....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Odd and Interesting
The chief judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday suspended an obscenity trial over which he was presiding after a newspaper reported he had posted sexually explicit photos and videos on his own Web site.[...]
He is presiding in the case against a porn movie distributor.
[...]
The defendant, Ira Isaacs, is accused of violating obscenity laws by selling movies depicting bestiality and extreme fetishes involving feces and urination.
[...]
Opening statements were under way Wednesday morning when the Los Angeles Times' Web site reported that Kozinski's personal site contained explicit material and that public access to it was blocked after he was interviewed about it Tuesday evening.
Kozinski, 57, told the Times he thought the material, which included a video of a man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal and a picture of nude women on all fours painted to look like cows, couldn't be seen by the public. The judge said he didn't believe any of the images were obscene, the Times reported.
[...]
"I think it's odd and interesting."
[...]
"I'm not going to say anything. The trial is ongoing," Judge Alex Kozinski said to a reporter as he left.
That's the mantra of the Bush Administration.
I bet Ira Isaacs was feeling pretty good about his chances until the Times rained on the parade.
And once upon a time in this great country of ours, judges could count on cover.
The suspension of the trial came after jurors spent hours at the Pasadena offices of the 9th Circuit watching the video evidence in the obscenity case.
Well, thank goodness the Times didn’t report earlier, eh?
The Times reported that Kozinski said he must have accidentally uploaded the images to his server while trying to upload something else.
Uh-huh. Even though it "wasn't obscene," you understand. And his point was that it was supposed to be only on his personal computer, and not for public consumption. He had no intention of sharing it on the internet. It was meant just for his family. In fact, his son is trying to take the blame by saying he downloaded the images to the computer in the first place. All in the family smut.
It all reminds me of a legal pleading by defense attorneys I saw at one of the law firms I used to work for in San Francisco. The case was a dog attack.
1. Defendant doesn't own a dog.
2. If defendant does own a dog, it isn't dangerous.
3. If defendant owns a dog and it is dangerous, defendant didn't know nor should have known.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Looking Back
Bush is using his last days in the Oval Office (I'm almost afraid to say that in fear of jinxing it) by taking a vacation to Europe.
Q Mr. President, on the way to Europe, you gave a very interesting interview for The Times newspaper in which you basically said that you regret your war rhetoric. Now I'm wondering, do you actually just regret your war rhetoric, or do you regret having gone to war with Iraq?PRESIDENT BUSH: I don't regret it at all. Removing Saddam Hussein made the world a safer place. And yes, I told the guy -- the guy said, now what could you do over? First of all, you don't get to do things over in my line of work. But I could have used better rhetoric to indicate that one, we tried to exhaust the diplomacy in Iraq; two, that I don't like war. But, no, the decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision.
What world is safer without Saddam, he didn't say. And all worlds can get down on their knees and thank whatever gods they choose that he doesn't get a chance to do things over.
I'd say he seems to have succeeded brilliantly in exhausting the diplomacy. It hasn't been seen or heard from near Iraq in any meaningful manner since he took office. Perhaps we should look for it in a Swiss sanitarium.
And yes, I think if he wanted to convey the idea that he doesn't like war, he made some major "rhetorical" missteps. "I hit the trifecta!", "Fuck Saddam, we're taking him out!", "Bring 'em on!", "Kick ass!", and "Stay strong! Stay the course! Kill them! Be confident! Prevail! We are going to wipe them out! We are not blinking!" - to name a few.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
Impeachment
Link fixed.
Raw Story has the video of Constitutional Attorney Jonathan Turley explaining to Keith Olbermann the importance of Dennis Kucinich's articles of impeachment.
Raw Story has the video of Constitutional Attorney Jonathan Turley explaining to Keith Olbermann the importance of Dennis Kucinich's articles of impeachment.
Click the pic.
And after that, you can play this:
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
Mr. Values
You've heard about the "terrorist fist jab", and the supposed "whitey" slur no doubt. Rumors and attacks on Michelle Obama are well underway, and I expect we'll get to see lots more. Where are the attacks on Cindy McCain? How about the story of the first Mrs. McCain? Will Fox News reporters discuss that?
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
SNAFU
Pakistan said on Wednesday an "unprovoked and cowardly" air strike by U.S. forces had killed 11 Pakistani soldiers on its border with Afghanistan and undermined the basis of security cooperation.[...]
he attack "hit at the very basis of cooperation and sacrifice with which Pakistani soldiers are supporting the coalition in the war against terror," the military said.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Impeach
Dennis Kucinich read out 35 articles of impeachment against George Bush yesterday in the House. Didn't see it on Fox?
REP Convention
Ron Paul is staging a Ron Paul convention on the second day of the GOP National Convention in neighboring Minneapolis. You go, Ron.
Monday, June 09, 2008
All in the Phrasing
We're not building permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq. We're building Iraqi bases (for which we might even pay them a rental fee) from which to conduct our permanent operations. So, that's different then.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
