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Yes, but hopefully they don't spark debate...more just updates. Alright, it's a lousy excuse, I should have put them all in the politics thread. I'll remedy the situation.
The blue elephant in the room.
Current Events. No debates! — Page 5
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http://abcnews.go.com/US/jodi-arias-found-guilty-degree-murder-death-life/story?id=19106058&page=2#.UYvKL6JbCSo
After a ridiculously long trial, Jodi Arias was found guilty of first degree murder, and now the sentencing phase begins. I'm glad we didn't have another Casey Anthony situation where a murderer evades an eviction. Interestingly, after her conviction she repeated something she said long ago, that she'd rather get the death penalty than life in prison.
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She probably won't be put to death. It would take years and years for that to happen. With the direction the country is moving in, by the time she has exhausted all appeals, the US Supreme Court will have ruled the death penalty unconstitutional.
I am not surprised she was found guilty. I mean how could it be self defense when you stab the person as many times has she did and also shot the guy. No way that could be self defense. In addition she did not immediately go to cops and cleaned up evidence and moved the body. Finally, she lied to the police multiple times. She even admits she lied to cops.
I hope she gets life in prison, then the families involved won't have to put up with appeal after appeal after appeal. Just look at the family of Daniel J. Faulkner(the cop that Mumia is convicted of murdering), ever since he was gunned down the family has spent their lives in court. Faulkner was murdered on December 9, 1981. They finally stopped trying to pursue the death penalty on December 7, 2011. The family spent all that time fighting to get Mumia executed. If he had just be sentenced to life in prison, back in the '80s, the family could have been spared that fight and could have moved on with they lives.
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Warbler said:
The family spent all that time fight to get Mumia executed. If he had just be sentenced to life in prison, back in the '80s, the family could have been spared that fight and could have moved on with they lives.
They would have been spared the fight, but they REALLY wanted him dead.
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well I wonder if Daniel J. Faulkner would have wanted his family to spend all that time fighting for it, or if he would have preferred they get on with their lives.
I wonder if they wanted him dead, or just wanted the sentence carried out. In other words, would they have wanted him dead so much if the original sentence had been life in prison?
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Well-to-do parents hire handicapped "tour guides" in order to get their kids to the front of Disney lines. I find the parents loathsome, but it's great for the handicapped people who take their money. If I were one of those tour guides, I'd be upset if the practice were stopped.
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So, Angelina Jolie had a double-mastectomy.
I admire both her courage to do that, and her bravery to talk about it.
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Mrebo said:
Well-to-do parents hire handicapped "tour guides" in order to get their kids to the front of Disney lines. I find the parents loathsome, but it's great for the handicapped people who take their money. If I were one of those tour guides, I'd be upset if the practice were stopped.
We Americans love to pretend there isn't a class system, hence the 'outrage' and shock over this. What surprises me is how subtle the rich a$$holes keep it.
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The blue elephant in the room.
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TheBoost said:
Mrebo said:
Well-to-do parents hire handicapped "tour guides" in order to get their kids to the front of Disney lines. I find the parents loathsome, but it's great for the handicapped people who take their money. If I were one of those tour guides, I'd be upset if the practice were stopped.
We Americans love to pretend there isn't a class system, hence the 'outrage' and shock over this. What surprises me is how subtle the rich a$$holes keep it.
Money isn't the same as class.
You can't buy yourself into the aristocracy but you can be born into a plutocratic elite.
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Mrebo said:
this makes me very sad, for I know we are getting close to the point where we may have to make the same choice for our dog.
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Warbler said:
Mrebo said:
this makes me very sad, for I know we are getting close to the point where we may have to make the same choice for our dog.
That is sad. I was back home recently. The backyard is something of a pet cemetery I realized, with dogs and the occasional cat buried here and there. I miss the dogs.
The blue elephant in the room.
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I hope charges are pressed. Terrible what that boy has to live with.
The blue elephant in the room.
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I assume you want charges pressed on the friend(s) that the boy and father were visiting, right?
*sigh* How many more gun accidents and mass shootings do we have to have?
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Yes.
The blue elephant in the room.
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More Americans view W. Bush favorably than unfavorably now:
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2013/0612/George-W.-Bush-back-in-favor-His-ratings-make-a-surprising-jump
One of those cases where safety must trump free speech:
http://news.yahoo.com/lawmakers-terrorists-change-tactics-leaks-225819792.html
As I said about the last guy, I hope he gets extradited and gets the book thrown at him.
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I disagree. Yes, this guy broke the law in releasing classified info, but the people needed to know about this. I believe this is a massive violation of the 4th amendment. I think he should be treated leniently.
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I'm with Warbler xD
But c'mon...the government is fairly indiscriminately monitoring telephone calls and emails in order to look for patterns. If the government knows that the terrorists are changing their tactics (and though it's only asserted, that those changes are evading that huge net), then the government knows because it's watching it in real time.
I read an article, forget where, that suggested that hiding such a program from the public is based on absurd and dangerous reasoning. He analogized it to a program where police put undercover officers on street corners. While it would be dangerous to divulge the identity or location or a particular officer...saying that there are undercover officers on some street corners throughout the city is a tactic that should be open to wide debate. And if the criminals know there are undercover agents on any street corner...yeah, they might change their tactics! But with such a wide net, unless they stay out of sight (ie all of them off the internets and phones) they won't evade detection.
We should be wary of what we don't know, of making broad assumptions, etc....but on its face, the government cries of betrayal and danger smack more of fear-mongering for its own sake and to keep the public in the dark about practices ripe for abuse.
The blue elephant in the room.
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I guess I'm displaying my stupid ignorance here. I didn't make the connection (due to my studying for my state board exam I guess) that this guy was the one who revealed the government snooping stuff. Now I feel stoopidd. I'm with you guys that such things are absolutely wrong. I was just reading the first couple paragraphs and thinking this guy released more stuff like that guy did a couple years ago. That's what I get for skimming the stories instead of reading in depth. Sorry :(
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darth_ender said:
I guess I'm displaying my stupid ignorance here. I didn't make the connection (due to my studying for my state board exam I guess) that this guy was the one who revealed the government snooping stuff. Now I feel stoopidd. I'm with you guys that such things are absolutely wrong. I was just reading the first couple paragraphs and thinking this guy released more stuff like that guy did a couple years ago. That's what I get for skimming the stories instead of reading in depth. Sorry :(
Not to make you feel more stoopidder, but at least when I said "We should be wary of what we don't know, of making broad assumptions, etc..." I was referring to Warbler, myself, the author of the article, and any others saying maybe it's not as dangerous as the government claims and that it is something that can/should be openly debated. That was my little disclaimer that we could be wrong. Though I must admit, I don't know what element of free speech you see. Good luck on the exams!
The blue elephant in the room.
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Today - 14,000,000,000 light-years away in the Cirrian Galaxy - the primary star of the S'fuej system went supernova, wiping out the race of sentient sponge creatures that inhabited the fourth star's fifth planet.
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The blue elephant in the room.
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The thing that makes me chuckle with cases like this, is the assertion that 'we've already averted however many terror attacks.' Have you really? And why should I believe a word your saying? Give me details of every single plot and ill believe you. If not, dont try to justify yourselves and appease people with that type of bullshit because it won't wash. I want FACTS. Not an assumption from you that I will willfully believe, like some sort of sap, everything you say.
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Similar story is Paula Deen being fired by everybody, her next cookbook canceled. I'm less exercised about story since people are fired for all manner of silly reasons that might reflect poorly on a company, plus its not a government prosecution.
In this case, she was ostensibly fired for her admission that she used the n-word some number of years ago in describing someone (black) who robbed her. It came out in the course of an ongoing harassment lawsuit against her by an employee. I don't think using a racial slur years ago should count for that much. I don't think using it yesterday should necessarily count for that much if the person is sufficiently apologetic.
The blue elephant in the room.