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Okay so I don't even know if I should be posting this because it's pretty personal, but I'm upset at the moment and frustrated beyond frustration. I have unfortunately been dealing with addictions around me...I'm not addicted to anything, but my baby brother just returned home from rehab. So far so good. Before he left, it was chaotic, especially for me because I've always been the glue that has held my family together when things go awry. Well, it started with oxycontin then moved to heroin. He has stolen well over $70,000 from my parents, which for the most part, they have forgiven. I've forgiven him as well for things stolen from me and basically being forced into enabling at times. It really changed him as a person and now that he's back, he's gained weight, looks better, and is in better spirits. Part of the reason he went to rehab was he wanted to be a better son, a better brother, and a better uncle. This is the first baby in my family. Anyway, deep down, I'm still struggling with it...now for the bomb. My boyfriend, baby's father, significant other, whatever you'd like to call him is also dealing with an addiction. He smokes heroin. This was something I was well aware of before we got pregnant. His addiction doesn't make him any less of a person...he's a great guy, he has a steady job, pays his bills, takes care of me, and treats me like a queen. But I have to admit, I'm angry. We are going to have a child! He's been trying to quit since before we got pregnant, but you'd think the minute he found out we were expecting he'd want to do better. I'm almost four months pregnant, and the addiction has yet to disappear. It's still here...he leaves and I know where he's going. I find straws sometimes and can smell it on his breath. For the first couple months of my pregnancy, it was a nightly argument. I cried a lot. I'm pissed. This shit can get him in DEEP trouble. Not to mention it's no good for his health, it costs a lot of money...more money that we could be saving...and it also does alter his moods. I've noticed he's whiny sometimes, he also has a short temper when it's brought up. There's no excuse for it. I've come to the conclusion that if this does not stop...and I mean stop completely very VERY soon, he can move his ass out and I will do this alone. My child will not have an addict as a father, nor will I allow this to bother me or stress me out anymore. I love him dearly. He truly is amazing, but I can't tolerate this. I shouldn't have to! It seems as if he doesn't care. Everyday it's "I want to quit, I need to see a doctor, I can't do it...blah blah". It never ends though. I feel like I enable him, which I do, especially by allowing the behavior to continue, but it hurts to let him go at the same time. We've been together for a long time, we've had our battles, but this is the toughest one. I pray this is the hardest thing we'll go through because it's too much. I want my child to have both parents but I also think as long as he's addicted, my child won't have all of him anyway. I don't want it to be as punishment...I've talked to his mom about this several times and I've warned her, I think she thinks I'm using it as punishment. I'm not at all...anyway, he was recently convicted of a DWI. The legal limit here is .08, he blew .10. Now he is on SUPERVISED probation which I think is great...this started just last week. The judge warned him though he will serve time, 90 days to be exact, if he fails to follow through on his drug/alcohol counseling, fails drug tests, doesn't cooperate with DWI classes, and so on and so forth. You'd think this would be motivation to stop the shit! No, instead, his plan is to officially quit on Friday. WTF?! Why not now, why not 3 months ago?!!! He knows he has a drug test on Tuesday...which is why he's going to quit Friday. I know this whole "quit" thing is probably temporary. I wish I had more faith but I've been dealing with this for about a year now. I love him so much, but love is starting to become insignificant. What matters to me is my baby and myself right now...and nothing will change that. Anyway, what lead to this post is he got off work, came home...which my mother is helping me do some work in my backyard, he then leaves right away (to go pick up, I'm not a dumbass), she's like where is he? I need his help. I broke down. My mom knows what's up...I told her where I assume he went. It's a damn embarassment and I'm so damn mad at him. I know the drug changes his brain chemistry and everything else...but why can't he quit for himself, for his kid, for me, for his family, for the sake of being healthy...I don't know anything?!!! I just don't get it. Our relationship would be amazing if it weren't for this. We argue usually only about this...I have so much resentment. I don't have all of him right now because I feel like his love is heroin first, then us. I don't need advice, I know what I need to do and what I will do if this won't end. I don't really even want sympathy. I don't know what I want other than for this to go away.
I'm a first time mommy! Couldn't be happier! Already so in love...
Were you thinking that if you had a baby it would stop the addiction? I understand addictions but you said you were well aware of it before you got pregnant so you knew your baby would have a father who is an addict. You should of stated before trying that he had to quit before you had a baby. Not being rude just trying to understand.
Mommy to Sean Jace<3
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No no, not at all. I am accidentally pregnant. I was on a birth control study which ended at the end of Feb., they put me on a new BC pill that is currently on the market and that's when I got this surprise. I would never have a baby just to try to change someone.
I'm a first time mommy! Couldn't be happier! Already so in love...
Me (31)+DH (32)= DS 1/97 & DS 6/09
^Angel Baby^ 10/31/10 (10 wks) CP 3/2012
TTC #3 since June 2010 #3 due 12/27/2012!!!!
I really didn't expect to get pregnant at all...it just happened. I don't regret being pregnant but at times, I do regret the timing. I never expected to be pregnant and expecting with an addict as a father.
I'm a first time mommy! Couldn't be happier! Already so in love...
Mommy to Sean Jace<3
Check out my jewelry store!
Kevin & Nikki sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! 1st comes LOVE, then comes MARRIAGE (9.17.11), then comes the baby in the BABY CARRIAGE (12.6.12)
I think he does too! And trust me, the thought has crossed my mind to just give his PO a call but I figure he'll end up fucking himself over without me even having to do anything. It just hurts. I wish I could change it! My baby deserves the world and it's just not fair! Having to deal with this was hard enough before the baby, but now everything has changed! I quit smoking the day I found out...I made the changes in my life because I want a healthy baby, I also want to be healthy! My kid deserves it. He might never get better, but I just can't deal with it anymore. I don't need the stress or the anger. He has to want to get better, saying and doing are two different things!
I'm a first time mommy! Couldn't be happier! Already so in love...
But like you said you know what you need to do.
If it were me I'd tell him that this probation period is his chance to prove himself to you and the baby. If he doesn't stay clean through the whole thing and afterwards then I wouldn't stay with him. That's just what I would do. I don't do the three strikes and you're out or anything.
I hope you guys get things figured out, and that he comes to terms with his addiction and gets some help before its too late.
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Mr. K's
Today:11:30 am - 10:00 pm
570 Lexington Ave,
New York, NY 10022
(212) 583-1668
Business Details
in Business
- Social Links:
- Visit Twitter Page | Visit Facebook Page
- Hours:
Regular Hours
- General Info:
- We offer exclusive seating to you and your party. Please inquire about our Private rooms on your next visit. You can also specify private room seating with your next reservation to confirm availability. Owner: Johnny Kao Executive Chef: Chen-Hua Yan Management Team: Edward Cheung, John Fong, Henry Lieu Date Opened: February 28, 1998 Concept Architect: Greg Olving In China, cooking is an ancient art rather than simply a nourishing necessity. Those dishes, which have stood the test of time, provide us with what is known as "the classic Chinese cuisine". A well-planned meal will vary in texture and color as well as flavor and temperature to achieve overall harmony in the tradition of Ying and Yang. Each of the four main regions of the country has developed its own distinctive culinary style. Peking (North) provides a tender, delicate taste while Shanghai (East) uses light and savory flavors. In contrast are the crispy, unusual blends of Canton (South) and the fiery, spicy seasonings of Hunan and Szechwan (Central and West). To provide New York City, "Capital of the World", with the best China has to offer, Mr. K's has meticulously searched for dishes representing the essence of each of these regions. The most gourmet recipes with the best ingredients and subtlest of seasonings have been prepared under the masterful direction of our head chef. Their beautiful presentation on imperial flatware, served in grand style, is an exotic prelude to your delight.
- Services/Products:
- Upscale Chinese Restaurant with Upscale Banquet, Private Dining, Catering, and Private Party Catering
- Payment method:
- amex, master card, visa, discover
- Location:
- Corner of 51st and Lex
- Neighborhoods:
- Midtown Manhattan, Turtle Bay, Midtown East, Midtown
- Associations:
- -Aaa, AAA
- Other Links:
- Other Email:
- Categories:
- Banquet Halls & Reception Facilities, Chinese Restaurants, Caterers, Asian Restaurants, Family Style Restaurants, Meeting & Event Planning Services, Restaurants
- Other Information:
Cuisines: Asian, Family Style, Fast Food, Chinese, Pan Asian, Omelets
Mr.K food is my top asain places that I love going to. Their food is really good!! I recommend taking your friends asap!
Posted: 2/17/2009Provided by Citysearch -
I can write a long review about how good the food and service is at Mr.K's but that sometime is not needed when i can sum it up in just a few words.
MR.K'S is the best Chinese Restaurant in all of New York.
Posted: 9/16/2008Provided by Citysearch -
After reading some of the negative reviews, I really wanted to see for myself. I was visiting NYC for the 1st time and got tired of same old stuff! Especially the ""I'm better than you"" attitudes or the ""Do you really belong here?"" from the waiters in Manhattan. Being from the Cowboy State, (Wyoming in case you don't know) We can eat Steak and Italian anytime. Anyways, although we were somewhat intimidated at 1st, The waiter seemed to be walking on eggshells so the last thing we wanted to do was to offend the waiter! I Felt it was best to just ASK about the fancy table settings and the such that were being presented. The waiter was thrilled that he was being treated like a person and not a servant. He loosened up right away and was flattered that we didn't want to offend his culture and was more than happy to explain to us what the heck it was all about. The rest of our dining was a true delight. I had the Prawns/Scallops in Garlic sauce and my Wife had the Seafood Fried Rice. Wonton Soup was excellent ! As was the entire meal. Service was Great ! I truly think that by treating the waiter with respect and dignity made the evening even better and we were not the only ones that were pleased with the entire ""event "". Highly recommended !!!!!!
PS - Regardless of how you treat the waiter, It's definitely a 1st class operation there. Very pleasent time and educational for us I'm not not ashamed to admit. We will certainly go back when we return to NYC in the Spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 7/20/2007Provided by Citysearch -
Today was my third visit. Highly recommended for its beautiful art deco decor; lovely place settings, serving dishes, and cutlery; nice ambience; and excellent service. And these positive things are consistent -- they've been positive every time I have been. And, sometimes, the food is excellent and highly recommended, too. But that's the thing -- having spent $80 for lunch for two people, you don't want the food to be SOMETIMES outstanding -- you want it ALWAYS to be outstanding. Today, one of the dishes was WELL and truly below average -- the fried rice we got was SO SALTY we had to send the whole thing back (it was like eating a salt lick, as if they had poured salt on it before sending it out). Not even the slightest whiff of a problem sending it back (goes back to the excellent service), and when it came back, it tasted MUCH better, but they had removed ALL the chicken and shrimp from it, which is presumably what drove the cost of $15 fried rice. Definitely worth a visit for the positives -- send the food back for another try if it doesn't meet your standards (and it may, but it may well not).
Posted: 7/6/2007Provided by Citysearch -
Great Chinese dishes. The sauces were delicious and the service was great, French serving style. The dumplings were delicious and expertly done. Ginger Basil chicken was great.
The table setting was beautifully done with authentic Chinese style pieces. Nice high ceiling, beautifully decorated with Chinese vases and corals.
Posted: 4/4/2007Provided by Citysearch -
The food here is not good. Atmosphere and decor is pretentious and tacky. Had the sizzling pepper steak, west lake lobster, beef dumplings, and a noodle dish. Was not impressed by any one of them. I have had so much better. Everything tasted and looked like take-out food. And their desserts? Forget about it. I regret ordering them. Although the food is bad, I am going to be fair. The service is good. I really liked the workers. They are friendly and attentive. Bad food, good service.
Posted: 3/9/2007Provided by Citysearch -
I went to last year with friends for my husbands birthday and this year on Valentine's day-- and both experiences were wonderful. The service was excellent and the food, while not the best the best in the world, was very very good.
There's an old world charm to Mr. K's that you don't experience much in restaurants anymore, and rarely experience in the many 100's of Chinese restaraunts around the city.
The charming art deco decor is relaxing and comfortable, the servie is excellent and the Peking duck wonderful. The waitstaff aren't actors earning money to pay their rent, but seasoned professionals who guide you through your meal seamlessly and efficiently.
I've seen the sorbet mentioned in several reviews-- it's not a dessert but a palatte cleanser between courses--a bit of advice, don't review the sorbet in any restaurant. Where have these people been eating?
I would highly recommend this place, and it's escpecially good to share with a group of friends.
Posted: 1/30/2007Provided by Citysearch -
I love Chinese cuisine and have had it all over the country. This has to be among the best I have ever had. The prices are reasonable and the service is fine. The food was exactly as I ordered and came out in the time frame it should. The restaurant itself is nice with a cool decor. I reccomend it to anyone who enjoys Chinese and wants to dry a different place.
Posted: 11/16/2006Provided by Citysearch -
During my trip to NYC, a friend wanted to show me to a nice place, so we went to check out Mr. K's -- with its high ratings and all. Well, based on my experience, I'm quite puzzled about the reasons behind the kudos. I left the restaurant confused about the the restaurant's gimmick, livid about the service, and appalled by the over-pricing of their menu.
As for the food, I do applaud it as being tasty. Albeit overpriced at $14/plate (which the rude waiter did not inform us), the crispy beef, love dumplings, and the spring rolls were good. Moreover, the sorbet to cleanse the palate was a refreshing touch (i.e. literally and figuratively). The food is good but tries to be a mix of authentic chinese and P.F. Chang's westernized style. Coupled with the ambiguous style of menu is the flamboyant setting of pink tapestry and yellow-gilded (Louis XVI would be jealous) dining ware. The waiter was extremely rude -- our question of ""what are some of your specialties?"" was met with a snarling retort of ""Everything is good!"". The dishes averaging $25-30 is reasonable, but what is NOT is charging $3/pot for Jasmine tea. What Chinese restaurant charges for tea?
It all made for an ""experience"", but nothing I intend to revisit. Mr. K, I need that sorbet again to cleanse my palate of the experience.


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You know, I realized something recently. It has been way too long since we went shopping together. Window shopping that is! And I think it's best that we correct this situation, here and now. What do you think? Are you up for a little browsing and craving? Today we're on the hunt for one of ... Continue Reading
15 Drink Recipes for Girls Night In
With summer just around the corner, I've partnered with Trop50 to bring you a new drink recipe and some tips for a Girls Night In. Summer is once again about to grace us with her presence, bringing along extra long days filled with sunshine. The only thing better than those precious extra ... Continue Reading
TRENDING: Chalkboard & Paper Flowers
Our contributor, Erica OBrien, owner of Erica OBrien Cake Design, is back for her second post in our new series called Trending. Erica is helping us translate today's top trends in fashion, design, art and everyday life into fabulous cake designs. Watch each month as she goes from inspiration on ... Continue Reading
Lemon and Lavender Buttermilk Cake
Our contributor, Tessa Huff, is sharing a bright new cake recipe…. You don't always need a reason to eat a slice of cake. Sometimes a delightful, simple cake is all you need to turn an ordinary afternoon into a little celebration. While many cake recipes are dripping with sprinkles and ... Continue Reading
Write for The Cake Blog!
I have some exciting news for you today! The Cake Blog is growing and that means it's time for us to expand our team again. This is the seventh year of cake inspiration here on the blog and it's shaping up to be the biggest and best yet. In the past month, The Cake Blog has been featured around ... Continue Reading
10 Easter Cakes You Can Make
Easter is just two days away. That means it's time to get baking! Have you decided what to make for dessert yet? Before we head into the holiday weekend, I thought we'd take a look at some of my favorite Easter cakes that you can easily make at home. A few of these you've seen here on the blog ... Continue Reading
DIY: Vintage Butterfly Cake
Plain and simple, today's cake is an absolute stunner. It captures the beauty of spring with a elegant vintage vibe. An antiqued ecru-colored fondant is accented with black and white striped ribbons. While fondant appliques resemble the pages of an old Entomology book, filled with beautiful ... Continue Reading
DIY : Easter Bunny Garden
Easter is just a few days away but there's still plenty of time for today's DIY. Who can resist an adorable bunny tail, all fluffy and white? Especially when it's ridiculously cute like today's featured tutorial! This little cupcake garden is filled with whimsical fondant bunnies, frilly cabbage ... Continue Reading
Rose Water and Pistachio Pavlova
Light. Airy. Elegant. Today's post is all about taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. Calling upon the goodness of nature to create healthier cakes, bakes and desserts, full of fruit and flavor. Today's featured recipe takes free-range egg whites and whips them into a fluffy cloud of ... Continue Reading
Lemon Raspberry Angel Food Cake
BBQ season is quickly approaching. I've partnered up with Glad® Black Bag to bring you a new cake recipe and some tips for easy summer entertaining. Summer is approaching and that means warm skies and good times with friends are just around the corner. Soon it will be time to fire up the ... Continue Reading
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We go and stay at the Yosemite Lodge frequently. For prior visits we have stayed in the Azalea building, but this time we asked to stay in Birch, one of the updated rooms that had a king bed. The room was very nice, clean and comfortable for the first night. It was difficult to get the temperature to be "right", so we had a warm night in the room. The second night, several people were in the room next door (probably part of a wedding party), and we could hear every word they spoke. That ruined our experience, and we will go back to Azalea next month.
If your room has a problem, call the front desk. If it isn't fixed soon, call again. They will work to make it right.
We had meals in the Food Court, sandwiches at Degnans, and went over to the Ahwahnee for lunch one day, and for breakfast one day. One learns what to order at which place. It isn't gourmet food, and isn't fast food prices, but still reasonable.
The rooms have TV and telephones, which is unusual for a National Park hotel. If you need more pillows or more blankets, call for them.
We have stayed at the Ahwahnee, but the price difference isn't worth it to us. We spend a fair amount of time at the Ahwahnee sitting in the lobby, shopping in the store, and eating. It is a nice walk from the Lodge to the Ahwahnee. We have found everyone to be helpful and friendly, if you are friendly with them. Check in when you arrive (although you probably won't get a room until 5 PM) and pick up beverage tickets and your parking pass. Do not move your car once there with a good spot. Spend the day enjoying Yosemite and head back after 5 to move into your room.
Staying outside the park, although perhaps in nicer accommodations, doesn't make up for being in the park 24 hours. However, if you are really picky about your room, maybe best to not come at all.
- Official Description (provided by the hotel):
- Yosemite Valley Lodge is a favorite choice for families and large groups. Its close proximity to Yosemite Falls makes it the perfect base camp for exploring Yosemite National Park. Its glass and wood architecture work in unity with the surroundings and the ample windows allow in the bright mountain sunshine while providing remarkable views. ... more less
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Expedia, Otel, getaroom.com and Travelocity so you can book your Yosemite Valley Lodge reservations with confidence. We help millions of travelers each month to find the perfect hotel for both vacation and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.
- Also Known As:
- Yosemite Lodge At The Falls
- Yosemite Hotel National Park
- Yosemite Lodge Falls
- Yosemite Ca
- Yosemite View Lodge
- Yosemite Hotel At The Falls
- Lodge Reservation Yosemite
- Lodge Yosemite
- Yosemite Lodge Hotel
- Yosemite Falls Lodge


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Crazy Substitute Teachers
Enjoy, NG4.04 / 5.00 1,210 Views
Vacuum Salesman
This dude and his Megazord vacuum cleaner3.97 / 5.00 2,340 Views
Markiplier Animated | Mark Of The Survey Corps
This took far too long to make...3.90 / 5.00 3,085 Views
Liked it alot! Many fun parts and good humor. My only complain is that the intro and menu "Intro" is a little slow. I would like it better if you sped it up a little tad. You have both have signifisant talent. Especially taking to mind that you started with flash in school. Ja. det er Kim:P Great stuff. Keep it going and you'll both have a chance to get a little renown ;) 8/10 4/5
A lot of the parts were funny and the animation and graphics were good. 10/10, 5/5
You're absolutely right :P
I liked it alot, pretty well-structured, had a lot of funny parts ( and LoL at the eskimo xD ), the best subscription today.
@Ricardodiaz: You're an idiot. "Way too slow"...I don't think it's slow, I think you're just a hyperactive kid that can't stay put for 5 seconds without having a tantrum. We don't need to see your dim-witted, half-assed comments on this page.
Thanks for the support!
wow the first good submittion this day!
a good animation!
Speed it up or your done!
the start is way to slow! speed it up, we don't need to see mercenary mad dog for ages...


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TygrBright's Journal
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#RNCinCLE: America's Red Hour
It is rumored that tonight, Republican nominee for President Donald J. Trump is going to pull out all the stops to remind those in the audience of how terrible they have it and why voting for him is the only answer.
I've had a hard time understanding the Trump phenomenon all along. I'm reasonably savvy about both history and sociology, and I do grasp the basic strategy that got the Republican Party to this point. If you mong enough fear to release the Inner Terrified Predator of your desired electorate, focus them on appropriate scapegoat(s), then promise to hand the scapegoats to them all hogtied and ready for a bloody kicking by those Inner Terrified Predators, you build a hella momentum.
But... Trump?
The solons of the GOP knew the weakness as well as the strength of that strategy. It's how they got so good at the Dog Whistle. There's not enough of any one type of voter for this strategy to work without obfuscating it behind the nudge-nudge, wink-wink that will allow several different segments of the electorate to feel the fear of the Awful Other, all at the same time. You have to keep what would otherwise be natural opponents of one another all riding in the same cart.
Your out-of-work middle-aged blue-collar stiffs, your misogynistic alt-right manboys, your retirees piously wistful for the never-was Mayberry of their fading memories, your wannabe Galt misfits, and so many more. They really don't have that much in common with one another. How do you unify them? Attract enough more to credibly steal an election?
The last thirty years have demonstrated exactly how. You mong the fear with subtle skill, allowing out only flashes, with plausible deniability, for each segment, wooing them into a warm sploogefest of 'we all understand what's REALLY being promised but we're not gonna talk about it here.' And as the fear and the hate build up, you front puppets outside your organization, via hate radio and other tools, to provide confirmation and the occasional catharsis, while you maintain your own appearance of respectability.
And the sense of fear builds. It gets channeled productively (for the GOP) into scapegoat-hatred, and you cleverly gerrymander and game the system to maximize the effects. You throw just enough biscuits to each pack to keep them in your vicinity, while reminding them of the 'unreasonable' oppression and control being exercised over their "freedom" by the Vile Scapegoats (be they Democratic office holders, Social Justice Warriors obsessed with politically correct speech, minorities grabbing free stuff, immigrants taking jobs, whatever...)
You tell them they're oppressed, over and over. You tell them that the seething fear inside them that you've been ginning up isn't fear at all, but justified hatred of the oppressors curtailing their freedom.
But you always have to do it in dog whistles, by proxies, by second- and third-hand means, because there must be a core of control, the planners, the exploiters, the true beneficiaries, to direct things.
Then comes the Red Hour.
No one is in control anymore. No one is in charge.
I wanted to understand this phenomenon, especially after reading this Huffpo post about why women support the man who's loudly and proudly exhibited his contempt for them, calling us "dogs," "slobs," "fat pigs," "disgusting animals" and more.
Here's a couple of quotes:
Ive said things like that about guys ― Oh, hes short, or look at his little feet. But just on the surface about it, and thats the refreshing part for me, is that he can speak his mind, because weve been so inhibited,
Im a woman with a loose mouth so I get myself in trouble,
And of course, we're all familiar with the oft-highlighted "I like Trump because he's upfront and tells it like it is" cognitive dissonance.
Essentially, Trump is the promise of enshrining the right to be an asshole in public, into the Constitution.
Mind you, all too many of the GOP's perfervid shock troops think it's already there, a nebulous conglomeration of the First and Second Amendments that guarantees them not only the right to be assholes, shoot anyone who disagrees with them, and be granted unrestricted tolerance and public forums for the display of their assholery. But those Vile Oppressors enforcing politically correct speech, denying them their rights to roll coal on the roads, brandish military-grade ordinance at Wal-Mart, and force baby-factories back into the kitchen where they belong need a real ass-whoopin', and Trump is just loud enough, obnoxious enough, and uninhibited enough to deliver it, with their help.
And so, the clock is striking six in Cleveland, and the Festival begins.
Posted by TygrBright | Thu Jul 21, 2016, 06:06 PM (2 replies)
Black Lives STILL Matter
They mattered 300 years ago when European merchant imperialists fetched up on African shores, massacred those who resisted, and hauled the rest off as cargo, because people who looked like that couldn't possibly be as human as the greedy shitheads killing them.
They mattered 250 years ago when Africans were brought to American shores to be sold as property, beaten, abused, separated from family members and killed with impunity.
They mattered 200 years ago when the people who'd penned the words "All men are created equal" and fought a war to prove it, decided that the ones with dark skin were only 3/5 as equal as all other men.
They mattered 150 years ago when Confederate veterans formed terrorist organizations to harrass and kill newly-freed slaves and prevent them from holding the lands, jobs, and benefits promised as part of Reconstruction.
They mattered 100 years ago in the Jim Crow era when lynchings, beatings, home-burnings, and 'separate but (certainly NEVER) equal' were used to keep black Americans from presuming to the rights of citizens and equal status under the law.
They mattered 50 years ago when black churches were bombed, black schoolchildren were killed, dogs were set on peaceful protesters, and activists working for Civil Rights were assassinated.
And they matter today when law enforcement officers constitute themselves judge, jury, and executioner for anyone with black skin they consider any kind of threat-- and GET AWAY WITH IT.
So when you're tempted to remind us piously about how "all life matters," just stop and think.
The reason it's important to keep reminding everyone in America today that Black Lives Matter is because it's a lesson we apparently have failed to learn, for THREE HUNDRED (plus) YEARS.
It's the lessons we DON'T learn that have to be repeated over, and over, and over.
Posted by TygrBright | Mon Jul 11, 2016, 01:40 AM (5 replies)
"Officer, Can You Help?"
A friend of mine who's now long, long retired from a police force told me once that those words were why he chose to apply to become a police officer.
He wanted to help.
He wanted to protect.
He wanted to make neighborhoods and communities safe and strong.
I asked him, "Was your life ever at risk?"
A few times, he told me. But rarely because of "bad guys shooting at me." Cops get exposed to a lot of dangerous situations.
Once he dove into a lake to free a dog trapped in a sinking boat, which was the only thing close to a bona fide 'hero story' he'd ever tell about working as a cop.
I suspect he could tell more.
He is white. There were "black neighborhoods" in his city and sometimes he was assigned there. He said he didn't feel extraordinarily alert or threatened or risk-conscious there. He was just doing his job.
He knew there was racism on the force he worked for. He knew there were racial tensions in some of the areas he worked. He did what he could to address that, including spending off-time in some of those neighborhoods, volunteering at community centers, participating in pick-up basketball games, eating out at local joints, getting to know people.
But that was then. Forty-plus years ago, when SWAT teams hadn't yet migrated eastward from the West Coast, before President Nixon declared "War on Drugs", before the manufacturers of military hardware decided domestic law enforcement was a fruitful new profit center, before the Endless Oil War supplied police departments with so many recruits with military training and rawly traumatic urban warfare experience.
Forty-plus years ago, when the Civil Rights movement had just accomplished a series of victories and the assassination of Martin Luther King heightened consciousness of just how dangerous racism was for all concerned. No one wanted to set off more Long Hot Summers. De-escalation of racial tension remained a priority even in an essentially racist mostly-white police force in an oh-so-politely racist white northern city.
I've been trying to parse out what I know about the corner law enforcement has backed itself into, with its increasing militarization, paranoia, hyperactive threat assessment reflexes, and above all, racism. How all of those things have combined into a powerful bunker mentality, an us-versus-them stance, empowered by good-old-boy unions complicit with City Hall lawyers.
It's not going to be easy to change.
The present calls for unity, for de-escalation, for finding common ground, for making change, etc., aren't exactly unprecedented.
But the reality is that until the police departments of America take steady, consistent, and observable actions to change their culture, their recruitment and training practices, their operational doctrines, and their willingness to be accountable to ALL the people in ALL the communities they serve, the spiral will continue in the wrong direction.
Posted by TygrBright | Sat Jul 9, 2016, 09:44 PM (9 replies)
So, my 86-year-old Mom phoned today about gun violence.
She said, "Okay, I need you to tell me why this idea is so crazy, right? I've got an idea I think will make mass shootings less common."
Sez I, "Okay, Mom, shoot. I mean, lay it on me."
"So, I know this sounds weird, right? But I was awake feeling sad about all those people killed and their families, and it just occured to me. Everybody has cars, right? Well, not everybody, but enough so it's almost the same thing."
"Sure, Mom."
"And cars can be real dangerous- people get killed in car accidents a lot, although not as much as they used to when I was a lot younger. Although with more people, the numbers look bigger, but the percentages are down, right?"
"Lemme stop ya here, Mom. I think what you're about to say is that anyone who buys a gun, or at least an automatic-type with the ability to shoot a whole lotta bullets really fast without reloading, they should have to pass a safety test, and get a license to use that gun, and then get a license for the gun itself, and they should have to have insurance, and renew their license regularly, and take ongoing safety tests as needed. Amirite? That what you're thinkin'?"
She's clearly a little miffed that I stole her thunder, but, "Well, yes. Don't you think it's a good idea? Why wouldn't it work?"
"Well, I won't tell you that, because I think it actually WOULD reduce the number of mass shootings. But I CAN tell you why it'll never happen."
"Okay, why's that?"
"Simple. The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights don't guarantee any right to keep and bear cars."
Long, long silence.
"Mom? You still there?"
"THAT is just STUPID."
I can't say I disagree, actually.
Posted by TygrBright | Fri Jun 17, 2016, 03:45 PM (42 replies)
Yes, it's also a hate-filled culture in which homophobia is on the top ten list, certainly.
But no matter who that asshole hated, or how much, or why, it was THE GODDAMNED GUNS that allowed him to kill so many, so quickly, so horribly.
Please, do NOT use this thread to post all the arguments about how if the right person had had the right caliber weapon in the right place at the right time, this wouldn't-a got so far and that's why everybody should be packin'. Just... DON'T.
Being someone who is not unknown within LGBTQ social establishments myself, I also respectfully ask the people I love and sorrow with and fear with and hope for, to discuss the contribution that homophobia and other sick manifestations of a fearful, paranoid, bigoted, dogma-sodden culture made to this horror in the several threads focusing on that.
This OP is about THE FUCKING GUNS.
Or, as I shall call them henceforth, the DEATHTOOLS.
They are tools. Their purpose is to kill.
What more will it take to convince lawmakers and the deathtool Oligarchs and NRA shills who terrorize them into collaboration, that a community cannot live in freedom from fear when every pathetically inadequate, criminally irresponsible, asshole can get their hands on unlimited deathtools?
Can carry them anywhere, can make them shields against their own fear and inadequacy, and can USE them with the willing collaboration of a ghoulish, profit-obsessed media and a violence-fueled network of subcultures that simply ADORE popular entertainment full of blood and explosions and revenge and go ahead, make-my-day machismo?
Answer me, dammit, you pusillanimous, greed-soaked tools, and the fearful, whiney, inadequate voters who keep electing you!
Posted by TygrBright | Sun Jun 12, 2016, 02:09 PM (229 replies)
Dear GOPpie Solons: DON'T Go There. You WILL Regret It.
A person who spends more time delving into commentary and coverage of The Levers Of Power than I do gave me this warning:
"Trump hides his very real vulnerabilities by flaunting his "Teflon" bits. You can't get him for being a bigot or a misogynist or a lousy businessman or an ignoramus-- those are things he's proud of, things that appeal to his 'base,' part of his ego-inflating mechanism. They all come with 'justifications':
Bigotry and misogyny are justified because "those people" deserve it.
Those bankruptcies and business failures are all part of his Master Plan to game "the system" that's rigged against "real people" and make tons of bucks anyway.
It's not "ignorance" it's "common sense" like all the "regular guys" who know the same stuff I know.
The problem is, Trump also has very real vulnerabilities. As in, the kind of dirt swept under the rug that Congress and the Courts could use to bring him down hard, including taking away his money and power, and even sending him to Club Fed for a nice, long, time.
And the GOPpie Solons know which rugs to lift. They're not doing it now, because they're mulling over a strategy of maneuvering him into a General Election win, and then bridling him, shoving the bit into his mouth, and riding him for the next four years. IOW, 'play nice, Mister President or it won't just be impeachment, it'll be five-to-nine behind bars and confiscation of every asset.'
Some of them think this might work."
I don't know if this is true. But knowing our GOPpie Solons, it makes a creepy kind of Realpolitik sense. It's right up your alley, isn't it, guys? (And yes, you're almost 100% guys, so I use the term advisedly.)
I'm hoping that one or more of your helots charged with Oppo Monitoring/Research is reading this and might pass it along, because, guys, you need to hear this:
This is not a good strategy for you.
It will not end well. For you, or for anyone.
Because, unlike all the "GAWD TOLE ME TO RUN!" morans who've already stumbled into the chute, what you're looking at with Mr. Trump is an actual Biblical re-enactment.
Donald Trump is Samson, guys.
He is bugfuck crazy, and completely uncontrollable.
And you might, indeed, manage to Delilah him into the White House. But read the Book of Judges, Chapter 16, for how well that'll end.
You might chain him between the pillars of Impeachment and Prosecution, but he WILL bring down the temple, on you and all your minions.
He doesn't care about reason, or "best interests," or financial self-preservation, or even avoiding prosecution and public scandal and the rest of it. He genuinely believes he can overcome ALL of it, with the help of the Massive Ego that is his Higher Power. And if you attempt to load him down with the shackles of Realpolitik, or even reality itself, he will pull everything over in a mighty heave.
And you will NOT benefit therefrom.
So, guys, if this IS a strategy in serious consideration, for your own sake, do not go there. Lift those rugs NOW, while there is still time. Save what you can (the Senate, maybe? Well, the House, at least- you still have a good shot there-) for now, and reassess your Long Game for 2024.
I don't wish you well, you know that. But on the other hand, we're all in this together, and the blast zone of this particular error would engulf a lot of good people as well as y'all, standing at Ground Zero. This is a bunker-buster, guys. You would NOT survive it.
So think, please.
Posted by TygrBright | Tue May 10, 2016, 01:24 PM (7 replies)
General Election: The Looming Choice Between Oligarchy and Kakistocracy
As much as I'd like to revive the fading embers of the democratic republic, that does not appear to be among our choices. On November 8th, we may be forced to decide between oligarchy and kakistocracy. The pros and cons of each are unappetizing, but it's best to have at least a fall-back strategy for unpleasant realities.
Oligarchs tend to maintain a minimal awareness of the necessity to keep up the appearance of a functional, if grotesquely corrupt, governing capacity. This occasionally creates cracks, where the desirability of appearing to appease popular sentiment becomes necessary. An oligarchy, if the oligarchs support a moderately competent executive, can preserve some level of civil order, maintain some level of infrastructure, and enable sufficient economic activity to engage their helots and support the services and appearance of normality from which the oligarchs themselves benefit.
They keep the wheels on, in other words. If they delegate competent executives and maintain some awareness of the need to balance repressive authoritarian responses to challenges to their authority against 'keeping up appearances,' they generally avoid wholesale slaughter, bloodshed, displacement, and genocide.
The downside to this side of the choice is that in maintaining a minimal comfort level for their helots and sustaining the appearance of "normalcy," it can take longer and be more difficult to ultimately destabilize, overthrow, and replace oligarchs with more democratic government.
This should be balanced against the awareness that our oligarchy is large and very complex, and there are some opportunities to create divisions among them, play off factions within the oligarchy against one another, and accelerate destabilization that way.
A kakistocracy's one "pro" is usually the speed of devolution, and the shattering chain reactions of upheaval as incompetence produces unrest which is met with authoritarian repression, undermined by further incompetence to produce further unrest and the wheels come off fairly quickly.
The cons to that side of the equation are the human costs of bloodshed, civil disorder, pogrom, repression, disease, massive environmental catastrophe, and chaos, in the process of the kakistocracy's failure and ultimate replacement. In such environments it can be difficult for democratic revolutions to maintain equilibrium. Catastrophic failure of a kakistocracy usually results in a series of further devolutionary regimes such as competent authoritarian dictatorships, repressive totalitarianism, and other forms of backlash, before democratic government can be re-established.
So, if the General Election choice comes down to Oligarchy versus Kakistocracy, I shall reluctantly choose the former.
Your mileage, of course, may vary.
Posted by TygrBright | Mon May 9, 2016, 02:00 PM (17 replies)
Thought exercise: Let's stipulate we lose the "Democratic Republic" choice
It seems fairly likely that Bernie is not going to be allowed to take a popular majority into the partisan electoral process, at this point.
Thus, we will be left with the choice on November 8th:
As much as I'd like to revive the fading embers of the democratic republic, that does not appear to be among our choices. We may be forced to decide between oligarchy and kakistocracy. The pros and cons of each are unappetizing, but it's best to be realistic.
Oligarchs tend to maintain a minimal awareness of the necessity to keep up the appearance of a functional, if grotesquely corrupt, governing capacity. This occasionally creates cracks, where the desirability of appearing to appease popular sentiment becomes necessary. An oligarchy, if the oligarchs support a moderately competent executive, can preserve some level of civil order, maintain some level of infrastructure, and enable sufficient economic activity to engage their helots and support the services and appearance of normality from which the oligarchs themselves benefit.
They keep the wheels on, in other words. If they delegate competent executives and maintain some awareness of the need to balance repressive authoritarian responses to challenges to their authority against 'keeping up appearances,' they generally avoid wholesale slaughter, bloodshed, displacement, and genocide.
The downside to this side of the choice is that in maintaining a minimal comfort level for their helots and sustaining the appearance of "normalcy," it can take longer and be more difficult to ultimately destabilize, overthrow, and replace oligarchs with more democratic government.
This should be balanced against the awareness that our oligarchy is large and very complex, and there are some opportunities to create divisions among them, play off factions within the oligarchy against one another, and accelerate destabilization that way.
A kakistocracy's one "pro" is usually the speed of devolution, and the shattering chain reactions of upheaval as incompetence produces unrest which is met with authoritarian repression, undermined by further incompetence to produce further unrest and the wheels come off fairly quickly.
The cons to that side of the equation are the human costs of bloodshed, civil disorder, pogrom, repression, disease, massive environmental catastrophe, and chaos, in the process of the kakistocracy's failure and ultimate replacement. In such environments it can be difficult for democratic revolutions to maintain equilibrium. Catastrophic failure of a kakistocracy usually results in a series of further devolutionary regimes such as competent authoritarian dictatorships, repressive totalitarianism, and other forms of backlash, before democratic government can be re-established.
So, if the choice DOES come down to Oligarchy versus Kakistocracy, I shall reluctantly choose the former.
Your mileage, of course, may vary.
Posted by TygrBright | Sat May 7, 2016, 09:27 PM (10 replies)
Intervention: Can America Stop Enabling the GOP?
It's gotten pretty bad. This family, the America family, have finally decided to seek help for one of their family members. Three other family members are meeting with a professional interventionist.
Interventionist: So, tell me about the problem with your... family member, is it?
Centindie America: (The others have agreed she'll more or less be the spokesperson for now.) Yeah, I guess. Well, yes. I mean, right now, I'm really tempted to say, "annoying stranger I want outta my life", but the reality is, it's all in the family, yep.
Interventionist: I get it. Times, you want to disown them, but they do still matter. They're related to us. We can remember the good times. And it wouldn't work, anyway. So, tell me about... 'G', is it?
Centindie: Yeah, his name's actually Repli, but he used to call himself "Goppie" as a baby, and so it's been 'GOP' or 'G' all along. Everyone calls him that, it's not just a family nickname.
Interventionist: I'll remember. So, why do you think this is the time for an intervention?
Prog America: Long past time, we shoulda done this years ago!
Democ America: Hush, we agreed we'd let Centindie tell it.
Prog: (rolling eyes) Yeah, yeah... (mutters) You're such a cop-out, Dem. (Democ glares at him.)
Interventionist: It'll be important to hear from everyone, but let's take it in order, for now.
Centindie: Well, some of us have been concerned for quite a while, but others just wrote that off as, you know, old grudges, the usual family fights, that kind of thing. We've always been a (grins ruefully) contentious bunch. Dinner-table debates a specialty, you know? (Interventionist nods.) But lately, G's behavior's gotten pretty, ummm, well, difficult to take. For most of us. It's really far over the line, now. He's hurting himself, too. We... we're really worried about him.
(Prog snorts, Democ elbows him, Centindie gives them both an exasperated look.)
Interventionist: So, you all agree G's behavior is risking serious harm to himself, as well as others, and you're all agreed it needs to change? (Looks at each in turn, and gets nods.) Okay, that's a good start. Let me explain a little bit about how intervention works: First, we evaluate. That includes gathering facts about G's problem, and evidence of how it's damaging G and others. Then, we decide who should be part of the intervention team- people whose participation will carry some weight of influence with G. Then we present our evidence and ask G to consider changing, and answer his objections-- and there'll be plenty of those. Then we offer to help G change, and, finally and most importantly, we apply leverage. If we do our preparation right, there's usually a good chance G will commit to change, and make a start.
Centindie: (Looks at the others, there's a brief unspoken dialog with some eye-rolling, head-nodding, etc.) Okay, we can do that. I think the problem's pretty clear. G's really lost his way. He's always been pretty conservative-- maybe too conservative for some of us-- (glances at Prog)-- but there were some good things that went with that. Important things. Certainly things I valued. But lately, it's like, he's not even 'conservative' any more in the sense of trying to be wise and careful with family resources. It's crazy, he's just... grabbing everything for himself and a few friends. He's doing stuff he use to say was bad-- you know, stuff like overspending-- but now that's only bad when it's something someone else wants. He goes on these crazy weapons-buying, war-starting sprees and blows through bank accounts like toilet paper.
Democ: Yeah, and it's making us all look bad. I mean, I went along with him on a few things-- after all, we DO have a responsibility to keep the neighbors safe-- but G isn't doing that anymore. He's just making things worse. We're in over our heads, we have to keep fighting these stupid wars just to protect our own interests, now.
Prog: (Very emphatically) NO, we don't. You're just as bad as G, Dem. What we need to do is just STOP, all of it, NOW.
Interventionist: I can see this is a sore spot, but can I ask, Prog, would it be a good start, if we could get G to change?
Prog: (Catches a glance from Centindie, nods grudgingly.) Yes, but I honestly don't think we can do it. G's not listening to anyone right now, not even Centi.
Democ: That's for sure. Used to be, G cared a lot what people thought of him. Kinda stuffy about it, actually. Now, it's like, hell with the rest of you, I'm the only one who knows anything so go uh.. eff yourselves.
Centindie: (nodding) Yeah, and then he goes and hangs out with these horrible friends... and gets in stupid fights-- in public! He used to be the one the neighbors thought was the cool head, but they're actually scared of him, now. And doesn't listen to anyone.
Prog: Except maybe the voices in his head. (Democ snickers.)
Centindie: (Glares at Prog, then shrugs helplessly.) Yeah, maybe. (She sniffles a bit.) I'm worried about him, dammit!
Interventionist: It does sound very worrisome. But I think we've made a good start on the assessment. Let's talk about who should be part of the intervention team. People who matter to G, either because he values their opinion, or needs their support, or because they have some other kind of leverage they can apply. Especially, anyone who's been enabling him, and who's really committed to stopping that.
Prog: Well, I'm the only one who doesn't enable him, but he doesn't give a rat's ass about my opinion.
Democ: I do NOT enable him! I never have, for heaven's sake, we're ALWAYS on opposite sides.
Prog: Unless it's about bank regulation, or starting wars, or bailing your mutual buddies out of trouble, or... (Dem seethes, glowers, starts to speak)
Centindie: (Interrupts) Okay, I admit it. I probably DO enable him. But unlike SOME of us (she glares at Prog) I care about this whole family, and I have faith that G is an important part of it. We all need him well, even if we don't always agree. And I don't want him to hurt himself. Not least, because if he destroys the place, we're ALL in the soup.
Prog: Then you could try STOPPING him, rather than SUPPORTING him.
Centindie: (getting heated) Not ALL his ideas were bad ones. And anyway, you don't make people change by screaming at them, Prog! You always want to go too far, and I think you just make him WORSE.
Democ: Centi, if you'd just listen to me, sometimes, I'm sure a united front between the two of us would convince G to change!
Prog: (rolling eyes, throwing up hands) Oh, sure, like that's not how we got into this mess in the first place, you two pussyfooting around trying to be nice to G and letting him get away with EVERYTHING.
Interventionist: Okay, okay... I'm seeing a challenge here, for sure. We might not have an effective team to make this intervention work. Do any of you think you have the influence to get G to consider change?
(Silence- the Americas all exchange glances, Centindie starts to sniffle again.)
Centindie: But he's going to hurt himself. REALLY hurt himself...
Dem: And us.
Prog: (muttering, a little shamefacedly) Maybe good riddance...
Interventionist: Okay, let's try another tack. Let's imagine that we went to wherever G is, right this minute. We all stood in front of him, and asked him to change. What would he say?
All three Americas: (in nearly perfect unison, in a marked Queens accent) "You're all LOSERS!" (They glance at each other, startled, and then at the interventionist.)
Interventionist: Okay, well, that's pretty clear. An intervention probably won't succeed until G's experienced some really tough consequences, I'm afraid. But that's pretty much inevitable, if you can just refrain from enabling him.
(Centindie starts sobbing. Prog, unexpectedly, puts an arm around her shoulders, and she leans in.)
Democ: (grimly) So we're all in for some rough stuff, while G keeps imploding.
Interventionist: I'm afraid so. The best thing you can do is support one another. Try to find your own common ground, be kind to one another, and build your support system among the rest of the family.
Centindie: (In tears) But... but G! Oh, my little GOPpie... I was SO proud of him in the Civil War... the Roosevelt trust-busting... That incredible Eisenhower "military industrial complex" speech... The gravitas... the moral compass... Won't he ever get any of it back? Is it gone forever...? Is he gonna DIE?
Interventionist: Well, no one can answer that, now. But I can tell you this, from lots of experience. I've seen a lot of people hit bottom. Experience shattering, terrible consequences that seemed like the worst possible thing that could ever happen. But you know what?
If they live through those consequences, and learn anything from it, many of them DO finally commit to change. And when they do, they don't necessarily become the person they used to be. But sometimes they find a new, recovering life, instead. And reconnect with their families, and their communities, and live important, wonderful lives.
So, don't give up hope.
But for now... buckle up.
Posted by TygrBright | Fri May 6, 2016, 03:47 PM (0 replies)
Why She Likes Trump
One of my flaws is the subconscious assumption that other people see things the way I see them. Believing (I hope correctly!) myself to be a reasonable, compassionate, intelligent person, it's too easy for me to associate the opinions I hold, the experiences I've had and the conclusions I've drawn from them, the responses I have to people, with those qualities.
But people who have different opinions than I do, who've had other experiences and drawn other conclusions from them, are also reasonable, compassionate, intelligent people. If I don't understand those differences, it's harder for me to connect, harder for me to find common ground. We get locked in our separate compounds of otherness and fear, that way.
Which works out all too serendipitously for Our Beloved Oligarchs.
I found myself having a conversation with a woman a bit older than my daughter-- probably in her late forties. Struggling financially, just getting by. She's bitter about being "forced" to pay for health insurance, which "doesn't do her any good because she can't afford to use it anyway." She liked Obama when he was elected but has been disappointed in him since, mostly because the economy has been so punitive on her family, especially her son, who came back from a tour in the Middle East with a lot of health issues, about which "the damn VA are doing nothing." She volunteers at the local animal shelter, and she helps other veterans' families with transportation, home care, figuring out paperwork, and getting to/from support group meetings.
She has a college education, and had good jobs in management up until 2009, when the collapsing economy caught up with her employers. Now she's shift manager at a franchise restaurant and going to community college classes (on student loans) to get a real estate license. She considers herself "entrepreneurial," having done some multi-level marketing in the past. She's pro-choice and considers herself a 'non-strident feminist' (her term, I have no idea what it means.)
She should be a Hillary supporter, by the demographics, but she "doesn't like Hillary."
"So who are you supporting?" I asked her, curious.
"I like Donald Trump."
My jaw must have dropped, because she got defensive. "I do! I know he's kind of a sexist, but I don't think he really means a lot of the campaign-trail bullshit. He's just saying what will get media attention, mostly."
I really wanted to understand why she likes Donald Trump. It's completely impossible for me to imagine anyone but knuckle-dragging morons 'liking' him, but obviously a lot of people do.
It was a long conversation, but here's what I took away.
Sure, Donald Trump is a rich guy.
But "he's not like other rich people."
As far as I could make out, "other rich people" are snobs and selfish and don't want to let anyone else into their exclusive clubs or allow anyone else to enjoy the kinds of things they enjoy. Even if an ordinary person like her was to get rich, or win the lottery or something, they'd never 'let her into their places.'
Trump, apparently, is perfectly willing to 'share the good stuff' with anyone who can pay for it. If she won the lottery he'd welcome her to his fancy private jet and let her use the gold-plated plumbing fixtures without making her feel like she didn't belong.
Or something like that.
Pointing out that her chances of winning the lottery are effectively the same as my chance of sprouting functional wings would not have been helpful, so I didn't.
I did ask whether she thought he'd do much for people who aren't going to win the lottery, etcetera, and she said he was more likely to pay attention to 'ordinary people who support him' than to the Establishment political string-pullers.
As far as I can tell, the things that creep me out about Trump- the crassness, the ignorance, the qualities I read as bullying and egotistical bombast- she sees as a weird kind of not-caring-what-snobs-think integrity, and she likes that.
She likes him.
I can't like him, he gives me the willies.
But I like her. Even knowing that she thinks this way, I can still recognize that she's a good person, compassionate, intelligent, and with her own reasons and experiences behind her opinions.
Here's what I didn't do: I didn't insult her, I didn't laugh at her, I didn't tell her she's delusional.
I did tell her I couldn't agree with her about Trump, but at least I had a better understanding of why she likes him. And I told her a little bit about why I like Bernie Sanders, trying to emphasize some of the same things about him that she says she likes about Trump- particularly the bit about him being more influenced by what ordinary people need and want, than by the string-pullers in the political establishments.
It wasn't exactly the time or the setting for a discussion about the complexity of the political environment, the many powerful factors and forces that influence how effective an elected Chief Executive can be, etcetera. I don't believe I "made her think," although she for sure made ME think.
But I didn't turn her off. I didn't build a wall of otherness between us.
Maybe it was the best I could manage.
Posted by TygrBright | Sat Mar 12, 2016, 03:18 AM (6 replies)


text:
This iced cocktail features the best of two classic Southern drinks: the mint julep and sweet tea. For best results, sip in a rocking chair on a front porch somewhere.
Although some may argue there is only one way to drink tea—sweet and iced—here are some must-try iced tea recipes.


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Buffett heir buys Rosa Parks archiveBreaking News
Hundreds of items that belonged to civil rights icon Rosa Parks and have been sitting unseen for years in a New York warehouse were sold to a foundation run by the son of billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett, the younger Buffett said Thursday.
Howard G. Buffett told The Associated Press that his foundation plans to give the items, which include Parks' Presidential Medal of Freedom, to an institute or museum he hasn't yet selected. Buffett said the items belong to the American people.
"I'm only trying to do one thing: preserve what's there for the public's benefit," he said. "I thought about doing what Rosa Parks would want. I doubt that she would want to have her stuff sitting in a box with people fighting over them."
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2016 Downtown Events
Upcoming Events in your Downtown Conway!
Downtown Merchants Breakfast
Hosted by the Conway Downtown Partnership
Last Tuesday of April, July & October 8:45 a.m.
UCA | Downtown
The breakfast occurs four times a year, on the last Tuesday in January, April, July and October. The thought behind the merchant breakfast is to network, inform and to share experiences and happenings in Downtown Conway. Attendees must be a partner in the Conway Downtown Partnership or a property owner in the Downtown Central Business Improvement District. The breakfast if free to partners and is hosted in various merchant locations throughout downtown during the year.
Downtown Moon Light Madness
Hosted by the Conway Downtown Partnership
Friday, January 29 | 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Downtown Conway
Moon Light Madness is annual event that has been happening for forty years plus! The event was started to allow the retail merchants a time to really blow out their remaining seasonal inventories. Now with renaissance of downtown Conway's dining culture, the restaurants play a role in this downtown tradition as well. Moon Light Madness occurs bi-annually, the last Friday of January and the last Friday of July.
Downtown Conway 4th Night ArtWalk
Hosted by the Conway Downtown Partnership,
Benefiting Conway Alliance for the Arts
4th Fridays | April, May, June, September, October & November
5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Conway ArtWalk is back with a new name and new route. The Downtown Conway 4th Night ArtWalk will start in Simon Park where artists can reserve space to display their art, and downtown merchants will also be encouraged to participate by extending their hours during the walk as patrons walk from Simon Park to local galleries along Oak Street and Front Street. Oak Street galleries include, Carmen's Art & Antiques and the Gallery at EM. Front Street galleries include, The Art Experience & Arkansas Arts Beautification Society Gallery. Plus the Conway Food Truck Association will been on hand to help patrons during and following the walk.
Toad Suck Daze
Hosted by the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce
Friday, April 29 – May 1
Downtown Conway
Downtown Conway plays host to the second largest community festival in the state of Arkansas! The festival sees over 150,000 attendees during the three day event that puts Downtown Conway on the state and national stage each year.
Downtown Conway Farmers & Crafts Market
Hosted by the Conway Downtown Partnership
Saturday, May 1 | 6:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and
continues through the last Saturday in October.
1132 North Front Street
The Downtown Farmers & Crafts Market nestled along the tree lined street on North Front makes a wonderful place to bring the family and stroll the outdoor market. The market is open Tuesday's, Thursday's & Saturdays during the height of the season.
"An Evening in the Park"
Hosted by Blackbird Academy of Arts
Friday, May 13 | 6:30 p.m.
This annual dance performance is A FREE family event at Simon Park featuring Blackbird's favorite dance pieces from 2015-2016 season.
Conway Community Band Concert Series
Sponsored by First Service Bank
May 20, 2016
June 10, 2016
July 1, 2016
All performances start at 7:30 p.m.
This year marks the sixth year of the Conway Community Band Concert Series. The band was founded by Ricky Brooks, Director of Bands at UCA. He recognized that there are musicians in our midst that love to play and the community band affords them a way to give back to the community through music.
Faulkner County Fair Parade
Hosted by the Faulkner County Fair Parade Committee
Tuesday, September 20 | 6:00 p.m.
Downtown Conway
The Faulkner County Fair Parade is now in it's 78th year is one of the longest running fair parades in Arkansas. Not only is it know for it's longevity, but the parade is well known for the number of entries it hosts each year!
"Concert in the Park"
Hosted by Conway Symphony Orchestra
Friday, September 23 | 7:00 p.m. "Tentative"
Simon Park
Bring your blankets and chairs, kids and grandparents, (but no pets) and join us for a fabulous outdoor performance in downtown Conway. With just one hour of music previewing our season, come early and grab a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant. The performance is FREE and open to the community, with sponsorship from Southwestern Energy Co.
Alchemy Songwriting Competition Showcase
hosted by the Blackbird Academy,
Saturday, September 24 | 7:30 p.m.
The Brick Room
The top ten finalists from the 2016 Alchemy Songwriting Competition will perform their winning songs at the Showcase for a live audience and a panel of guest judges that have included singer/songwriter Adam Hambrick (Sony/ATV) and Nashville music producer Jonathan Smith and Conway's own Kris Allen. Music lovers of all kinds will enjoy this show packed with a variety of talented songwriters from all over representing country, pop, R&B, folk, and more!
Conway ArtsFest
Hosted by the Conway Alliance for the Arts
September 24 – October 1
Various Locations
ArtsFest is hosted by Conway Alliance for the Arts and is a weeklong Celebration of the Arts ArtsFest takes place at various locations around Conway.
Conway Downtown Partnership Annual Meeting
Hosted by Hendrix College
Thursday, October 13 | 6:00 p.m.
Held at Worsham Hall on the Hendrix College Campus
The Downtown Partnership Annual Meeting is a gathering of partners to learn about what has happened in downtown Conway during the year, and is marked by special announcement and news of plans for the future.
Downtown Christmas Open House
Hosted by Conway Downtown Partnership
Sunday, November 13 | 1 – 4:00 p.m.
The annual Christmas Open House is Downtown Conway's official holiday kickoff. Stores will be open from 1-4 p.m.
Small Business Saturday & Conway Christmas Tree Lighting
Hosted by Conway Downtown Partnership
Saturday, November 26
All Day Event
Downtown Conway retailers participate in Small Business Saturday, which is recognized as a way to show your support for our local merchants, then the day culminates the annual Conway Christmas Tree Lighting celebration later that evening. The "flipping the switch" ceremony will illuminate Downtown Conway in holiday lights—from the 54-foot-tall Christmas tree at Rogers Plaza, to the holiday display in Simon Park, to the garland-wrapped lampposts located throughout the heart of the city.
Mistletoe Madness & Conway Christmas Parade
Hosted by Conway Downtown Partnership
Saturday, December 10 | All Day Event
Mistletoe Madness kicks off the 12 Days of Christmas Celebration that leads up to the final shopping craze before Christmas. Store wide holiday markdowns are the rule of the day! Downtown Conway will celebrate the season through music and art. The daylong festivities will feature street musicians and vendors from the Conway arts scene as well as concerts by the Conway Symphony Orchestra, local elementary schools and local area performers.


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Ryan Gosling Says He Never Even Said, 'Hey, Girl'
Well, WTF is true, then?
Well, WTF is true, then?
The nice thing about being a movie or TV character is that there is never, ever, time to explain, whereas real-life people like you and me have ample time to explain in such annoying detail that your friends get annoyed at you and then go home and stream an entire BBC drama series on Instant Netflix while…


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Now that the temperature has dipped, a throw is a great addition to keep you warm while snuggling up on a cold winter night. Just drape it over the corner of your sofa to create an intimate and inviting touch.
Scallop-Knit Throw $69.99 at potterybarn.com
Chloe Throw $79 at westelm.com
Faux-Fur Throw $79.99 at westelm.com
OFELIA Throw $19.99 at ikea.com
City Chenille Throw $ 35.99 at overstock.com
6 Must-Have Rugs For Your Floor This Winter
How To Add Sparkle To Your Home
Also On HelloBeautiful:
FLOTUS STYLE: Michelle Obama's Best Style Moments
52 photos Launch gallery


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Santa Clara, CAUSA
Hometown: Santa clara
January 14, 2015
No answer yet
No answer yet
Hi I'm Neela a sweet senior pom/chi mix. I was adopted from the Human Society, so my past is a bit of a mystery. I will never tell. But I know everyone is going to like me and we will all be great friends.
A great group of sweet doggies and their people
Meetup members, Log in
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the Company's reliance on third-party intellectual property and digital content; the potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others ????? ........ Just say it VHC
Sentiment: Strong Buy
Shorts you better cover you A-----------SS before it is too late .
the Company's reliance on third-party intellectual property and digital content; the potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others.
Say no for " MONOPOLY".
Sentiment: Strong Sell
We need a Banker CEO not a lawyer CEO .
Time to get rid of him we need a banker not a lawyer .
Time will tell .
The Merger of Office Depot and Office Max was approved from The FCC so this tow companies can compete with Giant Staples . Now The FCC shouldn't allow Staples to buy Office Depot and Office Max Because their will be a market MANIPULATION by Staples and then Staples can charge $100 for a box of paper if they want and they will jack up their prices as they please epically for corporate business that orders hundreds of cases of paper every day .
Star group activist want to flip Office Depot and Max so they can fatten their wallet but they careless about the manipulation or those thousands of Office Depot employees that will lose their job and source of living .
Now will be one big whale company " Staples" that can bid and will all government contracts and states contracts and everything will be in their hand ...
I Don't own stocks in either one.
Sentiment: Strong Sell
We don't need a market manipulation .
Sentiment: Strong Sell
Time for a new better CEO.
wall street game no merger with staple it is lie.
Sentiment: Strong Sell
I will buy back @ $5.00.
You Cant Have the three biggest Office supply to be one Company that would be a manipulation .
in 2009 the deal with Staples was rejected . you Can't have three companies in one Office Depot and office max , Staples that would be a pure manipulation which will not happen.
That would be a total manipulation .
I see it going back to $ 6 level or may be $5.5.
Sad. he shouldn't get this $12 million bonus he doesn't deserve it .
The bank needs a stronger leader.
Every bonus should be suspended as long as investors are getting nothing .
That is it.


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- CMLeach Said:
- Wendylicious Said:
haha...try some of these from the new kid.
Can y'all tell I'm bored tonight cuz the man is working 3rds?
Can y'all tell I'm bored tonight cuz the man is working 3rds?
Out of curiosity, how are the doodle genies blingy?
I was wondering that myself...that and the bg pad of paper that I actually own... There are some papers that don't say bling or look bling online, but if you see them in person they are, but I have that pack... and the doodle genies...
Great job finding the tattered angels stuff though. I have been wondering when someone would link that. You got most of the stuff I was still waiting to see go up.


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2008 Toyota 4Runner Repair and Maintenance
A guide to problems, costs, maintenance and repair for your 2008 Toyota 4Runner
Ask a mechanic in our community
Never overpay. Check prices with our estimator
Our experts translate recalls into plain English
2008 Toyota 4Runner ProblemsCar Won't Start Due to Worn/Corroded Solenoid Contacts in Starter
If the car will not start, the most likely problem is worn or corroded solenoid contacts in the starter. Usually, these parts can be replaced without purchasing a new starter.
At higher mileages, (125,000-150,000) the automatic transmission may not shift correctly. This can be caused by the throttle position sensor being out of adjustment or a shift solenoid needing to be replaced. Typically the transmission does not need to be completely overhauled.
2008 Toyota 4Runner QuestionsCar won't go forward. Car only goes in reverse. (1 answer)
The shift solenoid A has a code. And the pressure solenoid also set a code.
Toyota tells me I have to replace the whole system at a cost of over $500!
The light comes on after a few days of getting gas, have changed the cap. I unhook pos terminal of battery to reset and works until a few days AFTER getting gas. ?
2008 Toyota 4Runner RecallsSeat Heater Wiring Shorts And Causes Fire
For vehicles equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters, the seat heater elements may short circuit when the seat cushion is compressed, and result in a fire hazard. Dealers will disconnect the seat heaters and refund the purchase price of the seat heaters free of charge to resolve the concern,
Southeast Toyota is recalling certain vehicles because the seat heater element may become damaged as a result of compression of the seat cushion. The damaged element could short causing burning of the seat cushion, increasing the risk of personal injury. Dealers will disconnect seat heaters with copper strand elements and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory to correct this concern.
The accelerator pedal can become trapped under an unsecured or incompatible floor mat. This can cause the accelerator pedal to stick in the wide open position, increasing the risk of a crash. At this time, the remedy plan is still under development, but will most likely involve modification or replacement of the accelerator pedal and Toyota all-weather floor mats. No schedule of owner notification is available at this time. The Toyota recall number is 90L; the Lexus number is 90LG.


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- Details
BY ELIZABETH McKENZIE If "April is the cruellest month" then February must be the most fickle. In the northern hemisphere, the arrival of Spring on February 1 signalled that on the whole things were looking up. Any minute now,
BY ELIZABETH McKENZIE If "April is the cruellest month" then February must be the most fickle. In the northern hemisphere, the arrival of Spring on February 1 signalled that on the whole things were looking up. Any minute now,
BY DAVID TIMBS Pope Benedict XVI, inspired by the initiative of his predecessor, has made the New Evangelisation a key feature of his pontificate. The primary intention of this vision is to affirm in emphatic terms the identity, message and mission of
BY STEFAN GIGACZ Last night on ABC News 24's The Drum, the president of the International Cooperative Alliance said Australia has more cooperatives per head of population than other countries in the English speaking world including the UK. Dame Pauline
BY MICHAEL MULLINS The ACBC Media Blog backgrounds the decision to invite Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd to launch Caritas Australia's Project Compassion appeal in Brisbane last week. "Minister Rudd is the champion and architect of
BY MICHAEL FURTADO Catholic school funding is one of the issues on which policy differences in Australia have been wedged since Federation. Prior to that time most schools were denominational and received funds in proportion to denominational size. The move
BY CARMEL PILCHER About two years ago our cousin was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He hadn't been well for some time and eventually the tests were conclusive. Our cousin is a man in the prime of his life, and with three young children.
BY TERESA PIROLA Mary, the mother of Jesus, was Jewish. Her religious worldview was shaped by the covenant of Sinai, the narratives of the Hebrew scriptures, the rituals and festivals of Judaism, and ethical observance of Torah. She would have
And if this if the first time you have read about our Pilgrimage, please seriously consider joining in this wonderful, once in a lifetime, opportunity to really explore the Holy Land with CathNews and some fellow travellers.
Christine Hogan is the Publisher of faith-based communication for Church Resources.
Disclaimer: CathBlog is an extension of CathNews story feedback. It is intended to promote discussion and debate among the subscribers to CathNews and the readers of the website. The opinions expressed in CathBlog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the members of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference or of Church Resources." } -->
BY CHRISTINE HOGAN Doing something new always involves risk. Will it work out the way you intended, the way you hoped, the way you prayed, it would? In the end, though, you do it – and trust in God about the outcome. That was the process here at
BY MICHAEL MULLINS Sentire Cum Ecclesia has been engaged in a dialogue with his 13 year old daughter on sexual ethics, including homosexuality and same-sex marriage. The experience has convinced him of the need for a program on the Theology of the Body for
BY EVAN ELLIS For the next six weeks we will all be hearing a lot about Caritas Australia's Project Compassion appeal. This year the theme is "If you want peace, work for justice." The words echo Isaiah's prophecy that "Justice will
BY ELIZABETH McKENZIE Lent in my childhood in Ireland was unremittingly bleak. No sweets, comics, sponge cake from our favourite sponge cake shop. No TV in Holy Week – after the household rather had belatedly acquired a TV set – as well as


text: Nobody stomps harder in the local electronic scene than Matthew Jeanes mostly solo, sometimes three-man electro outfit, LARVAE. This year, Jeanes launched sonic assaults on both American and European soil, dropping bombastic, head-nodding beats and bass swells while hooking up with the Berlin-based Ad Noiseum Records. Using guerrilla-style tactics, Larvaes digital audio/visual dirges have manhandled some of the most recognizable sights and sounds of pop and corporate icons, manipulating everything from Nike to Kill Bill and Star Wars (think Uma Thurman wielding lightsabers instead of samurai swords), all the while avoiding any imperial entanglements such as licensing.


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Skip to comments.Another Execution Nears -- Where Are the Protesters? - Clarence Ray Allen
Posted on 01/06/2006 7:41:11 AM PST by Former Military Chick
Editor's Note: African-Americans who rallied for clemency for Stanley "Tookie" Williams must do the same for Clarence Ray Allen, a non-black, 76-year-old blind man just weeks away from execution, the writer says.
LOS ANGELES--In the wee hours of the morning on Jan. 17, another man will be put to death by lethal injection in the State of California. This comes exactly 36 days after the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams. But where are the protesters?
With less than a month to go before the scheduled execution of a 76-year-old blind, deaf and wheelchair-confined man, there has been no public outcry of support for clemency for Clarence Ray Allen, a non-black. There's been no planned protests and celebrity read-ins in support of saving an old man's life. Community activists and civil rights leaders aren't organizing statewide tours to bring attention to Allen's execution. There hasn't even been one "Kill Clarence Ray Allen Hour" from KFI-AM'S "John and Ken Show."
Which raises the question: Was the community cry for clemency for Williams because he was a black man, or was it because the death penalty is immoral, inhumane and cruel?
Granted, Allen hasn't written any children's books, been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, or had a Hollywood actor play him in a film, but that doesn't mean his life isn't worth saving.
The fight for clemency should not have died with Stanley Tookie Williams. With two more executions scheduled in the New Year, including Michael Morales, who was convicted at the age of 21 for the rape and murder of a 17-year-old female, now is not the time for all of Williams' supporters to retreat back to their separate corners of the world. In fact, it's time for the opposite. We need to get back into action and show the world that the fight for clemency for Williams was not solely based on the fact that he was a black man but rather that he was a man who did not deserve to have his life prematurely taken from him, no matter how heinous were the crimes that he was accused of committing.
Californians are very close to establishing a moratorium on the death penalty. Although the vote didn't come soon enough to save Williams' life, our work today and through the 10th of January, when an assembly committee plans to consider the legislation, could aid in saving the lives of many condemned prisoners, including blacks, while a state panel reviews the system.
Black Californians who supported clemency for Williams need to re-examine their reasons for wanting Williams to live. Was it because he was a black man? Was it because he co-founded the Crips? Was it because of his anti-gang and anti-drug work? Or was it because we abhor the death penalty?
Allen poses no significant risk. Blind, deaf and wheelchair-bound, it's very unlikely that he will be ordering the killing of anyone if left to live his remaining days on death row.
Many of the black leaders who supported clemency for Williams vehemently denied they were racists when challenged by a pair conservative radio DJs in Los Angeles who sponsored the repulsive "Kill Tookie Hour." Accusing the black leadership of getting involved in the fight to save Williams only because he was black, the shock jocks noted that these same activists were going to be nowhere to be found when the next execution of a non-black person came up.
If all of the protests around clemency for Williams were not just for show, it should be no problem for the black community to reassemble for the fight to save Clarence Ray Allen. He may not have been our homeboy from back in the day, or demonstrated to the world that he is a redeemed man. He may not even be likeable, but his life is worth trying to save even if he's not black. What kind of message does it send if we sit back and do nothing while another person was systematically put to death on our watch?
PNS contributor Jasmyne Cannick, 28, is a Los Angeles-based writer of political and social commentary and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. She can be reached via her Web site, www.jasmynecannick.com.
The radio show that pushed that Tookie be put to death should also be discussing this case as well. To at least honor the victims. If you are going to do it for one, frankly you should do it for all of them.
Clarence dosen't have a cute 'teddy bear' name like 'Tookie'.
(And he's also a whitey.)
Evidently there is another curious about where the folks are as well and does bring up race.
kill whitey
The haters are on vacation.
Turn over a log or look under a rock and many pro-abortion anti-death penalty slugs will emerge.
Allen isn't cool. Besides, he is a white boy. The left will shed no tears for that execution.
The author is confused. In this country, we don't execute people based on what they are likely or unlikely to do in the future. We execute them for what they did in the past. The only injustice here is that it has taken over thirty years to get to the finale of this little morality tale, which is long enough for Allen to have lost most of his hearing and eyesight. It would have been far better to have gotten rid of this murderer three decades ago, when he could still walk, see and hear perfectly well.
Perhaps their liberal hearts are still bleeding for 'po, innersent Tookie'!
Sounds like poor Clarence should have wrote some childrens books ..then he would get attention!
Tehse people are eager for more folks who look like us to die. They're liberals, after all. Ipso facto, tehy're racists and they're intolerant. QED.
They are all at a party for Terri Schiavo.
They are all at a party for Terri Schiavo.
Tookie William's supposed reformation could have been a scam. A little skepticism wouldn't hurt these Hollywood types.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Hmmm. Not a bad idea there. Time for a live hour of "Clarence Must DIE!"
Sent an email with out reply. Oh well.
Here is what SmithL posted For a white man's execution, where are black protesters?
Now did she submit the article with the new title on an old article? Did the Chronicle decide to change it?
Was it changed to inflame the reader?
I am getting sick and tired of folks changing things to meet their agenda.
Frankly this chick misses it in her writing, the folks that came out for Tookie were the Hollywood elite. Nobody else. Well, the Hollywood elite would bus folks into the rally's but it was about them.
I ask the same question where are the protester's that demanded Tookie live? Do they not want a man, that could be their "grandpa" to die? Guess, they to, can decide who lives and who dies.
For those who missed one of my few attempts at a vanity on this subject you can check it out at Tookie's fan club are fair weather death penalty foes?.
Allen is about to crap out on his own. I wouldnt mind giving him a pass if we moved up someone else to take his place.
Its a shame to waste a good death date when you have 640 prisoners just dying to get onto the Gurney.
So let Allen live and move someone up in his place.
The limousine liberal set are just as racist as any Dixiecrat segregationist: They just show the bigotry differently. Open hostility is out. Condescension and "the tyranny of low expectations" is in. They love Tookie because he fits their stereotypes - uneducated, violent, dangerous, etc.
They see black people as subhumans that can only be saved by the wise and beneficent guidance of moral supermen like Ed Asner or Mike Farrel. Clarence Ray Allen is just a decrepit old white guy. He doesn't float anyone's agenda boat so he gets a press realease rather than a protest.
If Mr Allen wants some sympathy he should announce that he is gay.
They slobbered all over Tookie for exactly the same reasons they love:
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
Mumia Abu Jamal
Some people have a heart.......some people don't!
Some death row inmates got it and some don't. Good point on the radio program guys not doing the same against this guy as they did against Tookie.
Sentence: Three counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances and one count of conspiracy
County of Trial: Glenn (change of venue from Fresno County)
County of Residence: Unknown
Offense Date: 09/05/1980
Court Date: 12/31/1986
Sentence Date: 11/22/1980
County of Offense: Fresno
Court Action: Affirmed
Case #: 18240
Bryon Schletewitz (male)
Douglas Scott White (male)
Josephine Linda Rocha (female)
In 1974, Clarence Ray Allen planned a burglary of Fran's Market in Fresno, California and solicited the involvement of two men who worked for him at his security guard business. Allen also arranged the help of a young woman to get the keys to the store and its burglar alarm from Bryon Schletewitz, son of the market owner.
Following the burglary and after stolen money orders were cashed, the young woman told Schletewitz it was Allen who had robbed the market. Schletewitz confronted Allen's son, who denied it, and Allen himself also denied it. Allen said that something would have to be done to the young woman and he arranged her death. Allen was arrested. He was convicted of burglary, first-degree murder and conspiracy and sent to prison to serve a life sentence on March 16, 1978.
He was incarcerated at Folsom State Prison and knew Billie Ray Hamilton in prison. While in prison, Allen plotted to kill the people who had informed on him and gotten him prison time.
Three days after Hamilton was paroled, he was picked up by Allen's son at the bus station where he also asked for weapons to carry out the crimes.
On Sept. 4, 1980, Hamilton and his girlfriend, Connie Barbow, went to Fran's Market and purchased some meat from Joe Rias. Rias went into the storeroom with Douglas White. Since it was after the market's closing time, the front door was locked. Bryon Schletewitz and Josephine Rocha came into the storeroom followed by Hamilton who was holding a sawed-off shotgun. Barbow followed behind. Hamilton ordered them to lie down. They all sat down. He asked Schletewitz for the keys to the safe, ordered him out, and told Barbow to watch the others. She pulled out a handgun. They went to the safe. Schletewitz told Hamilton he would give him all the money. Rias later testified that when Schletewitz and Hamilton went to the safe area, he heard shuffling and a bang. It was later learned that Hamilton shot Schletewitz at close range with the shotgun.
Hamilton went back to the room and asked Douglas White where the safes were kept; White did not know and Hamilton shot him at close range in the chest and stomach.
Another shot was heard and it was later learned that a shotgun blast at close range killed Josephine Rocha.
Hamilton attempted to kill Rias, but Rias covered his face with his left arm. The blast hit his arm, blowing off most of the tissue and shattering his elbow. Hamilton and Barbow checked on the other three victims to make sure they were dead. Hamilton was later arrested as a suspect in a Modesto robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Among his possessions was an address book with the name of Clarence Ray Allen. Because of the listing of Fran's Market and the names of some of the victims, investigators believed there was a connection with the murders and the Fran's Market burglary for which Allen had been convicted. The investigation of this matter led to the arrest of inmate Clarence Ray Allen. Allen was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances and was received onto California's death row at San Quentin State Prison on December 2, 1982.
His first murder conviction had been for ordering the murder of 17-year-old Mary Sue Kitts, who had revealed his role in a Fresno burglary.
...Schletewitz, 27, whose father owned the store. He (Billy Ray Hamilton) killed him with a shotgun, along with two bystanders, Douglas White, 18, and Josephine Rocha,17.
"I have no sympathy for him,'' said Tricia Pendergrass, whose brother, Bryon Schletewitz, was one of Allen's murder victims. ``He was allowed to grow old. He chose his life."
She stole a page from your book.
Yes, the writing is just hilarious.
Say what you will about us, but CA voters are strongly pro-death, particularly for scum like Tookie and Allen. They would never, ever vote for a moratorium. Our liberal legislators from SF have introduced a bill in the state assembly, but even if it passes (a long shot) it will be DOA on Arnold's desk. So I don't think they would even bother until after 2006 elections.
Now here's an inspiration: a re-elect Arnold commercial with the xmas jingle featuring Tookie: "I'm dreaming of a moratorium". Worked well for Bush v. Dukakis.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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Welcome to the Florida Region
The purpose of regional services is to support the Areas and Groups in their primary purpose, by linking them together within the Region. Regional services assist Areas and Groups with issues and topics of interest to their areas and encourage the growth of the fellowship through Area Support Group meetings, project driven workgroups and consensus based decision making.
- 07/31/2016
NA Convention Trinidad07/31/2016 @ 12:00 am
- 08/20/2016
Unidos en Recueracion Convention X 2016 Fundraiser Picnic08/20/2016 @ 10:00 am
- 09/02/2016
Tampa Funcoast Area Convention (FACNA)09/02/2016 @ 12:00 am
South Florida Regional Convention09/02/2016 @ 4:00 pm
- 09/16/2016
Florida RSC Weekend09/16/2016 @ 12:00 am
- 09/17/2016
Unidos en Recueracion Convention X 2016 Fundraiser International Night09/17/2016 @ 6:00 pm
- 11/18/2016
RSC Weekend11/18/2016 @ 12:00 am
2016 Florida GSR Assembly
MARCH 25th – 27th 2016
Purpose of the GSR Assembly
The annual GSR Assembly is a meeting of all of the GSRs and RCMs in the Florida Region. We come together to fellowship, grow in unity, and arrive at a regional conscience on a variety of issues, both locally and globally in NA. Per our Second Concept; "The final responsibility and authority for NA Services rest with the NA Groups".
Florida RSC
The RSC Conferences are held on the third Sunday of the following months: January, May, July, September and November and March in even years. In the odd year, it will be held the fourth Sunday to facilitate the Southeastern Zonal Forum's attendance at the Florida Service Symposium.
Fellowship Development
The Fellowship Development Group meets twice each RSC weekend. The morning session is a large group discussion meeting that any trusted servants or N.A. member is encouraged to attend. The afternoon session is a meeting of workgroups assigned particular projects.
Calling All Artist!
We are looking for pre-convention and convention logo submissions. If you or someone you know is an artist we need your submissions for FRCNA 35 "Together We Can".
- FRCNA 36 – The Promise is Freedom – Early Bird SpecialJuly 28, 2016
- World Board FIPT StatementJuly 5, 2016
- FRCNA 35 "Together We Can"June 29, 2016
- FRCNA 35 – June Support Committee MeetingMay 26, 2016
- FRCNA 35 – Talent ShowMay 14, 2016
- Last Chance Dinner TicketsMay 12, 2016 (1 Reply)
- World Service Conference April 29thApril 30, 2016
- World Service Conference April 28thApril 28, 2016
- World Service Conference April 27thApril 28, 2016 (1 Reply)
- World Service Conference April 26thApril 27, 2016


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On Second Thought is a one-hour, daily news talk show that airs at 9 a.m. ET weekdays.
Travel back 15 years to learn the current values for previously appraised finds. Which item values fell and which ones soared? Monday, July 25 at 7 PM
National Signing Day is over and the reigning AAAAAA Champions, the Colquitt County Packers, had 25 players sign letters of intent on National Signing Day. I had a chance to go one-on-one with Head... MORE
Make your secure online donation at GPB.org.
Thu., February 6, 2014 12:00pm
It's Almost Time For Georgia Eighth Graders To Choose A Career Path
The time is drawing near for Georgia 8th graders to choose a career path. They have to make a decision by the end of the school year under the state's new Career Pathways mandate. But in many districts like Savannah-Chatham, deadlines are arriving even sooner.
Full Story


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I've finally saved enough money for a new lens, but I can't decide!
I've been thinking about the 17-40mm f4L usm and the 17-55mm f2.8 usm.
First off the 17-40 is an L lens, every poor photographers dream, but it is an f4 lens, which means that it wouldn't be best suited for things like concerts and low light photography without long exposures. But the build quality is impeccable and it's weather sealed!
Also, when I go full frame, this lens isn't useless anymore! (plus there's the confidence boost of having an L lens attached to your camera)
But the 17-55 has that extra stop, which is constant. This would really help with portrait works and concert photography, but it's not an L lens! Which means a plastic body and no weather sealing and sexy …