An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for 9 July 2007
I’m Late to the Party on This one!
UPDATE: Prosecutors block McGee’s release
Late today, federal prosecutors succeeded in temporarily blocking any release of Milwaukee Ald. Michael McGee.
Earlier today, federal Magistrate Judge Patricia Gorence set bail for McGee at $10,000 and set a host of conditions for McGee’s release. Shortly after that order was made, prosecutors filed a motion asking that the order be reviewed by a U.S. District Court judge.
Chief Judge Rudolph T. Randa signed an order staying McGee’s release.
It’s unclear how quickly a hearing could be held on Randa’s order, but it could happen as early as tomorrow.
Well, it looks like someone is usin’ their noggin! It usually helps to look at the type of crime, AND the character of the accused before letting him out to wreak more havoc, and possibly screw up their case.
Priceless!
Gleefully swiped from Boots & Sabers, I present my former state senator (in WI) Carol, the RINO, Roessler!
Hilarious, But Not
Contrary to what the recent Peacock War has done to my mental state, I do love critters. That being said, I almost fell off my chair when I saw silent E’s
s.E.s. Almost Daily Dumb Headlines
Go look, you’ll see why! 
Did Anyone Watch?
Personally, I had better things to do Saturday evening, like perfect my impression of an eggplant. But only after I unloaded the car, of course.
Ms. Phelony Jones has done an excellent job of pointing out a bit of hypocrisy from the Live Dirt….er Earth bunch.
Wanna know why the world is going to hell in a handbasket?
It’s cuz the “I know what’s best for you” crowd has decided they want everyone to be as miserable as them!
For those who do not smoke, cigarettes are foul, a social nuisance. For those who do smoke them, they are divine.
Smoking tobacco is one of the few ways in which man can, by pharmacological means, simultaneously increase relaxation and sharpen his mind, without any risk whatever of becoming psychotic.
The nicotine in cigarettes causes the release of a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, in an area of the brain that causes increased vigilance and alertness. It thus helps the smoker to concentrate. Nicotine also releases dopamine in the so-called ‘pleasure’ area of the brain, giving rise to a sense of well-being. (Rats can be trained to press a lever in order to have nicotine delivered to certain parts of their brain.)
This is why we smokers are much more pleasant people. 
I wonder if there have been any studies on the incidents of road rage of smokers and non smokers? Personally, I don’t do “rage”. What’s the point, I’ll get there when I get there, and hopefully, in one piece. Do I get aggravated? Of course I do. Stupid drivers irritate me.
However, have you noticed since smoking was banned on planes, and now in many airports, people are a lot more angry? Some, to the point of violence. Ever wonder if there is a connection? Huh? Huh? Huh?
For a long time, cigarettes were considered essential items of consumption. During the two world wars they were part of a soldier’s basic rations. A man who didn’t smoke was an oddity.
Kept ‘em sharper, more alert, no doubt. Less stress, better soldier, I guess was thinking. Makes sense to me!
I have often envied smokers their conviviality, and surely we all have an image of a smoke-filled pub or bar where people congregate to have lively and intelligent conversation. Smouldering tobacco gives off the smoke that cheers but does not inebriate.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of meeting up with fellow smokers in a ‘smoking area’ of an airport, then you’ve missed out on some great conversations. I’ve noticed in places where smoking is completely banned, people are no where near as friendly. They barely even speak, and then, only if absolutely necessary, or to loudly complain about how things are not going THEIR way. Such a pity. And these aren’t necessarily the smokers doing the complaining.
But health conquers all, and health effects are the argument of arguments nowadays. Until about 1950, though, smoking was still sometimes recommended for the treatment of asthma, and early research found that smoking protected against the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Is later research proving the opposite a panicky reaction to the possibility that smokers had been given a rationalisation to continue their foul habit?
I’m quite aware smoking isn’t the healthiest past time for me, but ya know what? Unlike the ‘health nuts’, I’m quite aware of my mortality. I’m going to die. That is a flat out fact! No matter what they do to prolong their own lives, so are they, but I’ll go a lot happier and hopefully, quicker!
For the record, I hate cigarette smoke and have no shares in tobacco companies. A single cigarette smoked in a restaurant ruins a meal for me. But I can’t see why there shouldn’t be smokers’ bars and restaurants. The customers in them would be far jollier than we miserable abstainers.
One thing about smokers, they tend to linger over their evenings out, and spend more money. After dinner drink, or desert, and we are damn good tippers too! Let’s face it, smokers are GOOD for the economy. We pay more in taxes. So, before the whole country decides to cut off it’s nose, to spite it’s face, y’all might want to reconsider the money being lost from people going to other places that do allow smoking, and buying their cigarettes in states that don’t have the excessive taxes. Businesses AND states are losing money in the endeavor to force us square pegs into those round holes.
Appalling!
McGee accused of intimidation attempts
Federal prosecutors said today that Ald. Michael McGee had been attempting to intimidate witnesses and sway testimony while behind bars on state charges.
Prosecutors had asked that federal Magistrate Judge Patricia Gorence to hold McGee without bail until his trial on federal charges of shaking down business owners in his district.
Is it any surprise that this thug doesn’t hesitate to continue his intimidation tactics from behind bars?
After hearing arguments, Gorence set bail for McGee at $10,000 and ordered that once released from custody the alderman have limited contact with others and be confined to his house except to report to City Hall for council votes.
I can NOT be reading this right! Was this judge bought off or some such thing? I can’t believe that anyone in their right mind would give that piece of excrement bail, and at only $10,000!
Haanstad cited cases where McGee, sometimes through third parties, urged others to “lay low” until he was free and they could talk, as well suggestions that money be placed in the account of Dimetrius Jackson, who faces state charges with McGee of conspiring to have a man beaten.
Yet they give him bail? I am flabbergasted!
A formal federal indictment is to be issued tomorrow. Haanstad told Gorence that since McGee’s arrest, many additional business owners have come forward to say they, too, had been shaken down by the alderman. The federal cases involves undercover officers, informants, recorded telephone calls and video of interactions featuring McGee.
I can only shake my head in disgust. What kind of legal system would let this slime back on the streets. I don’t care if they SAY he’s on a monitor, or under ‘house arrest’ or whatever other conditions they claim. A $10,000 bail is no where near what he SHOULD be paying.
Interesting
I’ve been listening to the radio (via the internet since I can’t pick up diddly out here in the boonies) and all morning, they’ve been saying on the news breaks that Fred Thompson is expected to announce his candidacy sometime this week. Well, I sure wish he’d hurry up!Â
Snicker
Live Earth branded a foul-mouthed flop
Organisers of the global music concert – punctuated by swearing from presenters and performers – had predicted massive viewing figures.
But BBC’s live afternoon television coverage attracted an average British audience of just 900,000.
Skeptical of Performers’ Motives, Public Tunes Out Live Earth Event
The Live Earth concert promoted by former Vice President Al Gore received plenty of media coverage and hype, but most Americans tuned out. Just 22% said they followed news stories about the concert Somewhat or Very Closely. Seventy-five percent (75%) did not follow coverage of the event.
Live Earth Johannesburg Officials Blame Climate Change for Poor Turn-Out
“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.â€
Officials at Live Earth Johannesburg have blamed the effects of climate change for poor audience attendance at Saturday’s South African event.
Say whut?
Attorney asks that McGee forgo jail garb
An attorney for Milwaukee Ald. Michael McGee has asked federal Magistrate Judge Patricia Gorence to allow the jailed alderman to wear civilian clothes – not an orange jail jumpsuit – when he appears in court this afternoon for a hearing on the issue of bail.
Calvin Malone of Federal Defender Services, serving as attorney for McGee, argues that appearances by McGee in jail attire could negatively influence the jury pool since the pictures – and written description – then appear in repeated news accounts.
Cameras are not allowed in federal court rooms, but artist sketches are allowed.
McGee is facing charges at both the state and federal level, which is one reason he remains behind bars.
At the state level, McGee is charged with conspiring to have a man beaten and a range of election-related charges, including allegedly buying votes in the April 3 recall election. The bail amount on the state charges, now set at $50,000, was paid June 28, one month after McGee’s Memorial Day arrest.
Is it common practice for prisoners be allowed to wear ‘civilian’ clothes in court, just for a bail hearing? Spending time in court not being a big part of my lifestyle, I honestly don’t know.
I Prefer Victory
The contrast could hardly be more stark: While American troops are risking their lives (and achieving success on the battlefield) in places like Baghdad and Baqubah, Harry Reid and the senatorial circus return to Washington today to begin another week in which they will signal retreat and weakness again and again. The fastest way to get airtime on ABC, NBC, CBS or CNN or fawning coverage in The Washington Post, the New York Times editorial pages or the Associated Press is if you adopt a defeatist posture on the war in Iraq — especially if you take the Jim Baker/Lee Hamilton view that Washington’s purported refusal to talk with Iran and Syria is the reason that they undermine American interests whenever they can. By contrast, Sen. Joe Lieberman’s yeoman work in highlighting Iran’s destructive role — and the fact that Al Gore’s former running mate has come to the conclusion that raids against terrorist bases on Iranian territory may be necessary to achieve victory in Iraq — is virtually ignored.
Until now, Republicans have stayed relatively united, at least when it came to congressional floor votes on Iraq — a reality that has made it impossible for Mr. Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to muster enough votes to override a presidential veto of funding cutoffs, withdrawal dates and other moves that undercut troops in the field and tell the Islamists that they only have to wait us out. But now that Republican senators such as Richard Lugar (Indiana), Pete Domenici (New Mexico) and George Voinovich (Ohio) have read the polls and made statements poor-mouthing the latest campaign to uproot jihadists in Iraq, they have earned themselves the sort of “Strange New Respect” once reserved for Republicans who agreed to deals that increased taxes in exchange for budget cuts that never materialized.
Morning Coffee 7/09/07
Second Jude trial begins Monday
The 2004 beating of Frank Jude Jr. outside an off-duty Milwaukee police officer’s party is about to hit the spotlight once again.
But this time it will play on a different stage, with a larger cast. Three former police officers and one still employed by the department are set to go on trial in federal court today, in the biggest police trial in modern Milwaukee history.
Whatever happened to the idea of ‘swift justice’? I guess at the snail’s pace today’s courts move, 3 years is swift.
Fewer illegals arrested at border
The number of illegal aliens caught trying to cross the Mexican border into the United States is down 24 percent compared with the previous year, indicating that increased border security efforts are beginning to pay off, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“We are continuing to develop and add the resources we need to gain effective control of the border. And we are beginning to see a difference,” said CBP spokesman Michael Friel. “Cross-border activity has declined with the addition of agents and added technology. Combined with the deployment of 6,000 National Guard troops on the border, that deterrence effect has taken place.”
Or perhaps, they are just finding new, cleverer ways to sneak in?
Immigration busts make sheriff a star
In Sheriff George’s town, there is no room for lawbreakers, he says.
The tough stance has caused his popularity to soar among those who are fed up with illegal immigration and glad to see law enforcement finally doing something about it.
But not everyone in Maury County loves George. Latino residents and their supporters say the sheriff is quietly taking it upon himself and his agency to do the job of federal authorities.
Why aren’t there more police like this? If the federal gubmint won’t do it’s job, then what’s wrong with the local law enforcement taking on the job? The illegals are local, law enforcement should be as well.
Houston state rep uses pistol to stop burglary
Houston State Rep. Borris Miles, D-District 146, used a pistol to wound one of two men he told police were trying to steal materials from a house the lawmaker is building, police said.
Miles was at the construction site at 3742 MacGregor Way at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday when he heard a noise and spotted the two men, Houston police spokeswoman Johanna Abad said this morning.
Now that just shows ya the difference between the north and the south. A northern Dhimmi wouldn’t even consider protecting his property. Of course, this IS a Texan we’re talking about here.
Sprint Hangs Up on High-Maintenance Customers
Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) is breaking up with about 1,000 subscribers the company finds to be too high-maintenance, according to news reports.
The third-largest wireless carrier sent letters dated June 29 to the dumped clients stating: “The number of inquiries you have made has led us to determine that we are unable to meet your current wireless needs,” according to reports.
The disconnected customers called customer service an average of 25 times a month, a rate 40 times higher than average customers, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Customers have been given until the end of July to find new service.
Ya know, I can understand that a company can get fed up with nuisance customers, but then again, aren’t they in the business of providing service?
High court rules pellet gun isn’t deadly weapon
Suspect’s intent outweighs victim’s perception; convictions reduced
Pointed-toe boots are deadly weapons.
So too is a hard plastic pen, a car or a sock full of pennies.
But the carbon dioxide-powered pellet gun Thomas Martin McGouey pointed at Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies in a suicide-by-cop attempt doesn’t rate as one, the state Supreme Court has ruled.
I suppose you could use almost anything as a ‘deadly weapon’, but evidently, a pellet gun isn’t one of them. But they sure can hurt. I speak from experience on that!
MD school board under fire for ignoring opponents of homosexuality
The Maryland State Board of Education has given its stamp of approval to a sex education program in Montgomery County schools that affirms homosexuality, transgenderism and teen condom use. The PFOX is threatening to file a lawsuit over the program, arguing the curriculum does not warn students of the health risks associated with homosexuality or inform them that people can leave the homosexual lifestyle.
I guess not all tax dollars are equal. Shoot, why don’t they just come out and say they don’t give a flying flip what the parents, who actually pay their salaries, want and do not want, taught to their children.
CubaCare
The War Rages On
When I came in to feed the cat, and get the coffee going, I didn’t see any peacocks, but there was sure evidence of their recent invasion. I didn’t look hard enough. They were out in the front yard wreaking havoc with the weeds. Hey, they want to munch weeds, have at it! Sadly, they don’t much care for said weeds. They seem to prefer the recently planted, paid for stuff. I thought I had managed to convince them to go home. I shouldn’t think. Mr. Spot was howling at the window, and there they were, in the flower bed. As is their habit, they ran around to the back. I was ready for ‘em. WATER CANNON! yesssssss!
Of course, they are getting a bit smarter. Well, not much, but enough to know that all they have to do is run around to the front, so we can begin all over again. Yep, within a few minutes they back on the deck. Fast suckers! It’s not even 8:30 and I’m already pooped!
