitting their group night up against a giveaway night for children?
Boycott of gay pride event at Padres game fizzles By Scott LaFee
As boycotts go, yesterday's protest at Petco Park flopped – like the hats.
Objecting to the confluence of two promotions at last night's Padres game – “Pride Night,” a group event for local gays and lesbians, and a team giveaway of floppy hats to children 14 and younger – several Christian and conservative groups called for a public protest and boycott of the game.
The San Diego Police Department reported no unusual activity or arrests related to the protest.
The lack of problems contrasted with the back-and-forth barbs exchanged before the game on both sides of the debate about whether it was wise to have the floppy-hat giveaway on Pride Night.
What LaFee missed in his "in-depth" reporting was what the O'Reilly segment showed...the "pride" contingent demonstrating and practicing their values...right in front of thousands of kids who were there for their hats and a ballgame. Of course Ron deHart doesn't see it that way:
Local gay leaders responded with puzzlement, dismay and some anger. “We're talking about a baseball game. That's all this is,” said Ron deHarte, executive director of San Diego Pride, which had purchased 1,000 tickets to yesterday's game, then advertised them on the group's Web site as “Out at the Park with the San Diego Padres, an official San Diego Pride event.”
“Huge numbers of gay and lesbian families go to baseball games with their kids every day,” he said. “We go because we're fans. What these (objecting groups) don't seem to understand is that there are children at every Padres game and there are gays there, too. To suggest that it's anything more than a baseball game is a ridiculous argument from the Dark Ages.”
OK Ron, if all you are talking about is a baseball game, then why the signs? Why the demonstrations? Why the groups of men kissing men and women kissing women? If by your assertion, gays go to ballgames "all the time", then why don't I see similar behavior at those games?
And I have been to over a thousand major league baseball games. Add in NBA and college basketball, NFL and college football games, NHL hockey and other miscellaneous sporting events, and you can double that number. And you know what? I have NEVER witnessed men kissing men and women kissing women at any of those.
I would think that if it was "just a ballgame", that Dehart's group could have kept their urges in check and left their signs at home. But of course, we all know what the real agenda was that night.
BTW...the San Diego Padres were in a tough spot. I don't agree with O'Reilly that they were "stupid". Had they denied the sale of tickets to the "pride" group, then the ACLU would have been on their doorstep. Knowing that the local media would support the gay agenda, they took the path of least resistance.
Next year? Somehow I believe the Padres will see this coming and try to barter a compromise.
For those of you Global Warming deniers who continue to ignore all Algore's (pbuh) warnings, look at this:
Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, has seen snow for the first time in 89 years, as a cold snap continues to grip several South American nations.
Temperatures plunged to -22C (-8F) in parts of Argentina's province of Rio Negro, while snow fell on Buenos Aires for several hours on Monday.
Two deaths from exposure were reported in Argentina and one in Chile. In Bolivia, heavy snowfall blocked the nation's main motorway and forced the closure of several airports.
Thousands of people cheered in the streets of Buenos Aires at the sight of the capital's first snowfall since 1918.
"Despite all my years, this is the first time I've ever seen snow in Buenos Aires," 82-year-old Juana Benitez was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
Argentine meteorologists are predicting more cold and even freezing weather over the next few days.
South American residents flee the savage effects of Algore's (pbuh) Global Warming (Update): Rusty at the Jawa Report claims a South American sighting of Manbearpig!
Shaq will work with task force investigators during his basketball off season time to help “guard the net” from sexual predators. Sheriff Brown said he was “honored and proud” to have Shaq as a Reserve Deputy with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office and the Blue Ridge Thunder task force.
“Shaq will be a tremendous asset in helping law enforcement, parents, and communities fight online crime and sexual exploitation of children,” said Sheriff Brown.
Now that isn't really "new" news...Shaq has been playing cop since his LA Laker days. I think that's totally cool.
I posted this to set up a quote from Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. From his recent column:
Shaq actually told Regis and Kelly that he might run for sheriff of Orange County when his basketball career is over. I think that's a great idea. He'd be the first sheriff since Andy Taylor not to carry a gun. Shaq wouldn't need one. He could just threaten criminals with this warning: "Put your hands up or I'm going to shoot a free throw at you."
Watch Sutton's lips quiver as he tries to defend his prosecution of Hernandez:
Notice that Sutton didn't even wait until the Texas Ranger investigation was complete before he rode in on his horse to take over and prosecute. Hernandez received a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. And the illegal aliens? Well...of course the illegal aliens were all given jobs and safe haven in our country in return for their testimony against Hernandez.
I have already decided who I will vote for in the next Presidential election...the first candidate who promises to open an investigation on the corruption of Johnny Sutton.
Meanwhile...there is someone who could right this wrong...right now:
I tried to stay away from Algore's (pbuh) hypocritical celebration of himself, but this cannot be ignored:
Although I must say I was very disappointed in the green room accomodations:
Huge hat tip to Cranky at Six Meat Buffet who caught this before I did. I knew Tap was playing...but I really tried to avoid all things Live Earth yesterday.
Officials at Live Earth Johannesburg have blamed the effects of climate change for poor audience attendance at Saturday's (07Jul07) South African event.
Organiser John Langford believes extremely cold weather in the region - it snowed last week (ends06Jul07) for the first time in a quarter of a century - kept people away from the concert, which starred Joss Stone, UB40, Angelique Kidjo and Baaba Maal.
Speaking before the event, Langford said, "We're expecting 10,000 here tonight. It's a bit chilly, and we've had a strange winter... is it climate change? We had snow in Jo'burg last week for the first time in 25 years."
Didja get that? Global warming is now causing snow. Algore (PBUH) better get going on another concert to save the world before it's too late...
Of course the dolts at Anheuser Busch don't really know that "Chelada" doesn't contain tomato juice...it's simply Mexican beer with lime and rim salt.
However, for those with a nasty hangover, this might end up being the perfect breakfast cocktail.
I don't drink anymore...but I used to. I recall a drunken weekend in Tijuana when I was amused by Mexicans who were drinking their "lunch"...Tecate beer in a mug with hot carrots, onions, tomatoes and jalapenos.
It began as a report of an attempted bank robbery with police swarming the branch.
It turned out to be nothing more than a man's belt buckle – which closely resembled a semiautomatic handgun.
Police surrounded the Wells Fargo Bank branch on Camino Ruiz near Mira Mesa Boulevard in Mira Mesa at 11:42 a.m. (Friday) after someone in the bank reported that a man had what looked like a gun under his shirt. Jacob Johnson, 24, of Rancho Peñasquitos was wearing a dress shirt, casual slacks and a belt with a gun-shaped buckle when he and his friend and neighbor Jeffrey Russell walked inside the bank.
Johnson was clueless as to why it might not be such a great idea to wear a gun belt buckle into a bank:
Several minutes later, they walked out of the bank to see 10 to 15 police officers with their guns aimed at them, Johnson said.
“They said, 'Put your hands in the air,' ” he said.
Officers handcuffed both men and put them in the back of separate patrol cars.
“I was like, 'What is going on here?' ” Johnson said. “They told me to empty my pockets and walk backward. They put me in the back of the car, and I didn't know what was going on. Cameramen were putting their cameras in my face, like I was some criminal.”
Sgt. Jim Schorr said that by 12:04 p.m., officers had determined that the situation was “Code 4” – police jargon for “everything's back to normal.” Johnson and Russell were released.
OK, perhaps the cops were just doing their jobs in making sure that Johnson did not pose a threat...but couldn't they have been nicer?
Johnson complained, “they called me an idiot and said, 'I can't believe you were wearing that right now.' ”
Although Johnson finds some of the incident amusing, he feels police could have handled it better.
“I mean, it's a belt buckle with half a gun,” he said. “It's on my waist. If it's a gun, it's pretty amazing that it can just float on my waist.”
Upon closer inspection, the police may not have been so critical of Johnson's decision to wear that belt buckle into a bank...but maybe his decision to wear it anywhere.
I wonder what will happen the next time Johnson decides to board an airplane...
Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo placed newscaster Mirthala Salinas on leave today while it conducts an internal investigation into whether she breached journalistic ethics by having a relationship with someone she covered: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
OK...that "investigation" should last about 30 seconds. I think her "journalistic ethics" were breached the minute that dirtbag MARRIED mayor Tony VillaLaRaza breached her.
Telemundo executives have come under intense pressure to discipline Salinas after she and Villaraigosa acknowledged this week they had been involved in a relationship dating back more than a year. The mayor separated from Corina Villaraigosa, his wife of 20 years, early last month.During at least part of their time together, Salinas was assigned to the "political beat," in which she covered the mayor on trips to New York and Sacramento. On the night he announced the separation from his wife, Salinas was the Channel 52 anchor who delivered the news.
"OK, meet me at the Sepulveda Blvd. Travelodge, Room 204, 9pm tonight..."
At 4 p.m. on June 8, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a terse statement announcing that he and his wife, Corina, were separating after 20 years of marriage.
Two hours later, Telemundo television anchor Mirthala Salinas delivered the story to her Spanish-language viewers on the Friday evening news.
"The rumors were true," she declared of the split after an introduction that described the story as a "political scandal" that had left "many people with their mouth open."
(Including of course, Salinas...but let's not be tawdry)
What Salinas, 35, did not say in the newscast was that she was the other woman. She and Villaraigosa, 54, had been in a relationship even though she had previously been the political reporter assigned to cover local politics and the mayor.
Apparently, Salinas has a thang for jumping into bed with amnesty-supporting politicians:
Villaraigosa is not the first politician to be linked to Salinas. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, (D-Los Angeles), confirmed in a recent interview that he dated Salinas in 2003...
Hey everyone! I did her too!
But Telemundo has always known what they had in their perky, intrepid political reporter:
"Mirthala Salinas is one of our most respected reporters and a great professional," said Manuel Abud, Telemundo's general manager in Los Angeles.
BTW, this is my Carbon Offset Victory Garden. So far, it offsets more carbon than a 50,000 sq.ft. mansion. You’re welcome. (Thanks again to your generous donations to save the planet.)-Cranky
NEW YORK - In a gut-busting showdown that combined drama, daring and indigestion, Joey Chestnut emerged Wednesday as the world's hot dog eating champion, knocking off six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi in a rousing yet repulsive triumph.
Chestnut, the great red, white and blue hope in the annual Fourth of July competition, broke his own world record by inhaling 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes — a staggering one every 10.9 seconds before a screaming crowd in Coney Island.
"If I needed to eat another one right now, I could," the 23-year-old Californian said after receiving the mustard yellow belt emblematic of hot dog eating supremacy.
Ever have "one of those days?" Sure, all of us go through the occasional rough patch, but I swear there are times when I think Allah must really have it in for me. I mean, I know the "Big Guy" is supposed to have a sense of humor, but do I always have to be the punchline?
Take for example this last week. A few mates and I had been planning a big martyrdom weekend for quite a while; it's something we first began discussing a few years ago in medical school back in Amman. We were sitting around the dorm eating pizza, cramming for a big anatomy final, when Ali said "you know, after graduation, we should get together for something really big...."
Anyhoo, Achmed finally says, "how about packing cars with explosives and killing hundreds of random infidels in a coordinated series of gigantic fireballs?"
As you can imagine, Islamic hilarity ensues...and the story has a happy ending:
After a half hour with a spatula and ten cans of Pam, the cops finally got 95% or so of me peeled off the sidewalk. I looked down at my legs and realized that I'll be saving a lot of money on clothes from now on, because I'm sporting a permanent pair of melted-on black polyester trousers.
And then the kicker: I looked down at my package and noticed "Little Khalid" was AWOL. As they were loading me into the the police wagon I glanced back over my shoulder and saw what was was left of him charbroiling on the sidewalk. A fat lot of good those 72 virgin are going to me now.
Final box score: I'm out one Mercedes, one Jeep, £2000 in miscellaneous bomb materials, three layers of skin, and one very low-mileage penis. Infidels killed: nil. So the next time you want to bitch to me about how bad your day is going, don't expect a lot of sympathy.
A San Diego public school has become part of a national debate over religion in schools ever since a substitute teacher publicly condemned an Arabic language program that gives Muslim students time for prayer during school hours.
Carver Elementary in Oak Park added Arabic to its curriculum in September when it suddenly absorbed more than 100 students from a defunct charter school that had served mostly Somali Muslims.
After subbing at Carver, the teacher claimed that religious indoctrination was taking place and said that a school aide had led Muslim students in prayer. An investigation by the San Diego Unified School District failed to substantiate the allegations. But critics continue to assail Carver for providing a 15-minute break in the classroom each afternoon to accommodate Muslim students who wish to pray.
Some say the arrangement at Carver constitutes special treatment for a specific religion that is not extended to other faiths. Others believe it crosses the line into endorsement of religion.
Supporters of Carver say such an accommodation is legal, if not mandatory, under the law. They note the district and others have been sued for not accommodating religious needs on the same level as non-religious needs, such as a medical appointment.
Islam requires its adherents to pray at prescribed times, one of which falls during the school day.
So the school district now has to accomodate Muslims because they are required by their religion at specific times?
OK, what about Christians who are told this?:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
I'm fine with giving the Muslims their prayer time. As long as every other school in California now gives their Christian and Jewish students the same consideration.
Driving home from another exciting Junior Varsity Girls Basketball Summer League game, I heard a soundbite that made me shout a loud profanity at my car radio. From ABC News:
ABC News' Steven Portnoy Reports: The former ambassador whose criticism of the Bush administration touched off the CIA leak scandal calls President Bush an "accessory" to obstruction of justice.
In an interview with ABC News Radio, Joseph Wilson said Bush's commutation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby’s prison term demonstrates that "this administration is corrupt to the core – from top to bottom."
In commuting part of Libby's sentence, Wilson says, President Bush is complicit in Libby’s crimes.
"He is an accessory to the obstruction of justice in this commutation of the sentence," Wilson told ABC News. "He, himself, is now under a cloud."
I have tried to keep this P.O.C. blog as free from profanity as I can (Cynthia Rodriguez, notwithstanding). But this needs to be said:
$#%& you, Joe Wilson! I guess this was your last chance to be relevant about anything the rest of your life...so get your name out in the media one more time.
Of course here is Joe Wilson and wife running away from the spotlight (Vanity Fair, 2004):
Personally, I still haven't figured out what Scooter Libby did to get in trouble with the law...and actually I don't care. The whole thing bores me and I'll leave it up to the experts to lay that out. But I do know the following:
Scooter Libby is still paying a large price for having a faulty memory. His prison sentence was commuted, but the guy is still on the hook for a $250,000 fine and he now has a criminal record. What exactly did Sandy Berger get again for STEALING CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS?
“The President’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence does not serve justice, condones criminal conduct, and is a betrayal of trust of the American people,” Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, said in a statement.
Heh. Condoning criminal conduct? That’s what the Senate does day-in and day-out as we learned last week.
Being a major league baseball player's wife can be so rough. There are so many decisions that need to be made. How to properly budget and spend the millions of dollars your husband makes each season. What to do while your husband is away on those 12-game road trips. And do you worry about what your husband is doing away from the ballpark on those road trips?
And what about fashion? Certainly you don't want to arrive at the ballpark looking like you are wearing your husband's money.
Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez's long-suffering wife, Cynthia, may have finally flipped her pretty lid yesterday when she went to a game in The Bronx wearing a tight-fitting, white tank top bearing a foul message on the back: "F- - - you."
The obscene phrase was plainly visible to thousands of fans - including plenty of kids - as she, her 2-year-old daughter, Natasha, and an older woman took their seats in the players' family section of the House that Ruth Built.
So what's the big deal? Have you ever been to Yankee Stadium? Ever been to New York? If those seven letters bother you, it's best to avoid the Bronx altogether, let alone spend $80 for a ticket to a Yankees game.
Cynthia's F-word faux pas also may have violated Yankee Stadium policy.
The team's policy prohibits any banners or signs that are not in "good taste" and also warns that security guards will eject any guests "using foul language" or "making obscene gestures."
Hah! That's a joke. If that were the case, the right field bleachers would be empty for every game.
Cut the lady some slack. I am guessing she felt it would be easier to have her response to heckling Yankee fans pre-printed on her back after her husband booted a ground ball or popped up.
