My Prediction: The Next Media Frenzy

Ken AshfordCrimeLeave a Comment

With the JonBenet/Karr non-story now officially dead, I predict that the media will now swarm over this story.  It’s got all the elements: sex (child molestation) and murder.  Plus, it involves white people in a Connecticut suburb:

EdingtonFAIRFIELD, Connecticut (AP) — A lawyer climbed through a neighbor’s bedroom window and stabbed him to death after being told by a family member that the man had molested his 2-year-old daughter, authorities say.

Barry James, 58, was stabbed in the chest nearly a dozen times Monday. The lawyer, Jonathon Edington, 29, was charged with murder and burglary and was released on $1 million bail Wednesday.

Capt. Gary MacNamara said that police had not received a complaint about the child being assaulted before the killing, and "we have no indication it’s true or not true." (Watch how killing shocks quiet Connecticut neighborhood — 1:32)

Edington’s attorney, Michael Sherman, said the information came from Edington’s wife. "The daughter gave the mother information which was alarming and disturbing. The mom relayed it to her husband. That was the spark," Sherman said.

James’ 87-year-old mother discovered his body. When officers went to Edington’s home, they found him standing by his kitchen sink with what appeared to be blood on him, and a large kitchen knife next to him on a counter, authorities said

"He’s in shock," Edington’s attorney said. "This is the most unexpected turn of events one can imagine with this young man’s background."

Expect this story to be 24/7 for a while.

Student Wins First Amendment Case

Ken AshfordConstitution, EducationLeave a Comment

I don’t know why, but I’m always drawn to First Amendment cases involving public schools.  This story warmed my heart:

Court Sides With Student In Bush T-Shirt Flap

(AP) Vermont schoolboy was within his rights to wear a T-shirt depicting George W. Bush as a chicken and accusing him of being a former alcohol and cocaine abuser, an appeals court ruled.

Zachary Guiles’ school violated the First Amendment when it ordered him to cover parts of the shirt, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Wednesday.

Guiles was a 13-year-old seventh-grader at Williamstown Middle High School in Williamstown, Vt., in May 2004 when he wore the shirt, which he had bought at an anti-war rally, to classes once a week for two months. Complaints from a fellow student and her mother who had different political views caused school officials to take a closer look.

Although teachers had told the complaining student that the shirt was political speech and protected by the Constitution, the mother complained to a student support specialist, who decided images of drugs and alcohol violated the school’s dress code, the appeals court said.

The front of the shirt had Bush’s name and the words "Chicken-Hawk-In-Chief" beneath it. Below the words was a large picture of the president’s head, wearing a helmet, superimposed on the body of a chicken.

To one side of the president on the T-shirt, three lines of cocaine, a razor blade and a straw appear. Elsewhere on the shirt, the president is shown holding a martini glass with an olive in it.

After the school official ordered Guiles to turn the shirt inside out, tape over the shirt’s images of drugs and alcohol or change shirts, he returned to school another day with duct tape covering the offending images and "Censored" scrawled on the tape.

After Guiles, who was suspended for one day because of the shirt, sued school officials in U.S. District Court in Vermont, a judge found that his First Amendment rights were violated but that the school could censor some images on the shirt.

The appeals court said the school had no right to censor any part of the shirt.

"The pictures are an important part of the political message Guiles wished to convey, accentuating the anti-drug (and anti-Bush) message," the appeals court wrote. "By covering them defendants diluted Guiles’s message, blunting its force and impact."

Having read the opinion, it should be stressed that the only controversy with the shirt was the fact that it depicted drugs, not the anti-Bush sentiment.

Darwin Award Nominee

Ken AshfordGodstuffLeave a Comment

Oh, my:

A PRIEST has died after trying to demonstrate how Jesus walked on water.

Evangelist preacher Franck Kabele, 35, told his congregation he could repeat the biblical miracle.

But he drowned after walking out to sea from a beach in the capital Libreville in Gabon, west Africa.

One eyewitness said: "He told churchgoers he’d had a revelation that if he had enough faith, he could walk on water like Jesus.

"He took his congregation to the beach saying he would walk across the Komo estuary, which takes 20 minutes by boat.

"He walked into the water, which soon passed over his head and he never came back."

Well, Which Is It?

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

Listerine label:

Listerine_1

The label says Listerine is "as effective as floss".

But it also tells me to "floss daily".  Why should I floss daily if Listerine is as effective as floss?

Yes, these are the things that cross my mind from time to time.

RELATED:  Speaking of dentistry, check out this hellish dental instrument from 1939:

GnathographDevice Takes Measure of the Teeth

WITH the aid of the “gnathograph,” an instrument as mouth-filling as its name, a dentist’s patients may now be assured of a perfect fit for artificial teeth. Fitted to the jaws as shown above, the new device registers the arrangement of the teeth and the direction of the “bite,” to guide the dentist in straightening teeth or fitting inlays, crowns, bridges, and plates.

The Dumbest, Poorest, and Fattest

Ken AshfordRandom Musings2 Comments

Several studies have come out recently — all from different organizations — that rank states on various metrics.  The good folks at Hotline have combined these studies into one handy-dandy chart, showing where each state ranks in SAT scores (the higher, the dumber), Obesity (the higher, the fatter), and poverty (the higher, the poorer):

                 SAT   Obesity   Poverty      Average Alabama           37         2         8        15.67 Alaska            19        15        34        22.67 Arizona           26        43        16        28.33 Arkansas          39         7         7        17.67 California        17        30        21        22.67 Colorado          35        51        36        40.67 Connecticut       21        46        49        38.67 Delaware           7        29         3        13.00 DC                 1        39        40        26.67 Florida            4        35        25        21.33 Georgia            6        12        14        10.67 Hawaii             2        50        45        32.33 Idaho             30        31        18        26.33 Illinois          49        23        29        33.67 Indiana           12         8        28        16.00 Iowa              50        21        38        36.33 Kansas            44        26        32        34.00 Kentucky          36         5         9        16.67 Louisiana         40         4         2        15.33 Maine             13        34        26        24.33 Maryland          16        24        50        30.00 Massachusetts     23        49        41        37.67 Michigan          38        11        23        24.00 Minnesota         46        27        47        40.00 Mississippi       33         1         1        11.67 Missouri          45        14        22        27.00 Montana           29        45        15        29.67 Nebraska          43        20        39        34.00 Nevada            10        42        37        29.67 New Hampshire     24        36        51        37.00 New Jersey        15        40        48        34.33 New Mexico        32        40         4        25.33 New York           9        36        19        21.33 North Carolina    14        17        13        14.67 North Dakota      51        18        35        34.67 Ohio              28        15        24        22.33 Oklahoma          41        13        10        21.33 Oregon            25        33        17        25.00 Pennsylvania       5        19        30        18.00 Rhode Island      11        47        27        28.33 South Carolina     3         8        11         7.33 South Dakota      48        22        20        30.00 Tennessee         42         6        12        20.00 Texas              8        10         6         8.00 Utah              34        43        42        39.67 Vermont           20        47        33        33.33 Virginia          18        25        44        29.00 Washington        27        31        31        29.67 West Virginia     22         3         5        10.00 Wisconsin         47        28        43        39.33 Wyoming           31        36        46        37.67

It should be noted that Mississippi is both the fattest and the poorest in the country.

The Ten Commandments As The Basis Of Our Law?

Ken AshfordCourts/Law, Godstuff, RepublicansLeave a Comment

Rep. Katherine Harris, the Republican who oversaw the Florida Presidential elections in 2000, and who is now seeking office herself (and failing badly):

Asked whether the U.S. should be a secular country, Harris said: "I think that our laws, I mean, I look at how the law originated, even from Moses, the 10 Commandments. And I don’t believe, that uh . . . That’s how all of our laws originated in the United States, period. I think that’s the basis of our rule of law."

Now, that’s just bullshit.  And The Carpetbagger Report explains why so that I don’t have to:

You don’t need to be a constitutional scholar or have a doctorate in history to debunk the claim — you just need to look at the Commandments themselves. If the "basis" of our laws "originated" from the Decalogue, it’d be pretty obvious — we could look at the Ten Commandments and see how similar they are to our legal traditions.

The reality, of course, is that the opposite happens.

* The Commandments say people shall not worship false gods. Any laws against this? Strike one.

* The Commandments say people shall not make graven images. Any laws against this? Strike two.

* The Commandments say people shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. Any laws against this? Strike three.

* The Commandments say people must honor a Sabbath day. Any laws mandating this? Strike four.

* The Commandments say people must honor their parents. Any laws mandating this? Strike five.

If Harris is right, and the American legal tradition was formed based on the Ten Commandments, the Founding Fathers and two centuries of lawmakers have done a really bad job.

Either Harris doesn’t know what the Ten Commandments are, or she’s just spewing nonsense.

The “Secret Hold”

Ken AshfordCongressLeave a Comment

It is a very very very rare thing when the right side of the political blogosphere and the left side of the political blogosphere are in total agreement.  It’s even rarer when they work together.

But that is what has been happening the past few days, and it is fun to watch.

The issue is Senate Bill 2590, also known as the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2590).  It was introduced by Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), Barack Obama (D-IL), Thomas Carper (D-DE) and John McCain (R-AZ).  The purpose of the proposed law?  To create an online public database that itemizes federal funding.

The bill ensures that the taxpayers will now know how their money is being spent.  It’s a great idea — every citizen in this country, after all, should have the right to know what organizations and activities are being funded with their hard-earned tax dollars.

That’s why it has overwhelming support.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously passed the measure July 27th, and S.2590 seemed to be speeding on its way to full Senate passage when, in the dark of night, an unknown Senator placed a "secret hold" on the bill. According to Senate courtesies, the bill will never come to a vote as long as the hold continues.

So who’s the culprit?

The blogosphere on the left and the right united, and over the past few days, people have been calling their Senators’ offices to see if their Senator was the one who blocked the bill.  A tally is being kept here, among other places.  The united effort has become, in essesnce, an online parlor game: "Guess The Secret Senator".

Stevens2Right now, there are only five senators who haven’t denied being responsible for the "secret hold": Byrd, Robert C.(D – WV), Gregg, Judd (R – NH); Hatch, Orrin G.(R – UT); Stevens, Ted (R – AK), and
Bennett, Robert F (R – UT).

Most people now believe the culprit is Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, the testy old curmodgeon famous for the now-legendary "bridge to nowhere", a $233 million bridge in Alaska (named after Stevens himself) which went to a small island with only a handful of inhabitants.

In other words, this bill is designed to make wasteful government spending very apparent to American citizens.  It’s no surprise that the most wasteful government spender, Ted Stevens, is behind the "secret hold" on the bill.

P.S.  Ted Stevens is also the man famous for his explanation of the Internet as "a series of tubes" and "not a truck".  He also calls his e-mail by the word "Internet", as in "I received an internet last night…."

In short, the guy is as corrupt as he is stupid.

UPDATE:  Stevens admits it.

What We’re Surfing For

Ken AshfordWeb RecommendationsLeave a Comment

These are the top viewed pages at Wikipedia for the past 4 days.  It sort of serves as a good bookmark of what people are interested in as they surf for information on the internets.

My only question is: why all the interest in Irukandji jellyfish?

Views per day Percent Title
1700750 ± 20% 4.1629% 1. Main Page
56000 ± 114% 0.1371% 2. Wikipedia
51250 ± 119% 0.1254% 3. United States
49750 ± 121% 0.1218% 4. JonBenét Ramsey
37000 ± 140% 0.0906% 5. List of big-bust models and performers
35250 ± 144% 0.0863% 6. Pluto
35000 ± 144% 0.0857% 7. Irukandji jellyfish
34000 ± 146% 0.0832% 8. Hurricane Katrina
32000 ± 151% 0.0783% 9. Wiki
29500 ± 157% 0.0722% 10. Jeff Hardy
29250 ± 158% 0.0716% 11. List of sex positions
28750 ± 159% 0.0704% 12. World Wrestling Entertainment roster
27750 ± 162% 0.0679% 13. Wii
27250 ± 163% 0.0667% 14. List of female porn stars
26000 ± 167% 0.0636% 15. Pokémon
25750 ± 168% 0.0630% 16. Pornography
24250 ± 173% 0.0594% 17. Celebrity sex tape
23250 ± 177% 0.0569% 18. Neighbours
22500 ± 180% 0.0551% 19. Volkswagen Type 2
22500 ± 180% 0.0551% 20. Priyanka Chopra

Stick A Fork In Them. They’re Done.

Ken AshfordRed Sox & Other SportsLeave a Comment

They’re even throwing in the towel over at the Red Sox Blog:

YankeessuckkidI’ve never thrown in the towel this early in the season before. I don’t even have plans for the weekend, and I usually plan things well in advance according to the broadcast schedule. Not anymore. Stick a fork in me. I’m done. I won’t be watching any baseball this weekend. Not unless the Sox sign that lefty from Columbus, Georgia, and give him a start. Or put that 6′ 8" Saudi Arabian kid at first. What are they feeding that boy? Virgins?

I’ve invested far too much emotional energy this year. Spent too many sleepless nights after late-inning collapses. I just can’t do it any more. I’ve divorced myself from the season and am looking forward to the winter meetings, spring training and the 2007 season.

***

It all fell apart so quickly after that extra-inning game in Chicago just before the All-Star break. The bum knees, wrists and backs. "The massacre." And now heart palpitations for the man carrying the team. [Here’s what he’s talking about – Ed.]

The Red Sox have the worst record in baseball during the month of August. In baseball! What else is there to say? 

Maybe They Just Shouldn’t Watch

Ken AshfordSex/Morality/Family Values1 Comment

CBS is planning to air the documentary "9/11" on September 10.

For those who haven’t seen it (I have), it’s a documentary about a rookie fireman.  Or, at least, that’s what it started to be.  The two documentarians, a couple of French brothers, were following the story of a rookie fireman in his new ladder company in lower Manhattan.  You know the famous footage of the first plane crashing into the WTC?  That was shot by the makers of this documentary.

What most people don’t know is that, on that fateful day, the filmmakers went into the World Trade Center when the firemen responded.  It is the only footage from inside the World Trade Center on that day.

It is gripping and gritty, as you might expect.

It also contains a lot of foul language.  "Holy shit" was the phrase of the day, and it is said a lot.

Enter the American Family Association, who wants to sanitize what happened:

CBS To Air Profanity-Laden Program

It is time to tell CBS and the other networks that enough is enough!.

Not content with all the profanity already on TV, CBS has decided to air the profanity-laden unedited version of "9/11" on Sept. 10. The decision by CBS is a slap in the face to the FCC and Congress, which recently raised indecency fines to $325,000 per incident.

"9/11," which will be shown in prime-time, contains a tremendous amount of hardcore profanity. CBS has stated they have not, and will not, make any cuts in the amount and degree of profanity. CBS will ignore the law. The network is suing the FCC over the indecency law, saying they should be able to show whatever they desire whenever they desire. CBS wants no limits.

This is a test case for CBS to see how far they can go. If there is no out-pouring of complaints from the public, they will go further the next time.

The profanity is so bad that CBS has warned their affiliates that they could be subject to huge fines. The FCC says it will fine not only the networks, but also affiliates if the law is violated. Under the new Broadcast Decency Act the $325,000 per incident could run into millions of dollars not only for the network but also for local affiliates.

CBS could very easily bleep out the profanity, but they refuse. The goal of CBS is to be able to show whatever they want at anytime. The network wants no restraints on their programming. If they are allowed to get away with this, they will simply air even more profanity in the future.

You know what, AMA?  This is history.  If you can’t handle ugly reality, including the fact that some people say "Holy Shit" when skyscrapers collapse, maybe you should just rent "Cars" or turn to the Disney Channel.