An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Archive for August 2007
Reruns a GO
TNT to Air Thompson on ‘Law & Order’
While Fred Thompson’s “Law & Order” character disappears from NBC starting Saturday because of concerns over federal equal time provisions, cable viewers will still have plenty of opportunities to see his District Attorney Arthur Branch.
TNT will air 23 episodes of the drama next week alone, apparently unworried about limiting Branch’s airplay even as the Tennessee Republican plans to announce his presidential candidacy.
“TNT has no plans to alter its schedule,” spokeswoman Shirley Powell said, a stance that could provoke a fight in the courts or before the Federal Communications Commission.
Equal time rules require TV stations to provide the same airtime to opponents when a candidate appears on the air. The many exceptions _ news shows, talk shows, interviews, documentaries _ essentially mean the rules apply to entertainment programming.
Thompson’s expected post-Labor Day entrance into the race triggered NBC’s decision to stop airing “Law & Order” reruns featuring him starting Sept. 1. Next week Thompson will essentially shift time slots on NBC: The “Tonight” show announced said that he will appear as a guest with Jay Leno on Thursday.
Well, that answers my question. And Mr. Ol’ Broad, being the big “Law and Order” rerun fan, will be happy to know his favorite “seen ‘em all, don’t have to pay attention” show will continue.
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Poverty
Here are some interesting statistics about poverty in the United States.
Forty-three percent of all poor households actuÂally own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.
Almost half of the poor in the United State actually own their own homes? WTF? They don’t live under bridges?
Eighty percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
That’s more than France. Maybe if they had more A/C in France all those old people wouldn’t have died a few years back. This leads to a conundrum. If more French households had A/C, yannow to cope with that Manmade Global Warming thing, that would require more energy use which could lead to more greenhouse gases which could put them over their Kyoto accords. Ah screw it! Let the old folks die of heat exhaustion. Save the planet! Kill the old folks!
Only 6 percent of poor households are overÂcrowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.
That 6 percent are prolly Mexican households. They have four to a room and six cars parked in the front yard.
The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
So our poor have more living space than average folks in large European cities. It’s beginning to sound like being poor in America is not as bad as the Dimocrats make out. Maybe we need a different definition of poor.
Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 31 percent own two or more cars.
Read the rest here! (Grouchy Old Cripple)
Other nations around the world should be as lucky as we are in this country. If I hear one more clap trap about how we ‘abuse’ the poor, I’m going to smack someone!
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More Feigned Outrage
Muslims in new cartoon protests
Fresh protests are being made by Muslims angered by the publication of newspaper cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
Iraqi, Egyptian and Palestinian Islamic groups have called for demonstrations as Muslims attend Friday prayers.
Denmark’s PM has met envoys from Muslim countries as he attempts to calm the anger over the cartoons, which were first published in a Danish newspaper.
Ok, so here’s my question: How can they tell it’s Mohammad? It could be anyone in a turban. Since the print is really tiny, and I’m old, I can’t tell what that says.
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Justice
Judge Sentences Ex-Durham County District Attorney Nifong to Jail for a Day
DURHAM, N.C. — A judge has sentenced disgraced prosecutor Mike Nifong to one day in jail for lying to a judge while pursuing the Duke lacrosse rape case.
Nifong was held in criminal contempt of court Friday for lying to a judge when pursuing rape charges against three falsely accused Duke University lacrosse players.
Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III immediately moved to consider a punishment for Nifong, who has already been stripped of his law license and has resigned from office. He faces as many as 30 days in jail and a fine as high as $500.
Works for me! Just wish the jail time was a bit longer. Pay back’s a b*tch!
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Illegal Pedophile
12 Year Old Girl Raped & Suspect Is HIV Positive
(Alabama) - 32 year old Julio Cesar Cruz Martinez sits in a Baldwin County jail charged with rape, sodomy and sex abuse. Alleged crimes involving a young girl under twelve years of age.
During an interview, investigators say Martinez dropped a bomb on sheriff’s deputies and the victim’s family. A revelation that has compounded this tragedy.
Sgt. Tony Nolfe of Baldwin County’s Sheriff’s Department says, “he did confess to several of those acts. Later in the afternoon, he did disclose to jail personnel that he was HIV positive and the health concerns for the victim are being addressed.”
There’s another twist to this case. Sheriff’s deputies say Julio Martinez may not be the man he say’s he is. “Mr. Martinez is apparently an illegal alien. His identity is somewhat still in question. We have not been able to confirm his identity or certain facts about his back ground” says Sgt. Tony Nolfe.
Investigators say the victim, the victim’s mother and the mother’s fiancee had been living with Martinez for the last few months. Investigators say Martinez has been living in the Fairhope area for the last two years.
Another child, and family, who’s life has been destroyed because we can’t, I should say WON’T, control our borders!
H/T: Freedom Folks
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It’s Not MY Job to Provide YOU With Healthcare!
Realistic solution for health-care costs is consumer responsibility
By JAMES K. RONE, M.D.
Dr. John Sergent respectfully disagreed with the politician who opined it was not the government’s responsibility “to provide womb-to-tomb health care.” He also implied most Americans don’t care about the uninsured (”Government could provide health insurance for all,” Aug. 11). I respectfully disagree. Caring does not equal government responsibility. I care about many things with no expectation that a nanny government give them to me.
In “Free antibiotics just a start, mom says” (Aug. 12), mom declared, “It shouldn’t be up to businesses.” Again, I disagree. Businesses, people and government share the blame and responsibility for our health-care crisis.
Is health care a right? Not according to the Constitution. One unalienable right, however, specified in the Declaration of Independence is “Life,” which one could equate to “health care.” At least enough health care to maintain life. Analogously, the government provides food stamps to those in need — but not to all. Where do we draw the line?
American taxpayers cannot pay for everything medicine can do to maintain, prolong and improve life. Even if they could, medical costs are a moving target. Each advancement, each better drug or technology, raises the price and demands new lines. Only the free market can react to this volatility. If the government tries to, it will go broke, or suck taxpayers dry — ironically providing “Life” at the expense of “Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Unacceptable. Patrick Henry said in 1775, “Is life so dear … as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?”
Dr. Sergent believes the only “realistic” solution is a national single-payer system.” I disagree. The only realistic solution is one forcing the consumer to take responsibility. Responsibility for healthy living, and for making decisions about what to pay for. Government insurance would be worse than the present chaos. It would further divorce the beneficiary from the cost of the benefit. Foolish not to avail oneself of a free benefit, right? Even more so a benefit already paid for with one’s taxes. The run on services would be disastrous for the payer. This happened with TennCare. Effective limits are key. Sadly, I have no confidence in Washington ever agreeing to, let alone deploying, anything reasonable. Limits neither too restrictive, nor too lax.
Having said that — I abhor all payer-imposed patient-care restrictions. They are at times dangerous. In my opinion, government health insurance should provide relatively unrestricted care for specific groups — such as the truly impoverished on Medicaid and the elderly on Medicare. Limit beneficiaries, not benefits.
The rest of us should be covered by a reformed private-payer system. One that interfaces with the patient more than the doctor’s office, and can never refuse coverage based on existing or preexisting conditions. This system must incentivize patients to be active in deciding how health-care dollars get spent — based upon personal circumstances and values — and to self-pay when possible. We’re all too used to virtually free heath care, whether from an all-powerful government, or an all-powerful insurance industry.
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Were You Cool?
Thanks Amie! 
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Much Ado?
From all I’ve heard and read, even I would be arrested in Minneapolis. I’ve been known to tap toes, peek (to see if the stall is empty) and stick my hand under the wall (”Ya got any TP over there?”).
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Morning Coffee 8/31/07
Bush to Outline Aid to Mortgage Holders
Offering federal help for strapped mortgage holders, President Bush is proposing to aid hundreds of thousands of borrowers hard hit by the housing slump.
The president on Friday was to talk about several initiatives and reforms to help homeowners with risky mortgages keep their homes, a senior administration official said Thursday. Bush also was to discuss efforts to prevent these kinds of problems from arising in the future.
And here I thought he wasn’t going to ‘give aid’ to those who were foolish enough to take loans they knew they couldn’t afford? Life isn’t always rosy, but you deal with it, and move on.
Perry commutes Texas death row inmate Foster’s sentence
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry blocked the execution of death row inmate Kenneth Foster and reduced his sentence to life in prison Thursday after weeks of statewide protest and controversy over the law used to convict him.
The unusual intervention came just after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted, 6-1, to recommend that the sentence be commuted, which is also rare. It’s the first time in nearly seven years in office that Mr. Perry has stopped an execution, other than in response to Supreme Court rulings that barred the execution of juveniles and the mentally retarded.
The guy was in on the robbery, there was evidently a gun involved, so how could he not know there was a possibility of someone dying?
Rookie cop who shot himself to death at party was intoxicated
A San Francisco rookie police officer who shot himself to death during a late-night gathering at his San Mateo apartment was legally drunk, toxicology tests show.
(…)
Gustafson shot himself in the neck at 1:40 a.m. during a gathering of as many as 15 people, as he was showing a woman how police are taught to prevent someone from using a gun against them, authorities said.
Death by stupidity.
Sadr aides put conditions on cease-fire
Aides to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr on Thursday appeared to place conditions on his call for a six-month halt to his militia’s operations, but the Iraqi capital was noticeably calm a day after the announced stand-down.
(…)
Sadr, who led his powerful Mahdi Army in two battles with U.S. forces in 2004, announced Wednesday that he was ordering a halt to hostile actions for six months to purge his ranks of alleged rogue elements who he said had been attacking fellow Shiites and giving his militia a bad name.
Aw shucks. The bad guys giving themselves a bad name. Why haven’t the Iraqis put this guy under lock and key, and charged him with incitement, or some such thing? He’s getting aid from Iran, who is making sure life is very difficult for the Iraqis. He should have been taken out a LONG time ago!
University of Wisconsin opens kosher kitchen in residence hall
UW-Madison is opening a kosher meat kitchen in a residence hall dining room starting this fall. Muslims who follow Islamic dietary laws, called halal, will also be accommodated.
A growing number of schools are offering kosher dining options, but few have full kosher meat kitchens, said UW-Madison housing director Paul Evans. Other schools with the service include the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University.
I have no problem with accommodating dietary laws, but I’m wondering who is going to pay?
Ohio High School Student Suspended After Tricking Rivals Into Insulting Themselves
HILLIARD, Ohio — A high school student who tricked football fans from a crosstown rival into holding up signs that together spelled out, “We Suck,” was suspended for the prank, students said.
Kyle Garchar, a senior at Hilliard Davidson High School in suburban Columbus, said he spent about 20 hours over three days plotting the trick, which was captured on video and posted on the video-sharing Web site YouTube. He said he was inspired by a similar prank pulled by Yale students in 2004, when Harvard fans were duped into holding up cards with the same message.
ROFLMAO And they suspended him? Sounds like it took a lot of planning. They should give him an A! No one died. No one was hurt, except maybe a few “feelings”, so what’s the big deal?
Indian tribal leaders honor Al Gore for documentary
GAUHATI, India (AP) — Tribal kings and chieftains in a remote corner of India that is one of the rainiest places on Earth chose former Vice President Al Gore for their first “global award” for bringing attention to the dangers of climate change.
More than 3,000 kings, chieftains and elders from Meghalaya, a northeastern state, decided to honor Gore after watching his Academy Award-winning documentary film, “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Excuse me for not being impressed.
Justice Dept. Probing Whether Gonzales Lied
The Justice Department’s inspector general indicated yesterday that he is investigating whether departing Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales gave false or misleading testimony to Congress, including whether he lied under oath about warrantless surveillance and the firings of nine U.S. attorneys.
If those yahoos are going to do a ‘probe’ every time they THINK someone MIGHT have not been totally forthcoming, D.C. better STFU! They open their mouths, it’s proof positive someone in that town is lying!
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Evening Snack (8/30)
Thompson to announce presidential bid next week
Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson will make the long-awaited announcement of his Republican presidential bid using an Internet Web cast next Thursday, his political director said Thursday.
Thompson will then travel to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina - key states in the nominating process - before ending his launch with a homecoming event in his hometown of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., on Sept. 15, according to a statement provided in behalf of Randy Enwright, Thompson’s national political director.
It’s about bleepin’ time! Guess Steve Gill was off just a smidge. He said the 7th or 8th, Fred says the 6th. I can live with that.
Defused car bomb hints at Mexican guerrilla group
MEXICO CITY — Nearly 11,000 workers evacuated Mexico’s highest office tower Thursday after police acting on a tip discovered a car bomb inside the parking garage.
Officers deactivated the bomb and no one was injured. Police searched the 59-story Torre Mayor and its surroundings in the downtown financial district and gave the all-clear.
No one immediately took responsibility for the explosive device, apparently a small pipe-bomb.
Not knowing the workings of pipe bombs, would this thing have done much damage? I mean other than potential loss of life? I think Mexico has more problems than just losing a large chunk of their population. Maybe if those ‘escaping’ stuck around, there could be improvements in their own country.
Bush Administration Seeks Appeals Court Ruling Allowing Mexican Cargo Trucks in Country
The Bush administration urged a federal appeals court Thursday to let Mexican cargo trucks cross the border and freely travel anywhere in the country, arguing that to do otherwise could strain diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Mexico.
The man just doesn’t get it! Why can’t he understand he’s got bigger problems right here with his relationship with his own party. Worrying about whether or not the Mexican government likes us is not real high on MY list of priorities! The safety and well being of drivers who would have to share the roads with less than prime condition trucks should worry him a whole lot more!
UK plan to track asteroid threat
UK space scientists and engineers have designed a mission to investigate a potentially hazardous asteroid.
The 300m-wide (984ft) rock, known as Apophis, will fly past Earth in April 2029 at a distance that is closer than many communications satellites.
The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
US lawmakers’ plane evades fire as it ascends from Baghdad’s airport
A military cargo plane carrying three US senators and a member of the House of Representatives had to take evasive maneuvers and dispatch flares Thursday night to avoid ground fire after taking off from Baghdad’s airport.
The lawmakers said their plane, a C-130, was under fire from three rocket-propelled grenades over the course of several minutes as they left for Amman, Jordan.
How did the bad guys know? Do they just sit there and wait for planes to take off, then shoot at them?
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