Isn't that interesting...

[Eilan]

I thought that was not only interesting but a very bad move.

This, to me, sends a negative message to women. Why should she (or women in general) be granted special favors because of their appearance? I'm not naive enough to think that it doesn't happen, because it certainly does, but it's insulting all the same. If she broke the law, she should be punished, regardless of how she looks.

If she were a man accused of the same crime, people wouldn't care as much about what happened to her in prison.

Furthermore, insanity pleas (or attempts to be declared incompetent to stand trial) really get on my nerves sometimes, particularly because, for the most part, people can be found "Guilty," Not Guilty," or "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity." I think that some states have a "Guilty but Insane" verdict, and this is what I'd prefer to see.

When it comes to insanity in this case, wouldn't the defense have to show that she didn't know right from wrong all those times she boinked the 14-year old? At any rate, it looks like the professionals are divided as to her mental health status.

 

[Cathleen]

This, to me, sends a negative message to women. Why should she (or women in general) should be granted special favors because of their appearance? I'm not naive enough to think that it doesn't happen, because it certainly does, but it's insulting all the same. If she broke the law, she should be punished, regardless of how she looks.

If she were a man accused of the same crime, people wouldn't care as much about what happened to her in prison.

Furthermore, insanity pleas (or attempts to be declared incompetent to stand trial) really get on my nerves sometimes, particularly because, for the most part, people can be found "Guilty," Not Guilty," or "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity." I think that some states have a "Guilty but Insane" verdict, and this is what I'd prefer to see.

When it comes to insanity in this case, wouldn't the defense have to show that she didn't know right from wrong all those times she boinked the 14-year old? At any rate, it looks like the professionals are divided as to her mental health status.

Exactly, bad move. I suppose he could hope for a jury of all males.

 

[LadyJeanne]

i think ladyjeanne's reaction is exactly what the defense counsel is counting on.

ed

Not my reaction - I wouldn't accept the insanity defense if I were on the jury.

She's a perv - a needy, adulterous perv with low self-esteem. She's not insane. Just stupid.

 

[silverwhisper]

fair enough.

ed

 

[Cathleen]

Updated: 04:38 PM EDT
Actress Fonda Plans to Speak Out on Iraq



AP
Jane Fonda expects to start her anti-war bus tour in March.



SANTA FE, N.M. (July 25) - Actress and activist Jane Fonda says she intends to take a cross-country bus tour to call for an end to U.S. military operations in Iraq.

"I can't go into any detail except to say that it's going to be pretty exciting,'' she said.

Fonda said her anti-war tour in March will use a bus that runs on "vegetable oil.'' She will be joined by families of Iraq war veterans and her daughter.

They plan to return to the Santa Fe area, where she was promoting her book, "My Life So Far'' on Saturday.

Prompted by a question from the audience, Fonda said war veterans that she has met on a nationwide book tour have encouraged her to break her silence on the Iraq war.

"I've decided I'm coming out,'' she said.

Hundreds of people in the audience cheered loudly when Fonda announced her intentions to join the anti-Iraq war movement.

"I have not taken a stand on any war since Vietnam,'' she said. "I carry a lot of baggage from that.''

Fonda incited controversy in July 1972 when she was photographed sitting on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun while on a tour of the country to drum up support to end the war.


07/25/05 09:03 EDT

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.


Something tells me we shouldn't 'see Jane hop' ... on that bus.

 

[bobsgirl]

Updated: 04:38 PM EDT
Actress Fonda Plans to Speak Out on Iraq



AP
Jane Fonda expects to start her anti-war bus tour in March.



SANTA FE, N.M. (July 25) - Actress and activist Jane Fonda says she intends to take a cross-country bus tour to call for an end to U.S. military operations in Iraq.

"I can't go into any detail except to say that it's going to be pretty exciting,'' she said.

Fonda said her anti-war tour in March will use a bus that runs on "vegetable oil.'' She will be joined by families of Iraq war veterans and her daughter.

They plan to return to the Santa Fe area, where she was promoting her book, "My Life So Far'' on Saturday.

Prompted by a question from the audience, Fonda said war veterans that she has met on a nationwide book tour have encouraged her to break her silence on the Iraq war.

"I've decided I'm coming out,'' she said.

Hundreds of people in the audience cheered loudly when Fonda announced her intentions to join the anti-Iraq war movement.

"I have not taken a stand on any war since Vietnam,'' she said. "I carry a lot of baggage from that.''

Fonda incited controversy in July 1972 when she was photographed sitting on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun while on a tour of the country to drum up support to end the war.


07/25/05 09:03 EDT

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.


Something tells me we shouldn't 'see Jane hop' ... on that bus.

I can't imagine where in the country she'd go to get a warm welcome. I'm definitely not against her right to speak out. She's free to say what she likes. But she has a wee bit of a credibility problem. Too bad the mistakes we make in our youth sometimes come back to haunt us.

 

[midwestyankee]

I can't imagine where in the country she'd go to get a warm welcome. I'm definitely not against her right to speak out. She's free to say what she likes. But she has a wee bit of a credibility problem. Too bad the mistakes we make in our youth sometimes come back to haunt us.

It's so tempting to make a smartass remark about youthful indiscretions and how they only come back to haunt us if we're in the party that's not in power at the time (see Henry Hyde, R-Illinois, circa 1999).

As for Jane "feel-the-burn" Fonda, as soon as she had the guts to dump ol' Ted she recovered a good deal of the credibility in my view.

Just me 2 cents (and probably not much sense).

 

[Eilan]

Saw this in the newspaper the other day.

One of the suburbs in central Ohio is proposing some zoning rules/landscaping requirements for newly built (not existing) homes that I find to be absolutely ludicrous. Here's a sample:

--Four trees, no fewer than three in front--two shade trees, one ornamental tree, and one evergreen. The trees have to have a trunk of at least two inches (maybe a bit more--I don't recall) in diameter.

--No fewer than eight shrubs including, but not limited to, four deciduous (two large, two smaller) and four evergreen.

--Front-yard mulch area is mandatory and must be at least 200 square feet, with accent plants and flowers.

--The preferred siding is neutral-toned, though brick and stone are preferable to siding.

--Windows must have shutters when feasible.

I understand that there's a certain "image" that the city leaders are after, and it's certainly no more restrictive than other suburbs. If I lived in a nice neighborhood in one of those suburbs, I certainly wouldn't like it if my neighbor had an Appalachian Picket Fence; I wouldn't like it where I'm living, for that matter. This just seems like too much micromanagement to me. Aren't there really more important things to worry about than whether or not someone's flowerbed is only 150 square feet?

I'm glad that there aren't any zoning ordinances where my hubby and I live, because we'd be in trouble for the weeds in our flowerbeds.

 

[Cathleen]

Hmmm, I wonder if a landscape contractor is on the zoning board? I'm just being sarcastic.

I find that to be over the line. I agree that it would be nice to have pleasant and appealing environments but that is a little too 'Stepford' for me. I'm remembering an article I read about a 'disney' sort of town... it was an all inclusive place. The schools, shops, medical etc were all in the area. Everything was perfect. It was pretty in the pictures and I bet I'd enjoy it but again... a little too conformist for the US I think.

 

[Eilan]

Hmmm, I wonder if a landscape contractor is on the zoning board? I'm just being sarcastic.

I was wondering the same thing myself.

I find that to be over the line. I agree that it would be nice to have pleasant and appealing environments but that is a little too 'Stepford' for me. I'm remembering an article I read about a 'disney' sort of town... it was an all inclusive place. The schools, shops, medical etc were all in the area. Everything was perfect. It was pretty in the pictures and I bet I'd enjoy it but again... a little too conformist for the US I think.

I completely understand that in a neighborhood where the houses cost $250,000-$300,000 (and more) that residents want things to look nice. If I lived in that neighborhood, I'd feel that way as well. But at what point should the wishes of the HOA be considered over the rights of the property owners?

Those HOA's, though they might start out with good intentions, can go overboard. I've heard stories of these organizations foreclosing (or at least attempting to foreclose) on homeowners who violate various "rules." And, no, they're not in default on their home loans. It might be a matter of putting in the "wrong" kind of fence or pool, or having flowerbeds in the "wrong" place.

Another suburb was having a debate over where things such as buildings, swingsets, or pools should be placed in one's back yard. Some guy was bitching about the $10,000 swingset that his neighbor put in for his kids.

 

[Cathleen]

I heard this song on the radio a while back and it sent shivers up my spine. I've seen the video too and it just stops me in my tracks.

How do you all feel about your national symbols?

"Arlington," a song inspired by U.S. Marine Cpl. Patrick Nixon, the first soldier from Tennessee killed during the war in Iraq. Songwriter Dave Turnbull wrote the song with Jeremy Spillman after meeting the soldier's father.


Arlington
Performed by: Trace Adkins

I never thought that this is where I'd settle down,
I thought I'd die an old man back in my hometown,
They gave me this plot of land, me and some other men, for a job well done,
There's a big white house sits on a hill just up the road,
The man inside he cried the day they brought me home,
They folded up a flag and told my mom and dad, we're proud of your son

Chorus:
And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property,
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company,
I'm thankful for those things I've done,
I can rest in piece, I'm one of the chosen ones, I made it to Arlington

I remember daddy brought me here when I was eight,
we searched all day to find out where my granddad lay,
and when we finally found that cross,
he said, "son this is what it cost to keep us free" Now here i am,
a thousand stones away from him,
he reconized me on the first day i came in,
and it gave me a chill when he clicked his heels, and saluted me.

Chorus:
And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property,
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company,
I'm thankful for those things I've done,
I can rest in piece, I'm one of the chosen ones, I made it to Arlington

And everytime I hear twenty-one guns,
I know they brought another hero home to us

We're thankful for those thankful for the things we've done,
we can rest in peace, 'cause we are the chosen ones,
we made it to Arlington, yea dust to dust,
Don't cry for us, we made it to Arlington.

 

[Nightbird]

Recently I've been struck by how much things have changed to the economy and price of gas.

I live in a community that used to be fairly busy, and during the day it still is..But the change at night is hard to miss.

What used to be fairly busy streets are now absolutely empty. There are no jobs here, and the lack of traffic at night is unbelieveable.

How has your community and your life changed?

 

[Cathleen]

Recently I've been struck by how much things have changed to the economy and price of gas.

I live in a community that used to be fairly busy, and during the day it still is..But the change at night is hard to miss.

What used to be fairly busy streets are now absolutely empty. There are no jobs here, and the lack of traffic at night is unbelieveable.

How has your community and your life changed?

(Thanks for the post NB, I just noticed it when I came to post the below.)


I've noticed the lack of local traffic, too. I've been looking at it as a kind of bonus by getting some household errands done, eg, shopping, without crowds.

I've also noticed I have lost some enthusiasm to do some of the things I used to do for fun. Going into the dark and cold time of year doesn't help lift things up either. Some of the fall/winter activities are great but I just don't want get too 'home comfy'.

The economy isn't just about money.

 

[Cathleen]

This is just the prototype! Can you imagine how fantastic these will be with additional technology as well as more knowledge about the brain? They expect to be available in about two years.



Scientist Develop Prosthetic That Can Sense Touch Reporting


Mallika Marshall, MD BOSTON (WBZ)

The Smarthand is a new prosthetic limb dotted with 40 sensors that stimulate nerves in the arm and shoot touch signals back into the brain instantaneously.

There is a breakthrough for people who've lost limbs. Swedish scientists say they've developed a robotic hand that can actually sense touch.

Amputee Robin af Ekenstam can pick up a water bottle without dropping or crushing it. He gives it just the right amount of pressure because for the first time in years, he can actually FEEL the bottle. "It's a feeling I have not had for a long time," he says.

Robin is the first to try out what's called the Smarthand, a new prosthetic limb dotted with 40 sensors that stimulate nerves in the arm and shoot touch signals back into the brain instantaneously.

Dr. Jeffrey Heckman of New York University's Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine says the technology is unparalleled at this point. The prosthetic hands available now allow patients to perform many tasks but the Smarthand is the first to offer movement control that only comes through feeling.

Dr. Heckman says patients still have to train their arm muscles to move the Smarthand's motors, but for the more than 900 veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars who've lost limbs to roadside bombs, the technology could be life changing. "It could allow a patient who's married who'd like to hold their spouse's hand again," explains Dr. Heckman. "It could allow someone who could pick up their son and feel that they are holding on."

Scientists call this the "magic touch," the "holy grail" of prosthetics. For Robin, it's a feeling he's missed for a long time, and he's happy to have it back.

Scientists are now working to make the Smarthand's electronics more streamlined and hope to have it on the market within two years.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

src

 

[Mister_Wikk]

I'd have a seeeeeeerious talk about just why she wanted the procedure. Then again, who knows what'll happen by the time I have an 18 year old anything. Heh.

 

[Mister_Wikk]

This is just the prototype! Can you imagine how fantastic these will be with additional technology as well as more knowledge about the brain? They expect to be available in about two years.



Scientist Develop Prosthetic That Can Sense Touch Reporting


Mallika Marshall, MD BOSTON (WBZ)

The Smarthand is a new prosthetic limb dotted with 40 sensors that stimulate nerves in the arm and shoot touch signals back into the brain instantaneously.

There is a breakthrough for people who've lost limbs. Swedish scientists say they've developed a robotic hand that can actually sense touch.

Amputee Robin af Ekenstam can pick up a water bottle without dropping or crushing it. He gives it just the right amount of pressure because for the first time in years, he can actually FEEL the bottle. "It's a feeling I have not had for a long time," he says.

Robin is the first to try out what's called the Smarthand, a new prosthetic limb dotted with 40 sensors that stimulate nerves in the arm and shoot touch signals back into the brain instantaneously.

Dr. Jeffrey Heckman of New York University's Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine says the technology is unparalleled at this point. The prosthetic hands available now allow patients to perform many tasks but the Smarthand is the first to offer movement control that only comes through feeling.

Dr. Heckman says patients still have to train their arm muscles to move the Smarthand's motors, but for the more than 900 veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars who've lost limbs to roadside bombs, the technology could be life changing. "It could allow a patient who's married who'd like to hold their spouse's hand again," explains Dr. Heckman. "It could allow someone who could pick up their son and feel that they are holding on."

Scientists call this the "magic touch," the "holy grail" of prosthetics. For Robin, it's a feeling he's missed for a long time, and he's happy to have it back.

Scientists are now working to make the Smarthand's electronics more streamlined and hope to have it on the market within two years.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

src

This is amazing. More breakthroughs, please! I'm ready for the future, already.

 

[Quoll]

From The Hungry Beast

What I've learnt from Cosmo this month.​

Today I thought I should really try to better my bedroom skills. So I did what any modern young woman ‘who wants it all’ would – I consulted ‘the world’s most successful women’s magazine’ – Cosmopolitan.

Where else does one go to achieve “good looks, a successful career and great relationships”? Strangely enough, the first thing Cosmo taught me was to stop worrying about what I look like:

“Some of you are being held back by a bad case of poor body image, worrying about things such as stretchmarks, cellulite and whether you’re doing it properly… Girls, it’s time to get over it. Seriously.”

Having just ploughed through 118 pages of advertisements for cosmetic products that promise – amongst other things – to ‘roll away imperfections’, ‘fight visible lumps and bumps’, ‘reduce the appearance of fine lines’ and ‘fight cellulite’, I’m somewhat confused… should I be buying these products so that I look hotter, or should I stop worrying so much about my body?

Moving on.

“…there are many reasons a woman might be holding back in the bedroom. Some of the most common are her upbringing, being exposed to a world that places value on superficial things such as beauty and youth, and feeling she’s not experienced enough.”

Number of individual ‘beauty’ tips in this edition of the magazine = 107 at a conservative count, and that’s not including the “30 Ways to Beautify Your Look” and “Shed Your Winter Body” diet & workout plan which featured as part of this edition’s 50-page “Beauty Special”.

But I digress. Back to the bedroom tips:

“Our society can put a lot of pressure on sex being performance-oriented, and that can take away the meaningful, emotional, intimate side of sex… just ‘be in your body’.”

So… just relax, chillout, do what comes naturally. Oh but also:

“…try experimenting with typical “wild-girl” sex moves – talking dirty and role playing”, or “create a character”.

Ok, so be myself, resist “society’s” pressure to make sex performance-oriented, but play a fictional character.

And if after all that, I’m still concerned about what I look like while I’m bumping uglies, I’m told not to worry because:

“…chances are your man doesn’t care. He’s just thrilled to bits to have a real live naked woman in his bed.”

...but I probably should care – after all, they’ve included a list of ‘problem-solving positions’ that allow me to hide the ‘bits I don’t like’. You know, bits like ‘not-so-perky boobs’, ‘a wobbly tummy’ or ‘a bit of an arse’.

Well, thanks for clearing that all up for me, Cosmo! To the boudoir…​

 

[bitchee62]

From The Hungry Beast

​

This would be why I will be celibate forever if Honey and I ever separate. The pressure to be thin, attractive and sexually more/better than any fantasy your partner can think of (just don't go too far). Oh and did I mention read their mind?

I was so happy to finally get a partner who did not expect me to read his mind or stay a size 3 forever.
Not that I don't want to stay attractive as long as possible, but lets be a bit more realistic about what getting older and having children can do to the female body.

 

[Quoll]

Wowsers.

The judge's ruling said exactly what most people would want to hear in an adoption case.

It said that the 1-year-old boy who had been living with his foster parents was "happy and thriving" — and that a permanent adoption made perfect sense.

It should be a simple story with a happy ending.

Except it is not.

That judge's ruling — which focused solely on the child's well-being — enraged some on the religious right.

Why? Because the little boy's adoptive parents are gay.

So now those who profit from division are pouncing.

They aren't the people who have cared for this little boy, who have nursed his wounds and tucked him in at night. In fact, they haven't done a thing for him.

They haven't consulted the experts — everyone from a child psychologist to a Guardian ad Litem — who say the parents provide precisely the loving environment that this child needs.

All these critics know is that they don't want gay people to have the same rights as straight people.

So they want him separated from the parents who love him.

"Arrogant judicial activism" was how the finger-waggers at Orlando's Florida Family Policy Council described the ruling in an alert it sent out to its members last week.

And to make their point about just how frightening this ruling was, the Policy Council included a photograph of the couple — a strange and androgynous-looking duo, one with bleached skin and both with mullet haircuts. The couple look so odd (you literally can't tell whether they are male or female) that one might wonder how any judge could place a young child with such a disturbing-looking duo.

Except the judge didn't.

The abnormal-looking couple that the Policy Council chose to illustrate this story is not the same couple granted the right to adopt the child.

No, the two-woman couple awarded custody of the 1-year-old — South Florida trade-show executive Vanessa Alenier and her partner, Melanie Leon — look more like J.Crew models: all-American with catalogue clothes and smiles.

The picture that the Policy Council chose was a grotesque caricature.

These are the dirty tactics of Christianity's far-right warriors.

Not the majority of mainstream Christians, mind you. Not those who are focused on caring for their own families and practicing their own faith — but those who are obsessed with homosexuality.

These extremists wage their campaigns of intolerance based on deception and misrepresentation.

And they have the gall to do it in God's name.

On some twisted level, you can see why they have been reduced to misleading histrionics.

Because they are losing the fight.

Florida is the last state in the U.S. with an outright ban on gay adoption. And three court rulings in recent months suggest the archaic law may be on its last legs.

The rationale for preventing balanced, loving parents from adopting children — when the state has a backlog of needy children, no less — is hard to justify in concept.

And when you actually look at the specifics of human lives involved in real cases — the way Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Sampedro-Iglesia did last month — it's darn near impossible.

In considering the case, Judge Sampedro-Iglesia heard from family members, a child psychologist, the boy's preschool administrator, a social worker and the state-appointed Guardian ad Litem.

All of them, the judge wrote in her order, "testified in support of the adoption as being in the best interest of the child."

The state did not offer a single witness to rebut that claim.

"The only testimony elicited today," the judge said at the end of the hearing, "was that [the 1-year-old] is loved by these parents more than they even thought that someone could be loved."

So the judge ruled that he could stay with the two women — one of whom is related to the boy. (Child-welfare workers had taken him shortly after he was born. Alenier and Leon stepped up, offering to raise him — much to the delight of their extended family.)

Still, the fringes didn't care about the family's wishes. They don't like equal rights, period. So the howling began.

We could ignore those who are obsessed with denying rights to others if they weren't so skilled at politics. What they lack in honesty they make up for in effective campaigning, getting politicians to do their bidding.

The problem they face, however, is that it's tough to make the case for discrimination when you start looking at real cases involving real people and real children.

Once you start substituting facts for demagoguery, those who profit from trying to use religion as a wedge are left with little more than fear-mongering … and fake pictures.

The Family Policy Council says the child is being used as "a political pawn."

And they are right about that.

Only, it's not the two women who love and care for this little boy who are using him that way.

On the left is the picture that the Florida Family Policy Council of Orlando, used to illustrate the gay couple that was awarded custody of a relative. It appeared under the headline: "FL judge violates law, places child in homosexual adoption" (on the right) is the actual couple. (February 3, 2010)​

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-scott-maxwell-gay-adoption-020310-20100202,0,4681616,full.column

 

[bobsgirl]

Wowsers.

The judge's ruling said exactly what most people would want to hear in an adoption case.

It said that the 1-year-old boy who had been living with his foster parents was "happy and thriving" — and that a permanent adoption made perfect sense.

It should be a simple story with a happy ending.

Except it is not.

That judge's ruling — which focused solely on the child's well-being — enraged some on the religious right...

For several reasons, this outrages me. I'm appalled that the religious right, those who presumably care soooo much about family values and the rights of children, are using this child to make a political statement. It doesn't surprise me in the least that they're using misleading and repulsive tactics to try to score political points with those who are simple minded and stupid enough to believe them.

God help this poor child if some narrowminded appeals court judge with his head up his righteous ass overturns this.

 

[unregistered]