04.13.08
Posted in Culture, Current Events, Religion at 10:22 pm by madcap
Almost two weeks ago, Texas authorities descended upon the Texas ranch of polygamist followers of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). The FLDS are followers of convicted accomplice to rape Warren Jeffs, and are (now) known primarily for their polygamy, including the arrangement of marriages between older men and younger women, some allegedly as young as 15.
Based on an emergency call from an alleged 16 year old member of the sect who, claiming to have been married at the age of 15 to one 49 year old Dale Evans Barlow, alleged some manner of abuse. This prompted the raid on the ranch and the removal of 416 children into temporary custody, along with some number of women choosing to accompany them. State authorities claim that the children had been abused or were at immediate risk of future abuse
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I hope, for the authorities’ sake that they really do have such evidence. Far be it from me to defend some Mormon kooks (personally I find their theology more objectionable than their polygamy), but I think the burden should be high indeed for government bureaucrats to spirit away the children of an entire community– no matter how segregated and odd they be.
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Posted in Current Events, Humor, Politics at 10:17 am by madcap
If you missed the Daily Show this past Thursday, they offered a retrospective look at Fox News that was not only “Fair and Balanced” but hilariously on point. Especially damning is the way they demonstrate the bold hypocrasy of Fox commentators during the Clinton presidency versus the Bush administration.
See part I below:
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04.12.08
Posted in Culture, Patriotism, Politics, Rants at 10:36 am by madcap
I just ran across this tidbit from Wikipedia:
In a legal conference in Ottawa, Canada, for example, US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia took offense at a Canadian judge’s remark that his nation did not consider what Jack Bauer would do when setting policy. “Scalia shot back: “Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles…. He saved hundreds of thousands of lives… Are you going to convict Jack Bauer? Say that criminal law is against him? ‘You have the right to a jury trial?’ Is any jury going to convict Jack Bauer? I do not think so.”
Jack Bauer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scalia: You make me sick.
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04.11.08
Posted in Current Events, Politics, war at 10:26 pm by madcap
Would Barack Obama have held a sit-down with Ayatollah Khomeini in 1980? Or a face-to-face chat with Saddam Hussein in 1991? Is personal diplomacy with our enemies always productive?
A cup of tea with a thug - The Denver Post
These are interesting questions, especially considering that the US basically helped foster the political career of both of these characters. Khomeini indirectly, through our support of the coup that ousted the democratically-elected Iranian government and installed the dictatorial Shah; and Hussein through our supporting the rise of the Ba’ath party in Iraq, and then once he was in power, through direct aid, including chemical weapons which we encouraged him to use against Iran.
The question isn’t whether one should be willing to negotiate with one’s enemies, but rather how one negotiates. Obama’s critics, in both parties, love to try to make an issue out of his stated willingness to meet with the leaders of nations whom our current policy seems intent on simply pretending don’t exist.
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04.10.08
Posted in Current Events, Politics at 9:28 am by madcap
ROBERT Mugabe has unleashed a violent campaign to punish Zanu-PF supporters who voted against him in last month’s polls, the opposition claimed yesterday.
Ruling party militias, used to cow voters into submission ahead of polls in 2000, have been reformed. They are terrorising villagers in remote rural areas, according to Tendai Biti, secretary-general of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). He said: “There has been massive violence inside the country since (29 March].”
Mugabe is ‘punishing voters who rejected him’, opposition claims - Scotsman.com News
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