My Blog

A refuge during Tribe outages

Max — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:46:36 GMT

* http://triberefugees.ning.com/profile/Max * See my profile on Tribe Refugees at Ning. Tribe Refugees can be a good place to hang out while Tribe works on its issues. Tribe Refugees' main page is here: http://triberefugees.ning.com/ Ms. Dynomite has provided instructions on how to join there.

Investigate Rumsfeld!

Max — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:29:11 GMT

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1212719173246820.xml&coll=7 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/05/AR2008060501523.html?hpid=moreheadlines http://news.opb.org/article/2270-wyden-blasts-dministration-over-pre-war-intelligence/ <--the fastest read ^Background^ Message I just sent to Oregon Senator Ron Wyden: Investigate Rumsfeld but don't stop there. The deliberate deception of the President, Vice President et. al. has cost many lives and damaged others in ways that cannot be calculated. America has been diminished by their abuse of power. Most of us still believe the Constitution is more than 'just a goddam piece of paper.' I hope we are not wrong. I've never written you before but I want you to know I COMPLETELY SUPPORT AND APPROVE OF A RUMSFELD INVESTIGATION. Unless and until there is a big change in the Executive, Congress is our best hope of accountability and responsibility in government.

Wife slashes husband's penis, buttocks with knife

Max — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:41:29 GMT

CALGARY - In the midst of an amorous fling with her husband, Abigail London-Fife pulled out a knife she had hidden under the bed and slashed him in several places, including his penis and buttocks.... http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=fe3aec24-cfd2-4b29-a388-59181ef9dd42&k=1673

I'm 12% Republican and 32% Dem. Where does that leave the majority?

Max — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 04:23:35 GMT

http://www.blogthings.com/howdemocratareyouquiz http://www.blogthings.com/howrepublicanareyouquiz This and a bunch of other meaningless quizzes can be found at blogthings.com

Back in 10

Max — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:06:45 GMT

I've not been abducted by aliens. I'm getting away from the damp, dark and suddenly cold winter and going to Florida for a bit of sun. No computers while I'm gone. No telephones, no electricity, so stores, no cars. Life can be overstimulating. This will be a welcome change. TTFN

Bush Proposes Tax Cuts for Rich, Republicans, and Heterosexuals

Max — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 21:44:36 GMT

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President George W. Bush, leader of the free-world and defender of all that is holy, proposed a near $700 billion legislation package Friday, in hopes of bolstering the American economy and saving the free-world from certain economic ruin. [see spoof.com for the rest of this story. Most of it is parody. The trick is figuring out which parts are not parody.] : http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s2

Are you registered to vote?

Max — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 04:27:11 GMT

Are you sure? The 2008 presidential primaries are in full swing and time is running out to register in most states. Make sure you're registered so your vote is counted. You can check your registration instantly at https://votepoke.org/ They ask for an e-mail address but promise not to use it unless you permit it. It's fast ...and I'm registered.

Interesting statistic of the day.

Max — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 07:50:09 GMT

As of this moment, Tribe lists 583 member records named "Max".

Truth can be stranger than fiction.

Max — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 02:58:59 GMT

http://www.house.gov/house/Contract/CONTRACT.html Dear Reader, Just in case you might think I'm making this up ^ here is the link to the page on the White House website where you can find the original. I don't know if it's linked from anywhere else on whitehouse.gov but it's the first thing to come up when I Googled it today. Other than the title of this post, I offer it here without expressing any opinion. REPUBLICAN CONTRACT WITH AMERICA As Republican Members of the House of Representatives and as citizens seeking to join that body we propose not just to change its policies, but even more important, to restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives. That is why, in this era of official evasion and posturing, we offer instead a detailed agenda for national renewal, a written commitment with no fine print. This year's election offers the chance, after four decades of one-party control, to bring to the House a new majority that will transform the way Congress works. That historic change would be the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public's money. It can be the beginning of a Congress that respects the values and shares the faith of the American family. Like Lincoln, our first Republican president, we intend to act "with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right." To restore accountability to Congress. To end its cycle of scandal and disgrace. To make us all proud again of the way free people govern themselves. On the first day of the 104th Congress, the new Republican majority will immediately pass the following major reforms, aimed at restoring the faith and trust of the American people in their government: * FIRST, require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply equally to the Congress; * SECOND, select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse; * THIRD, cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff by one-third; * FOURTH, limit the terms of all committee chairs; * FIFTH, ban the casting of proxy votes in committee; * SIXTH, require committee meetings to be open to the public; * SEVENTH, require a three-fifths majority vote to pass a tax increase; * EIGHTH, guarantee an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by implementing zero base-line budgeting. Thereafter, within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress, we shall bring to the House Floor the following bills, each to be given full and open debate, each to be given a clear and fair vote and each to be immediately available this day for public inspection and scrutiny. 1. THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: A balanced budget/tax limitation amendment and a legislative line-item veto to restore fiscal responsibility to an out- of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses. (Bill Text) (Description) 2. THE TAKING BACK OUR STREETS ACT: An anti-crime package including stronger truth-in- sentencing, "good faith" exclusionary rule exemptions, effective death penalty provisions, and cuts in social spending from this summer's "crime" bill to fund prison construction and additional law enforcement to keep people secure in their neighborhoods and kids safe in their schools. (Bill Text) (Description) 3. THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: Discourage illegitimacy and teen pregnancy by prohibiting welfare to minor mothers and denying increased AFDC for additional children while on welfare, cut spending for welfare programs, and enact a tough two-years-and-out provision with work requirements to promote individual responsibility. (Bill Text) (Description) 4. THE FAMILY REINFORCEMENT ACT: Child support enforcement, tax incentives for adoption, strengthening rights of parents in their children's education, stronger child pornography laws, and an elderly dependent care tax credit to reinforce the central role of families in American society. (Bill Text) (Description) 5. THE AMERICAN DREAM RESTORATION ACT: A S500 per child tax credit, begin repeal of the marriage tax penalty, and creation of American Dream Savings Accounts to provide middle class tax relief. (Bill Text) (Description) 6. THE NATIONAL SECURITY RESTORATION ACT: No U.S. troops under U.N. command and restoration of the essential parts of our national security funding to strengthen our national defense and maintain our credibility around the world. (Bill Text) (Description) 7. THE SENIOR CITIZENS FAIRNESS ACT: Raise the Social Security earnings limit which currently forces seniors out of the work force, repeal the 1993 tax hikes on Social Security benefits and provide tax incentives for private long-term care insurance to let Older Americans keep more of what they have earned over the years. (Bill Text) (Description) 8. THE JOB CREATION AND WAGE ENHANCEMENT ACT: Small business incentives, capital gains cut and indexation, neutral cost recovery, risk assessment/cost-benefit analysis, strengthening the Regulatory Flexibility Act and unfunded mandate reform to create jobs and raise worker wages. (Bill Text) (Description) 9. THE COMMON SENSE LEGAL REFORM ACT: "Loser pays" laws, reasonable limits on punitive damages and reform of product liability laws to stem the endless tide of litigation. (Bill Text) (Description) 10. THE CITIZEN LEGISLATURE ACT: A first-ever vote on term limits to replace career politicians with citizen legislators. (Description) Further, we will instruct the House Budget Committee to report to the floor and we will work to enact additional budget savings, beyond the budget cuts specifically included in the legislation described above, to ensure that the Federal budget deficit will be less than it would have been without the enactment of these bills. Respecting the judgment of our fellow citizens as we seek their mandate for reform, we hereby pledge our names to this Contract with America.

The meaning of life American Style

Max — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 07:28:04 GMT

"Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption...We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever-increasing rate." -Victor Lebow This advice was delivered during the Eisenhower administration. The objective was a good one, viz. to sustain in peacetime the lively economy brought about by war production and avoid the devastation of economic depression such as existed during much of the 1930's, the memory of which was still vivid.. We have been doing a good job of consuming, burning up, wearing out and discarding and our standard of living is high. The mistake is equating standard of living with quality of life. I wonder if Victor Lebow could have imagined just how efficiently his vision has been fulfilled. This giant consumption machine is unsustainable. It's time to find something else to base the economy on. Ever-increasing growth with no limit is called cancer when it occurs in an organism and it eventually kills its host.

They're right, except the "likes math" and "tom boy" and partner preference parts

Max — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:55:26 GMT

Try it yourself (does that make you a try-sexual?): http://members.tripod.com/~womens_voices/BF100/BF100.html?submit=I+understand+it+is+a+satire HARD ANDROGYNE Your score placed you in the category of Hard Androgyne. This is the "tom boy" type of ranking. You may also wish to review Androgyne and Gentle Butch, the two categories surrounding you. In a ranking across the femme/butch gamut, if 1 is femme and 100 is butch, you fall between 53 and 60 on the scale. For a review of where you fall in the overall population in numbers, refer to this chart. Your group encompasses folks of all types, genders, and orientations; it includes a large number of males and averages around 41 years of age. Most of the time you really don't think of yourself as butch or femme, but if pressured, you tend to react aggressively - either to solve a problem or to defend yourself. You aren't extremely masculine, yet are more drawn to your masculine side than your feminine side. Security is paramount to you, and the locks on your house and tendency to monogamy reflect that. You like money in the savings and a retirement plan in place. You are nervous and insecure without that. You are a good provider, often appearing in upper management positions, and are an excellent supervisor. Logic and mathematics fascinate you, and you have a very good memory. You are best remembering what you have seen in a video sense - sound and picture. About half of what you read sticks with you and what you hear goes in one ear and out the other. Pictures you remember very well. You like action adventure movies and books, though you don't read a lot. You are heavily into technology, computers, and fun lil gadgets to play with. As a parent you are strict but not overbearing, and tend to be a bit over protective. You are a staunch defender of your legal rights. For partners you prefer a softer femme, along the lines of the Classic or Lipstick Femme. For friends you encompass everyone, though you find Extreme Butches a bit plastic and pure Androgynes indecisive.

The Meaning of Life

Max — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:45:17 GMT

The Galaxy Song (Monty Python's Meaning Of Life) Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour, That's orbiting at nineteen miles a second, so it's reckoned, A sun that is the source of all our power. The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see Are moving at a million miles a day In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour, Of the galaxy we call the 'Milky Way'. Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars. It's a hundred thousand light years side to side. It bulges in the middle, sixteen thousand light years thick, But out by us, it's just three thousand light years wide. We're thirty thousand light years from galactic central point. We go 'round every two hundred million years, And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions In this amazing and expanding universe. The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding In all of the directions it can whiz As fast as it can go, at the speed of light, you know, Twelve million miles a minute, and that's the fastest speed there is. So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure, How amazingly unlikely is your birth, And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, 'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth.

AP: 8 men claim encounters with [Senator] Craig

Max — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:22:33 GMT

BOISE, Idaho - Eight men say they either had sex with Sen. Larry Craig or were targets of sexual advances by the Idaho lawmaker at various times during his political career, a newspaper reported Sunday. One of the men is the former escort whose allegations disgraced the Rev. Ted Haggard, former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, the Idaho Statesman reported. The newspaper identified four men and reported details of the encounters they say involved Craig. It also reported the accounts of four other men who did not agree to be identified but who described sexual advances or encounters involving the conservative Republican, who opposes same-sex marriage and has a strong record against gay rights. Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after being accused by an undercover officer of soliciting sex at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport and later called a news conference to deny that he is gay. The newspaper acknowledged that its report was not based on definitive evidence but said it also found no evidence to disprove the accounts of the four identified men. It said it reviewed the senator's travel records, which put him where the sex is alleged to have taken place, and did background checks on those making the allegations. More... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071203/ap_on_re_us/craig_encounters_5

Maimed soldiers must return their signing bonus!

Max — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 07:26:00 GMT

I was driving home later than usual tonight when I heard something on the radio that I'm not sure I can believe. It said that soldiers who receive a re-enlistment bonus are required to return it if they return from Iraq prematurely because of a disabling injury! I know things are upside in Washington, where they'd have us believe eliminating the estate tax and dropping the capital gains tax will help the "middle class" but can anyone be this mean? Is this supposed to be an example of "wasteful spending"? Can this possibly be true? Is the anyplace in the world where you can literally pay an arm and a leg and have you employer tell you that that's not enough? edit: Shocking as it it, it also appears to be true: PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments. To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases. Now men and women who have lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being ordered to pay some of that money back.... ^^^^^^the full story is at http://kdka.com/local/military.signing.bonuses.2.571660.html Further outrages of this sort at http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpvet115454638nov11,0,6258084.story

Obscenity in US News & World Report

Max — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:12:31 GMT

The latest number of US News (Arnold Schwarzenegger on the cover) contains a brief story and picture. It's about a soldier who returned from Iraq legless and blind who has recovered sufficiently to be able to do rock climbing on the indoor set-up of a military hospital. It's impressive to know what medicine is able to do for people who have been dreadfully injured and I'm pleased the man seems capable of living life with some meaningful, albeit diminished, physical capabilities. The obscenity is that George W. Bush is among the onlookers cheering him on! Words are not adequate to express how utterly macabre, how abjectly perverted this is. He can cheer this man who came so close to dying but refuses to acknowledge so many dead or their survivors. So, it seems coming home maimed and not feeling sorry for yourself is the way to earn the esteem of your Commander in Chief. What I need and want is a peaceful revolution at the polls and assurance that every vote counts. Hillary is not a revolution. She is just a milder flavor of the same Kool Aid. related story in LATimes http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bush9nov09,1,7701445.story?track=rss related story at Whitehouse.gov: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071108-8.html ---from which I learn that the construction of the facility did not cost the taxpayers a penny because it was all funded by donations. That's a splendid and generous thing; but why do I get the impression that the president is somehow taking credit for a private initiative? AND WHY DO I WORRY THAT SOMEWHERE SOMEONE MONITORS "SUBVERSIVE" MESSAGES? I CAN'T HELP THINK OF HOW THE NAZIS, AFTER THEY CAME TO POWER, SETTLED SCORES WITH COMMUNISTS.

strange bedfellows & why is God pissed off at Georgia?

Max — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:36:54 GMT

Pat Robertson has endorsed Rudy Giuliani, a man of sterling moral character, divorced only two or three times, in favor of liberal abortion laws, who lived with both his wife and his mistress at the same time, under the roof of Gracie Mansion, the executive residence maintained at the expense of New York taxpayers. I suppose it wasn't Rudy's fault personally that gays and lesbians and abortionists and other people that God disapproves of caused some guys to steal some planes they boarded in Boston and fly two of them into the WTC towers. Or maybe God got over that and Robertson forgot to tell us about it. On the subject of commercial and political religion, why hasn't any supposed minister of the Gospel come forth to explain why God is so annoyed with the people of Georgia that he has withheld rain from the heavens over that state for so long they are suffering a severe drought? Did some particularly wicked person or organization set up house in Georgia recently? Or maybe they're becoming too tolerant of miscegenation down there--if the god of these preachers still disapproves of the intimate mixing of races.

Homophobic homos

Max — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 21:10:27 GMT

It occurred to me as I read yet another "homosexual scandal" involving an anti-gay republican that maybe these guys just don't find sex exciting or enjoyable unless it has the allure of the illicit about it. There are plenty of nice guys who will help these guys feel degraded and dirty without involving police and judges and lawyers and juries. They ought to consult the classifieds instead of soliciting in public toilets. * * * Florida State Representative Bob Allen found guilty of soliciting gay sex VIERA, Fla. (AP) - A Florida lawmaker who tried to pass tougher public lewdness laws was convicted Friday of agreeing to pay for gay sex with an undercover officer in a men's park restroom. Republican state Representative Bob Allen faces up to 60 days in county jail and a $500 fine for soliciting prostitution. That is a second-degree misdemeanor. The Merritt Island Republican was accused of peering over a stall at Titusville officer Danny Kavanaugh, then agreeing to pay $20 to perform oral sex on the policeman. The three-man, three-woman jury deliberated nearly 3 1/2 hours. Allen says (quote): "I am innocent; I've done nothing wrong." The political career that ultimately elevated Allen to Florida co-chair for John McCain's presidential campaign is in jeopardy. State Republicans immediately urged him to reconsider his earlier vow to fight the charges and not resign. House Speaker Marco Rubio said the House would act if Allen didn't. http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=73d4281b-b925-4095-8302-6135f2d17081

Bears in the woods--a charming diversion:

Max — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:11:55 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQoToUy4ALA

Church ordered to pay $10.9 million for funeral protest

Max — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 07:26:39 GMT

Fred Phelps can believe his own lies but how does he convince followers? http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/31/funeral.protest/?iref=mpstoryview * Story Highlights * Church members picket the funerals of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan * Church claims God is punishing the U.S. because of its tolerance for gays * Marine's father: "I couldn't let them get away with doing this to our military" * Church leaders say judgment will do nothing to stop their protests

T-Shirt Hell

Max — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:39:23 GMT

http://www.tshirthell.com/babyhell.shtml These guys have some laugh-out-loud funny stuff, all in poor taste.

straight women & gay men

Max — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 07:21:15 GMT

While it lasts, here is the link: http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/lax/336540406.html The content is reproduced below. I like what the guy has to say and how he says it, even though my best female friend is a lesbian. best of craigslist > los angeles > A Memo to Straight Women Seeking A Gay Male Friend Originally Posted: Tue, 22 May 22:30 PDT A Memo to Straight Women Seeking A Gay Male Friend Date: 2007-05-22, 10:30PM PDT Hi there. I am a gay man living in Los Angeles. Let me just say that I have many women friends. And I applaud the open-minded, progressive attitudes most straight women seem to have nowadays. However, I have noticed that we've crossed over into a place where some women are just a little too comfortable with homosexuality. "Too much tolerance" you say? I'll explain. Honestly, I am flattered when a woman says something along the lines of "you're cute. Too bad you're not straight." That's nice to hear. I'm not going into some PC tirade over a compliment. You know what though? I only need to hear it once. My friend's friend says it every time I see her. She does the rubbing my upper back back, hands in my hair shit. And you know what I want to say? "LISTEN. My being gay isn't the only reason it would never happen." Like, back the fuck up. And she's also volunteered to be my beard at events. "Great, we'll time travel to the 1950s when people in LA last did that." I think "Will and Grace" has instructed an entire generation of women that gay men are dying - DYING! - to be your friend and indulge your every co-dependent and neurotic whim. We'll be there in a clinch with a "you go girl!" or "you look fierce!" Because we all love to say that stuff and many other quippy zingers. Last Monday night, a woman at a bar came up to me and asked me if I was single. Not to disparage her, but let's just say I was happy to shut her down right away with an abrupt "I'm gay." And you know what? THAT DID NOT DETER HER. She LIT up and said, "We can go shopping together and you can watch me play with myself with my Rabbit." Ugggggghhhh... Do you ever not even know where to begin? I wanted to say, "Yes, please, I am in the habit of befriending bar skanks in the first ten seconds of talking to them. And despite my lack of sexual attraction to women, I would simply LOVE to watch you get yourself off. JACKPOT!" As far as the shopping thing goes: I love saying "I'm not really into shopping" and I just stand back and wait for their heads to explode. Their precious "Will and Grace" never prepared them for that possibility! Call me uptight but I'm also against using the word "fag" aimed at me in some joking, campy way to demonstrate how comfortable you are with my being gay. This has happened to me. It's like a folksy gay-bashing without the exclamation point of the beatings. Let's from now on consult what I call "The Nigger Test" to see if a carefree epithet really is appropriate. The way it works is that when you want to call me "fag" you imagine instead that I'm black and that you're going to call me "nigger" in some whimsical, ironic way. If you would in fact drop the N bomb, then by all means, proceed! Also, please refrain from referring to your gay friend as "my Will" or yourself as "Grace." That's totally queer. It was an okay show that's been off the air for over a year. Move on. And lastly, just because you know another gay man who is single DOES NOT MEAN WE WOULD MAKE A PERFECT MATCH. I appreciate the desire to see me paired up but most women (or straight men who attempt this) think pairing up gays is as difficult as a game of Concentration. "Hey... there's one... there's another... done!" "This guy you want to pair me up with... what does he like to do in his free time? Does he vote? Does he read? Like to go out? Stay in? You don't know? So you just know his name and sexual orientation." PASS. And while I've got nothing against the uber-feminine gay men, and respect that they have a much tougher path than gay men who seem straight, please do not fix me up with them. Because I am not attracted to them, which you would know if you'd asked any of the pertinent questions before acting as a one-woman Match.com. In closing, I am a friendly guy and like knowing people from all walks of life. But straight girls, just dial down the desperation level a couple of notches and find a more constructive way to deal with the void that the cancellation of "Sex and the City" has left in your life. (Full disclosure: I'm a total Miranda!) If we're meant to be friends, you'll let me breathe and know me for me, not as the hot urban accessory of the gay male friend. Thank you. I feel so much better.

I da ho mo?

Max — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 04:49:54 GMT

The following is the transcription of a recorded interview between Sen. Larry Craig and a police officer after his arrest in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. CRAIG: Am I going to have to fight you in court? OFFICER: No. No. I'm not going to go to court unless you want me there. CRAIG: 'Cause I don't want to be in court either. OFFICER: Okay. I don't either. (inaudible) OFFICER: Um. Here's the way it works. Um. You'll be released today. Okay? CRAIG: Okay. OFFICER: All right. I know I can bring you to jail, but that's not my goal here, okay? (inaudible) CRAIG: Don't do that. You. You. OFFICER: I'm not going to bring you to jail. CRAIG: You solicited me. OFFICER: Okay. Were going to get. Were going to get into that. (inaudible) CRAIG: Okay. OFFICER: But there's the, there's two ways, yes. You can, you can, ah, you can go to court. You can plead guilty. CRAIG: Yep. OFFICER: There'll be a fine. You won't have to explain anything (inaudible) I know. CRAIG: Right. OFFICER: And you'll pay a fine, you'll be (inaudible) done. Or if you want to plead not guilty, ah, and I, I cant make these decisions for you. CRAIG: No, no. Just tell me where I am (inaudible) I need to make this flight. OFFICER: Okay. Okay. And then I go to people that are not guilty, then I would have to come to court and end up testifying. So those are the two things, okay. Did I explain that part? CRAIG: Yes. OFFICER: Okay. Um, ah. I'm just going to read you your rights real quick, okay? You got it on? OFFICER: Okay. OFFICER: Ah, the date is 6/11/07 at 1228 hours. Um, Mr Craig? CRAIG: Yes. OFFICER: Sorry about that. (ringing phone) OFFICER: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer now or have a present, a lawyer present now or anytime during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to you without cost. Do you understand each of these rights the way I have explained them to you? CRAIG: I do. DK: Do you wish to talk to us at this time? CRAIG: I do. OFFICER: Okay. Um, I just wanna start off with a your side of the story, okay. So, a CRAIG: So I go into the bathroom here as I normally do, I'm a commuter too here. OFFICER: Okay. CRAIG: I sit down, um, to go to the bathroom and ah, you said our feet bumped. I believe they did ah because I reached down and scooted over and um, the next think I knew, under the bathroom divider comes a card that says Police. Now, um, (sigh) that's about as far as I can take it. I don't know of anything else. Ah, your foot came toward mine, mine came towards yours, was that natural? I don't know. Did we bump? Yes. I think we did. You said so. I don't disagree with that. OFFICER: Okay. I don't want to get into a pissing match here. CRAIG: We're not going to. OFFICER: Good. Um, CRAIG: I don't, ah, I am not gay, I don't do these kinds of things and... OFFICER: It doesn't matter. I don't care about sexual preference or anything like that. Here's your stuff back sir. Um, I don't care about sexual preference. CRAIG: I know you don't. You're out to enforce the law. OFFICER: Right. CRAIG: But you shouldn't be out to entrap people either. OFFICER: This isn't entrapment. CRAIG: All right. OFFICER: Um, you you're skipping some parts here, but what what about your hand? CRAIG: What about it? I reached down, my foot like this. There was a piece of paper on the floor. I picked it up. OFFICER: Okay. CRAIG: What about my hand? OFFICER: Well, you're not being truthful with me, I'm kinda disappointed in you Senator. I'm real disappointed in your right now. Okay, I'm not, just so you know, just like everybody, I, I, I, treat with dignity. I try to pull them away from the situation. CRAIG: I, I OFFICER: And not embarrass them. CRAIG: I appreciate that. OFFICER: And I. CRAIG: You did that after the stall. OFFICER: I will say every person I've had so far has told me the truth. We've been respectful to each other and then they've gone on their way. And I never had to bring anybody to jail because everybodys been truthful to me. CRAIG: I don't want you to take me to jail and I think. OFFICER: I'm not going to take you to jail as long as you're cooperative but I'm not going to lie. We… CRAIG: Did my hand come below the divider? Yes. It did. OFFICER: Okay, sir. We deal with people that lie to us every day. CRAIG: I'm sure you do. OFFICER: I'm sure you do too, sir. CRAIG: And gentleman so do I. OFFICER: I'm sure you do. We deal with a lot of people that are very bad people. You're not a bad person. CRAIG: No I don't think I am. OFFICER: Okay, so what I'm telling you, I don't want to be lied to. CRAIG: Okay. OFFICER: Okay, so well start over, you're gonna get out of here. You're gonna have to pay a fine and that will be it. Okay, I don't call media, I don't do any of that type of crap. CRAIG: Fine. OFFICER: Okay. CRAIG: fine OFFICER: All right, so lets start from the beginning. You went in the bathroom. CRAIG: I went in the bathroom. OFFICER: And what did you do when you… CRAIG: I stood beside the wall, waiting for a stall to open. I got in the stall, sat down, and started to go to the bathroom. Ah, did our feet come together, apparently they did bump. Well. I won't dispute that. OFFICER: Okay. When I got out of the stall, I noticed other stalls were open. CRAIG: They were at the time. At the time I entered, I stood and waited. OFFICER: Okay. OFFICER: Were you (inaudible) out here while you were waiting? I could see your eyes. I saw you playing with your fingers and then look up. Play with your fingers and then look up. CRAIG: Did I glance at your stall? I was glancing at a stall right beside yours waiting for a fella to empty it. I saw him stand up and therefore I thought it was going to empty. OFFICER: How long do you think you stood outside the stall? CRAIG: Oh a minute or two at the most. DK: Okay. And when you went in the stalls, then what? CRAIG: Sat down. DK: Okay. Did you do anything with your feet? CRAIG: Positioned them, I don't know. I don't know at the time. I'm fairly wide guy. OFFICER: I understand. CRAIG: I had to spread my legs. OFFICER: Okay. CRAIG: When I lower my pants so they won't slide. OFFICER: Okay. CRAIG: Did I slide them too close to yours? Did I, I looked down once, your foot was close to mine. OFFICER: Yes. CRAIG: Did we bump? Ah, you said so, I don't recall that, but apparently we were close. OFFICER: Yeah, we'll your foot did touch mine, on my side of the stall. CRAIG: All right. OFFICER: Okay, And then with the hand. Um, how many times did you put your hand under the stall? CRAIG: I don't recall. I remember reaching down once. There was a piece of toilet paper back behind me and picking it up. OFFICER: Okay. Was your was your palm down or up when you were doing that? CRAIG: I don't recall OFFICER: Okay. I recall your palm being up. Okay CRAIG: All right. OFFICER: When you pick up a piece of paper off the ground, your palm would be down, when you pick something up. CRAIG: Yeah, probably would be. I recall picking the paper up. OFFICER: And I know it's hard to describe here on tape but actually what I saw was your fingers come underneath the stalls, you're actually to touching the bottom of the stall divider. OFFICER: You don't recall CRAIG: I don't believe I did that. I dont. OFFICER. I saw. I saw. CRAIG: I don't do those things. OFFICER: I saw your left hand and I could see the gold wedding ring when it went across. I could see that. On your left hand, I could see that. CRAIG: Wait a moment, My left hand was over here. OFFICER: I could tell it with my, ah. I could tell it was your left hand because your thumb was positioned in a faceward motion. Your thumb was on this side, not this side. CRAIG: well we can dispute that. I'm not going to fight you in court and I, I reached down with my right hand to pick up the paper. OFFICER: But I'm telling you that I could see that so I know that's your left hand. Also I could see a gold ring on this finger so that's obvious it was the left hand. CRAIG: Yeah, ok. My left hand was in the direct opposite of the stall from you. OFFICER: okay. You travel through here frequently, correct? CRAIG: I do. CRAIG: Um, CRAIG: Almost weekly. OFFICER: Have you been successful in these bathrooms here before? CRAIG: I go to that bathroom regularly. OFFICER: I mean for any type of other activities. CRAIG: No. Absolutely not. I don't see activity in bathrooms. OFFICER: It's embarrassing. CRAIG: Well its embarrassing for both. I'm not gonna fight you. OFFICER: I know you're not going to fight me. But that's not the point. I would respect you and I still respect you. I don't disrespect you but I disrespected right now and I'm not trying to act like I have all kinds of power or anything, but you're sitting here lying to a police officer. CRAIG: I, I, I, OFFICER: I'm not a (inaudible) I'm getting from somebody else. I'm (inaudible) CRAIG: Inaudible. CROSSTALK OFFICER: I am trained in this and I know what I am doing. And I say you put your hand under there and you're going to sit there and... CRAIG: I admit I put my hand down. OFFICER: You put your hand and rubbed it on the bottom of the stall. With your left hand. CRAIG: Now, wait a moment. OFFICER: And I, I'm not dumb, you can say I don't recall... CRAIG: If I had turned sideways, that was the only way I could get my left hand over there. OFFICER: It's not that hard for me to reach. (INAUDIBLE) It's not that hard. I see it happen everyday out here now. CRAIG: (inaudible) you do. All right. OFFICER: I just, I just. I guess, I guess I'm gonna say I'm just disappointed in you sir. I'm just really am. I expect this from the guy that we get out of the hood. I mean people vote for you. CRAIG: Yes, they do. OFFICER: Unbelievable, unbelievable. CRAIG: I'm a respectable person and I don't do these kinds of... OFFICER: and INAUDIBLE respect right now though. CRAIG: But I didn't use my left hand. OFFICER: I thought that you... CRAIG: I reached down with my right hand like this to pick up a piece of paper. OFFICER: Was your gold ring on your right hand at anytime today? CRAIG: Of course not, try to get it off, look at it. OFFICER: Okay. Then it was your left hand. I saw it with my own eyes. CRAIG: All right, you saw something that didn't happen. OFFICER: Embarrassing, embarrassing. No wonder why we're going down the tubes. Anything to add? DETECTIVE: Uh, no. OFFICER:Embarrassing. Date is 6/11/07 at 1236 interview is done. CRAIG: Okay.

The Myth of Progress

Max — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 05:55:12 GMT

Rarely have I read anything that has affected me quite as much as Jane Mayer's article in the latest New Yorker magazine. It describes some of the dirty work the government of the USA, specifically the CIA and DOJ and the President, has done since 11 September 2001 in the name of protecting America. The first hand accounts of coercive interrogation methods, both physical and psychological, are chilling. She writes credibly of the leak of a secret Red Cross report on conditions in some detention facilities that are as bad as any that ever were. The Red Cross identifies as torture some of the interrogation methods employed and from first hand descriptions I have no doubt of it. When prisoners who have never met each other give remarkably similar and gruesome accounts of their treatment, it's hard to doubt that there isn't more than a grain of truth there. Welcome to the twenty first century. Mayer's article brought to mind the Spanish Inquisition, the Stasi, the KGB and that building in Spain where detainees under the Franco regime would jump from upper windows to avoid further interrogation. Those other horrors no longer exist but America is still holding prisoners who have been brought to (or beyond) the brink of psychosis. Some have died in captivity and others are reported to be attempting suicide by bashing their heads against the concrete walls of their cells. Anyone who believes such methods are beneficial to the national security and justifiable on that basis should consider that detainees who have suffered such abuse can never be convicted. Unless what is left of our civilization sinks to a new low, any judge is compelled to dismiss such cases, because evidence obtained by torture is inadmissible. Some of the men who participated in systematically making their prisoners physically and psychologically completely dependent on their jailers are also reported to have suffered serious psychic trauma. Those who have not are either exceedingly resilient or have an undeveloped conscience. I need to go on a news fast again. This is so ugly and so sad that it could drag me down to the level where my depression breaks through and that would be bad for me and everyone around me.

From the Centre for the Easily Amused

Max — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 11:26:27 GMT

***In a Past Life...*** You Were: A Lazy Cannibal. Where You Lived: North Canada. How You Died: Hung for treason. Who Were You In a Past Life? http://www.blogthings.com/pastlifegenerator/ ***************************************************************************** ***The Movie Of Your Life Is An Indie Flick*** You do things your own way - and it's made for colorful times. Your life hasn't turned out how anyone expected, thank goodness! Your best movie matches: Clerks, Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be? http://www.blogthings.com/ifyourlifewasamoviewhatgenrewoulditbequiz/ --and so far I've seen only "Garden State" and it was pretty good. *************************************************************************************** ***You Are 16% Paranoid Schizophrenic*** You're so far from paranoid schizophrenic... you probably found this quiz to be quite amusing. Are You A Paranoid Schizophrenic? http://www.blogthings.com/areyouaparanoidschizophrenicquiz/ ****************************************************************************** ***You Should Date A Swede!*** You're a romantic, albeit an understated and practical one. It's more about a steady partnership for you, not unrestrained falling Your Swede will give you the unwavering love you crave While making up some mean pancakes and meatballs on the side! Which Foreign Guy Should You Date? http://www.blogthings.com/whichforeignguyshouldyoudatequiz/ ******************************************************************************** ***You Belong in 1954*** You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in! What Year Do You Belong In? http://www.blogthings.com/whatyeardoyoubelonginquiz/ --and I only spent fourteen weeks out of the oven in 1954! I was conceived in late '53 or early '54, so I don't know if I'm a Christmas or a New Year's baby. Innocent!?! ******************************************************************************************* **********************************************************************************

Urinal Fly

Max — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 20:12:19 GMT

http://www.urinalfly.com/ I was on a completely unrelated search, when I came across this brilliant idea. I bet it's more effective than those bullseye drain filters. Ice is also effective if you're like me and try to drill a hole through it; but with the fly, you don't have to keep adding ice.