Friday Follies Happy Hour 2011.07.15

Tequila is such a good cure for what ails you...

Karma Is A Bitch

Posted with minimal comment.

Owner of killer bear chokes to death on sex toy

An exotic-animal owner who made headlines last summer when one of his bears mauled a woman to death has died after apparently choking on a sex toy, authorities said.

Sam Mazzola, 49, was found dead in his Columbia Station home on Sunday, face down on a water bed. He was bound to the bed with handcuffs, chains and padlocks, Lorain County Chief Deputy Coroner Dr. Frank Miller told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Mazzola had a sex toy in his throat, which apparently obstructed his breathing, Miller said. He was also wearing a leather mask with the eyes and mouth zipped shut and a two-piece metal sphere covering his head, the coroner told The Morning Journal.

"He had done this by request according to the story we were given,” Miller told The Morning Journal. “There was an assistant, but that is under investigation.”

It appeared Mazzola died from an "accident during sexual role play," Miller told the Plain Dealer.

An autopsy determined the preliminary cause of death was asphyxia due to airway obstruction by foreign body. Suicide and homicide have been ruled out. "The manner of death is pending further investigation and will be released when the case is finalized,” the coroner’s office said in a press release.

Sheriff’s detective Mike Lopez told The Morning Journal that a teenage co-worker found Mazzola’s body.

He said someone else was at the home and helped Mazzola with the bondage but had left before he died.

“It was an unattended death,” Miller told the Journal.

No one has been charged in the death, which Lopez said was not suspicious.

Mazzola has been in the news in the past because of his ownership and exhibitions of wild animals, which he kept on his property southwest of Cleveland.

In August, one of his black bears fatally mauled Brent Kandra , 24, of Elyria, after Kandra opened the bear’s enclosure for a routine feeding.

Kandra's death was ruled a workplace accident. The bear was euthanized.

My sympathies are for, in order, the bear, the mauled employee, and the bear-owning pervert...

Maybe I Spoke Too Soon

A couple of weeks ago I posted something to the effect that I wasn't opposed to New York's new law legitimizing gay marriage. IMO the government has no business interfering in the private lives of citizens.

Then I saw the picture below.

I may have spoken too hastily...

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire

There's been so much written and said about obama and the debt limit that there's nothing new I can add. Instead, I'd like to reemphasize two points.

First, obama lied. Not exactly a blinding news flash, I know, but nevertheless ... obama lied.

He's lied more than once, of course, but in this case I am referring to his statement that he can't guarantee older Americans will continue receiving Social Security checks next month. He went on to say "there may simply not be the money in the coffers" to issue Social Security, veterans and disability checks after Aug. 3.

That's actually two lies rolled into one.

Lie # 1: "I cannot guarantee that those checks go out."

Truth: in the event that the debt limit is reached, the president - not congress, not some federal agency, but barack hussein obama - is the one who decides what gets paid and what doesn't. So obama can in fact guarantee that Social Security checks will go out as scheduled.

Lie # 2: "there may simply not be the money in the coffers" to cover those checks.

Truth: Government revenue for the period Aug. 3, when the debt limit will be reached, and Aug. 31, will be in the neighborhood of $172 billion. That's more than enough to pay interest on the national debt ($29B), thereby avoiding default, along with paying SS benefits ($49B), Medicare and Medicaid ($50B), funding the Department of Defense ($2.9B pay for the military and $31.7B for DoD contractors), with approximately $10B left over.

Obama has made no concrete proposals for resolving this debt limit mess. He is angling for a $2.4 trillion increase - just enough to get him and the dems through next year's elections. And he is approaching the problem in a highly partisan manner. As Karl Rove points out:

His tone also hasn't helped achieve a comprehensive agreement. The president's two most recent press conferences, in which he accused the GOP of foot-dragging, convinced Republicans that he was interested in scoring political points and attracting independents, not facilitating a deal. Convening high-profile White House meetings without offering substantive concrete proposals and then having his aides leak madly (and inaccurately) to the press afterward further squandered trust.

Washington is dysfunctional. And to paraphrase the president's senior adviser, David Plouffe, Mr. Obama owns the dysfunction. The president has not only governed as a liberal—he's governed as an incompetent liberal...

The second point worth underscoring is obama's total lack of presidential behavior. Throwing a temper tantrum and storming out of the room is not the way to resolve a crisis.

As the talks wound up yesterday, progress was clearly stymied. The two-hour meeting concluded for the day when President Obama abruptly ended the talks and left the room.

"Enough is enough," Obama reportedly said, before ending the meeting.

It certainly is. We taxpayers are fed up with the supposed 'adult in the room' acting instead like a little drama queen.

Obama went on to say "This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this."

We can only hope...

Too Much News, Not Enough Time

I thought summer was supposed to be when things slowed down and we had a little extra time on our hands. But the last couple of weeks have been somewhat hectic. There have been doctor visits and medical procedures for various family members. Nothing serious - mostly routine maintenance - but its fallen on me to provide transportation and convalescent care.

Then there's been some home repair issues, both at our primary residence and at the lake cabin, which required my presence and involvement.

Our daughter just got her learners permit, and I'm the designated instructor, so that gobbles up the hours.

And finally, the world has been going crazy. I won't go through all the happenings. Most people with any sense of awareness in the world around them are probably more up-to-date on current events than I am. I will, however, touch briefly on two of the issues I find extremely troubling.

U.S. Government Arms Narcoterrorists

Federal agents can't account for more than 1,400 guns after a widely criticized operation aimed at tracing the flow of weapons to Mexican drug gangs...

Of 2,020 guns involved in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives probe dubbed "Operation Fast and Furious," 363 have been recovered in the United States and 227 have been recovered in Mexico. That leaves 1,430 guns unaccounted for, the sources said.

But the ATF knowingly allowed individuals to purchase weapons that they knew would end up in the hands of criminals on both sides of the border. And when Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in Arizona in December, two AK-47 variants that were allowed to "walk" under the program were found at the scene.

This is not the way to maintain good relations with your neighbor. More troubling, this has led directly to the death of at least one U.S. LEO, and who knows how many Mexican and American citizens. Whose bright idea was it to allow over 2000 weapons to be handed over to criminal and terrorist organizations? Who knew about it, and when? Heads should roll, up to and including Eric Holder. If he didn't know about it, he should have. When I was in the military I was responsible for the actions of soldiers under my command. That concept of personal accountability seems to be lost on the current occupant of the White House and his appointees.

Which brings us to issue #2 - the contretemps over the debt limit, and obama's unconscionable threat to withhold Social Security checks.

In his effort to blackmail Republicans into agreeing to potentially job-killing tax hikes on businesses and investors, Barack Obama has announced that he may choose to not send out Social Security checks to senior citizens on August 3rd, sneering "there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it."

Which strikes us as a little odd. After all, if no debt ceiling agreement is reached, the government's bills will be paid in the order that Obama decrees.

In other words, if the checks don't go out it will be because that's the way obama wants it. But you don't hear his lackeys in the lamestream media mentioning that fact.

And money is flowing in to Social Security every day, meaning that its "coffers" should be full-to-bustin' with cash which has allegedly been accumulating for decades...suggesting that it should be other programs that bring in no money which should be the first to go unfunded.

But nooOOOooo, the president would prefer to inflict the greatest and most visible pain that he possibly can... essentially making his elderly hostages shriek in terror in hopes of getting the Republicans to pay a $2 trillion ransom.

What a despicable lying bully. Contemptible doesn't begin to describe that sack of shit currently befouling the Oval Office.

While the two issues above are indeed serious, they pale in comparison to the fate threatening citizens of Minnesota. As a result of the ongoing state government shutdown due to a budget dispute, millions of Minnesotans are now facing life without beer.

The MillerCoors brewing company will soon be forced to pull 39 brands of beers from every restaurant, bar and liquor store in the state of Minnesota.

It's all because the company wasn't able to renew their brand label registration far enough in advance before the state's government shut down.

"What that means is they're not able to either distribute or sell their product in this state," said Doug Neville, spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

When Andrew Oliver of Minneapolis heard the news, he headed over to Surdyk's Liquor to stock up on Miller Lite, his wife's favorite beer.

"We just had a kid, so she's looking forward to Miller Lite."

We have a candidate for Mother of the Year.

MillerCoors, a joint venture of SABMiller and Molson Coors (TAP), actually put in for the label registration renewal back in mid June, but that application wasn't accepted because they "overpaid their fees," according to Neville.

A second attempt at renewal could not be processed before the license expired on June 30, and the government shut down the next day, Neville said.

But Julian Green, a spokesman for MillerCoors, insists that the original application made it in before the deadline, and therefore, the license should have been renewed. Furthermore, Green said, the state never returned the original check for the fee, and now has two checks from the company.

Typical government. The taxpayer pays before the deadline - twice!!! - and the government can't process either one in a timely manner. But it damn sure holds on to the funds, while at the same time punishing the taxpayer for the government's incompetence.

And in typical government fashion is short-sighted about the whole thing. 

"With a 38% share of the marketplace, we believe that the state revenue or the state taxes that we would provide certainly would be sorely needed in the state of Minnesota," Green said.

Run guns to Mexico. Take away Social Security checks. But by God if the government denies me my Shiner there's gonna be hell to pay...

What An Incredible Asshole

Is there no end to obama's lying, fear-mongering, and playing on the fears of the aged, infirm, and uninformed?

Evidently not.

President Barack Obama warned that, absent a deal, he can't guarantee older Americans will continue receiving Social Security checks next month.

What a gigantic flaming asshole. I don't have the time or energy to catalog all the reasons why we're in this mess, and why obama is part of the problem, not the solution. But I will offer a solution, courtesy of Warren Buffet, via Peter.

Warren Buffett: "I could end the deficit in 5 minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP all sitting members of congress are ineligible for reelection."

Elegant in its simplicity, isn't it. Although I would include the president and VP in that law as well.

And while we're at it, let's resurrect the movement that urged the following be passed as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States".

I guess supporting the notion of accountability in government makes me some sort of Tea Party radical.

And that makes me proud...

Time To Resign Our Membership

Someone remind me again why we're still members of the U.N.

Is it because countries like Red China and Saudi Arabia are members of the Human Rights council? Or perhaps because the U.N. is so supportive of Israel, the only democracy in the middle east?

In any event, as the U.N. continues to spread the blessings of liberty and individual freedom around the world, it has outgrown its current facilities and needs more space.

The United Nations, which is already spending $1.9 billion to renovate its New York headquarters, hopes to build a second high-rise nearby on two-thirds of an acre that is currently used as a city playground.

Hey you kids. Get off my lawn U.N.

The new building, which could be as much as 900,000 square feet in area, could rise as high as the U.N.’s landmark Secretariat building, and according to a  New York City real estate expert consulted by Fox News, could cost anywhere from $370 to $475 million—excluding land costs. Those figures do not include any additional costs for security features, which could hike the total much higher.

The proposed addition to the U.N. headquarters could also pose extensive new security concerns for the U.N. and for New York City. Only last February, the U.S. government agreed to foot the bill for $100 million in security improvements to the current U.N. headquarters campus, after city officials expressed intense behind-the-scenes frustration at the vulnerabilities of the existing U.N. complex.

Why are we, the U.S. taxpayers, coughing up $$$ to pay for security for the U.N.? After all, the people who hate us are running the damn thing. And they're not doing a very good job of it.

... its hugely expensive renovation (currently in progress) ... ballooned from an initial estimate of around $600 million to the current $1.9 billion—even before security costs were added in.

Sounds like a typical government project. Over budget, behind schedule, and incomplete.

Of course, a new high-rise U.N. building could alter the skyline of New york.

Just like some of the members helped do 10 years ago...

Yard Nazis

First it was CSI for doggie poop.

Plagued with pets that do business in all the wrong places, dog owners in the Village of Abacoa must pay a $200 fee (to their HOA) starting Aug. 1. The money will pay DNA Pet World Registry to take the dog's genetic fingerprint...

Doggie droppings found in condo common areas will be collected and mailed in a plastic tube to the Knoxville, Tenn.-based company. If the poop matches the pooch, the owners can be fined up to $1,000. If they don't pay, a lien can be placed on their home...

Beginning Aug. 1 and until Aug. 31, a dog owner must pay a $200 one-time fee for a swab to be taken from their dog's mouth. DNA Pet World Registry uses the swab to determine the dog's DNA sample. The dog is issued a identification tag to wear on its collar. Owners who pay after Aug. 31 will be charged $500.

A maintenance person from Versa Management will collect marble-sized samples found in restricted areas. The samples go in a leakproof plastic container about the size of a small perfume bottle containing DNA stabilization solution. The container is mailed to DNA Pet World, where the identification test is done.

Feces identification is a booming business. DNA Pet World and PooPrints - its motto is "Match the Mess through DNA" - are spinoffs from BioPet Vet Labs.

I wonder if the PooPrints lab workers wear designer dresses and look like models a la CSI.

When no one stopped the Yard Nazis there, they moved on to this.

Their front yard was torn up after replacing a sewer line, so instead of replacing the dirt with grass, one Oak Park woman put in a vegetable garden and now the city is seeing green.
Julie Bass says, “We thought we’re minding our own business, doing something not ostentatious and certainly not obnoxious or nothing that is a blight on the neighborhood, so we didn’t think people would care very much.”

But some cared very much and called the city. The city then sent out code enforcement.

“They warned us at first that we had to move the vegetables from the front, that no vegetables were allowed in the front yard. We didn’t move them because we didn’t think we were doing anything wrong, even according to city code we didn’t think we were doing anything wrong. So they ticketed us and charged me with a misdemeanor,” Bass said.

City code says that all unpaved portions of the site shall be planted with grass or ground cover or shrubbery or other suitable live plant material. Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are what Basses see as suitable.

However, Oak Park’s Planning and Technology Director Kevin Rulkowski says the city disagrees. He says, “If you look at the dictionary, suitable means common. You can look all throughout the city and you’ll never find another vegetable garden that consumes the entire front yard.”

Two points: first, my dictionary doesn't define "suitable" as "common." Instead, it says "acceptable or right for someone or something." Alternatively, it is "adapted to a use or purpose." I'm with the Basses on this one. I think neat, well-maintained gardens are 'suitable.'

In any event, take a look at the Bass' house and yard, pictured below.. It's neat, clean, and well-maintained. I've lived next to much worse looking places. 

I wouldn't mind having them as neighbors. Their home and yard are neat, clean, and tasteful (/pun). As an added bonus, their neighbors could run over there under the cover of darkness anytime they needed fresh produce.

God save us all from busybody neighbors and over-officious bureaucrats...

FOD 2011.07.11

In 2006, as a U.S. senator, Barack Obama voted against raising the nation's debt ceiling. Here's what he said at that time.

"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."

Amen to that last sentence.

In 2007 and 2008, then-Senator Obama didn't even both to vote on subsequent proposed debt ceiling increases. Of course, he did vote for TARP, which increased the debt limit by $700 billion.

What a two-faced lying hypocritical asshole...

Has It Really Come To This?

I guess all those jokes about Newark are true after all.

Did you hear that 85 passengers on a trans-Atlantic flight developed flu-like symptoms, so the plane had to land in Newark? That's the first time passengers have gotten sick before arriving at Newark.

The latest public health initiative in Newark …a bus ticket out of Newark.

Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James was released from federal prison in Virginia Tuesday morning. Told he’d be freed and sent home to Newark, Sharpe reportedly asked for a longer sentence.

Newark is famous for its industry. In fact, most residents of the Tri-State area are very familiar with its two biggest exports: pollution and assholes.

Unfortunately, the latest news item to come out of Newark is no joke.

On the heels of an uptick in violence that claimed the life of an off-duty cop, Newark's city council voted Thursday to require all late-night restaurants that serve less than 20 people at a time to have an armed security guard posted from 9 p.m. to closing.

Newark's city council says these late-night eateries attract customers, but also crime.

Restaurant owners feared hiring security guards would strangle their finances.

Let me see if I understand this. The Newark city government is unable to fulfill one of its basic functions:  keeping citizens safe. So they delegate - no, make that mandate - the responsibility to small businesses. But in typical government fashion they overmanage the problem by specifying a narrow solution (hire armed guards) that imposes additional burdens and expenses on a productive segment of society. Why not just allow the small business owners to arm themselves? Or better yet, let all the citizens arm themselves. You know, that pesky 2nd amendment thingy.

If Newark doesn't want to go the 2nd Amendment route, they could just hire more police, right? Here's how Newark's mayor addressed that question in his commentary on the 2010 budget.

Newark, like countless communities across the United States, is experiencing a budget emergency. For over a decade, the City has been running a structural budget deficit, where its revenues fall short of its expenditures. 

Sound familiar? Substitute "Country" for "City" and he could be talking about the nation's budget. And take note of the unsaid message: "We the government did a lousy job of fulfilling our responsibilities, so we're dumping this mess on you the taxpayers."

And what does this say about today's society? That we need armed guards to protect us when we go out for a late-night snack?

As Newark goes, so goes the country.

God help us all...

Sunday Funnies 2011.07.10

In honor of our daughter's birthday...

A father leaves work a little late one night and on his way home, he remembers that it's his daughter's birthday and he hasn't bought a gift.

He parks his car in front of a toy store and asks the salesperson, "How much is the Barbie in the window?"

With a convincing voice the salesperson replies, "Well we have 'Barbie goes to the Gym' for $19.95, 'Barbie plays Volleyball' for $19.95, 'Barbie goes Shopping' for $19.95, 'Barbie goes to the Beach' for $19.95, 'Barbie goes Dancing' for $19.95, and 'Divorced Barbie' for $265.95."

The surprised man asks, "What? Why does the divorced Barbie cost $265.95 when the rest are only $19.95?"

Taking a deep breath, the salesperson responds, "Sir... the 'Divorced Barbie' comes with Ken's car, Ken's house, Ken's boat, Ken's furniture, Ken's computer, and one of Ken's friends."

Happy 15th

Our daughter is having a birthday party today. She just turned 15.

In what I sincerely hope will be a dry-run for her wedding, I was excluded from all party planning. She and my wife took care of everything.

In a few short hours approximately 25 teenagers will be swarming all over the place, and my sole responsibility is to place lawn chairs under the trees and ice down the Shiner for the other dads in attendance.

At last - a job that matches my talents and interests...

UPDATE: 7:15 p.m.

Mission Accomplished!!! The kids had a great time, the moms are satisfied, and the dads are in unanimous agreement that this is the preferred party model for the future. The women do the planning and implementation, while the men sit around and drink beer.

He Was Yellow

A wireless phone store in Strongville, Ohio, uses a guy dressed up in a gorilla costume as its mascot. He stands outside the store and holds up a variety of signs to attract customers. Last week, in a reversal of the food chain, the gorilla was attacked by a banana.

Police say that someone dressed up as a banana and attacked the Wireless Center's mascot, a gorilla, last week.

"I noticed a kid in the bushes. Then he just emerged, dressed up as a banana, and sprinted as fast as he could at our gorilla," said Brandon Parham, the manager. "The kid just speared our gorilla."

"The kid was in mid-air, flying. He just looked like a Spartan from that movie '300,' except he was a banana," added Parham.

"After he got tackled, the gorilla just got back up and adjusted his head. He kept on waving his sign around," said Parham.

Police say the person dressed up as a banana split and headed south on Pearl Road.

Police were unable to locate the banana.

I'd love to see the police report on this one.

 

Justice and MYOB

There's been quite a fuss lately over the scheduled (and now completed) execution of a Mexican citizen here in Texas who was convicted of raping and killing a 16-year-old girl. Most of the controversy has revolved around the claim that he wasn't informed of his 'right' to contact the Mexican consulate when he was arrested.

Mexican national executed in Texas

Humberto Leal Garcia Jr., a Mexican national convicted of raping and killing a 16-year-old girl in 1994, was executed by lethal injection Thursday evening in Texas.

The case's flurry of legal appeals and pleas for clemency were prompted by an international dispute over the rights of the foreign-born on American death rows.

The Supreme Court earlier denied a stay of execution for the convicted killer, despite opposition from the Obama administration and the Mexican government.

Memo to the obama administration: perhaps you should worry about prosecuting cases of voter intimidation and federal officials running guns into Mexico, and stay out of state matters.

Memo to the Mexican government: MYOB

Leal was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m. CT (7:21 p.m. ET), according to a corrections spokeswoman.

"I am sorry for everything I have done," Leal said at the Huntsville facility before he was executed. "I have hurt a lot of people. Let this be final and be done. I take the full blame for this."

What made Leal's conviction unusual was that he was not informed about his right to contact the Mexican consulate upon his arrest -- a right guaranteed under a binding international treaty. Leal's appellate lawyers argued such access could at the very least have kept Leal off death row.

Mexico strongly condemned the execution, saying it violated an International Court of Justice ruling ordering the United States to review capital convictions of Mexican nationals.

Leal, 38, was convicted of raping Adria Sauceda, a 16-year-old girl in San Antonio, and then fatally strangling and bludgeoning her with a 35-pound piece of asphalt in 1994.

The victim's mother, Rachel Terry, had called for the execution.

"A technicality doesn't give anyone a right to come to this country and rape, torture and murder anyone, in this case my daughter," she told CNN affiliate KSAT in San Antonio. Terry described her daughter as "a beautiful, bright, vibrant young woman, full of hope and aspirations."

The state argued that Leal -- who has lived in the United States since age 2 -- never revealed his Mexican citizenship at the time of arrest, and his defense team never raised the consular access issue at or before trial.

Prosecutors also said the evidence against him was indisputable. The victim was tortured, and a bite mark on her body was matched to Leal. A bloody shirt belonging to Sauceda was discovered at the suspect's home. The two had attended a party separately earlier that evening. The girl's nude body was found on a dirt road.

This jerk lived here since he was two years old. He never claimed Mexican citizenship. There is no doubt about his guilt. None. Zero zip nada. He's even admitted it. So why the big fuss now?

To be clear: Leal was not denied access to the Mexican consulate. He never asked for access, and he never told anyone he was a Mexican national. In fact, if the cops had asked if he was a Mexican citizen they would have been guilty of racial profiling (at least according to all the libs who are opposed to cops doing that during arrests or traffic stops). All that happened was that Leal was not told that he had a right to contact the consulate. Furthermore, this wasn't even raised as an issue until several years and several appeals after the original trial.

My concern is reserved for the victim and her family. The killer has lived for 17 years after the crime. The victim lived for only 16 years - total.

I'll make all those bleeding heart foreign namby-pambys a deal. We'll start worrying about international law when foreigners stop raping and killing Texas girls.

Serendipity

One definition of serendipity is "making fortunate discoveries by accident." Here's a perfect example.

Errant Golf Shot to the Head Saves Man's Life

Usually an errant golf ball to the head nets a spectator a free autograph. For one person, it saved his life.

Last Fourth of July, 25-year-old Chris Logan went to the final round of the AT&T National at the Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, Pa. When PGA golfer Sean O'Hair teed off at the 18th hole, his shot went astray and hit Logan in his left temple.

When being checked out by emergency technicians, a doctor asked Logan about a lump below his throat and urged him to get it checked out. The lump turned out to be a malignant tumor on his thyroid -- and the errant golf shot ended up saving his life.

Logan is now cancer-free.

Every so often I get bone-tired of all the nonsense and bad news that is so prevalent nowdays. When a feel-good story like this pops up it's a breath of fresh air.

And Lord knows these days we can use all the good news and fresh air we can get...

Hump Day

Thought for the Day:

After Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says W.T.F.

Death Is Too Good For Some People

If this guy is guilty of the crimes he is being charged with, then he is a poster child for capital punishment. The only question is how.

Police: Father with HIV raped his 6-month-old son

An HIV-positive father in Ohio was arrested on Saturday for raping his infant son, police say.

Lenny Love, 29, sexually assaulted his 6-month-old son in March knowing he was infected with the disease, according to cops in Silverton, Oh.

Love was charged with 2 counts of rape, 1 count of felonious assault and 1 count of marijuana possession.

He has reportedly admitted the assault.

Part of me leans towards a coldly efficient approach. Just dispatch him as quickly and emotionlessly as possible. Lethal injection is okay, although IMO hanging, the gas chamber, the electric chair, and a firing squad are all acceptable as well.

But another part of me wants him to really suffer for his (alleged) crimes. Again, the question is how. History is replete with gruesome means of execution. Here's one version of a Top 10 list of torturous execution methods (Caution - not for the sensitive or faint of heart).

I had no idea mankind could be so cruelly innovative.

After taking a couple of deep breaths, however (see previous post), I've decided to stick with the coldly efficient approach. It's no different than dispatching a cockroach or venomous snake. Just get the job done. This is a matter of justice and protecting society, not vengeance. That comes later.

"Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." (Romans 12:19, King James version)

Take A Deep Breath

There's a lot of truth in this article.

Study: All American Problems Could Be Solved By Just Stopping And Thinking For Two Seconds

A study published Thursday by psychologists at the University of North Carolina concluded that all American problems—from stuck jacket zippers to the national debt—could be solved if citizens just stopped, took a deep breath, and thought for two seconds before they acted. "We found that in 93 percent of cases, a positive outcome could have been achieved if Americans simply splashed a little water on their faces prior to dealing with an unfair boss, being out of clean spoons, signing on to direct a second Wall Street film, or answering a call from a parent," Janet Mallory, the study's lead author, told reporters. "Our data indicate that when U.S. citizens don't take a second to compose themselves, they typically charge in like maniacs and hurt either themselves or several million Iraqi civilians." Mallory said a good rule of thumb for Americans is to think of a plan, stop, and then do the complete opposite.

Note that this is from The Onion. For those of you not familiar with it, The Onion is a website that features satirical articles and parodies of current news stories. IMO it leans a little to the left, but if we can't laugh at ourselves then we're no different from those stuffed-shirt know-it-all oxygen-wasters in D.C.

Besides, good satire contains an element of truth - especially the story posted above...

What On Earth Are They Thinking?

A veteran officer with a clean record is being investigated by the St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) after he warned the father of a robbery victim about a dangerous part of town.

Officer Thad "Stu" Crisco allegedly warned St. Petersburg father Bob Esposito about letting his 16-year-old daughter hang around the Northshore Pool at night.

The department then launched an investigation into "disparaging comments against the city."

Esposito said Crisco cited the city's violent crime stats - the worst in the state. He faces a possible suspension, even if his comments were true...

So the cop tries to do the "protect and serve" thing by cautioning a father about letting his daughter hang out in a dangerous part of town, and the chief of police and mayor come down on his ass!?!

Mayor Bill Foster acknowledged the incident and said he holds SPPD to the highest standard.

"I always want to know my officers are representing this city in a very positive light," Foster said.

Hey Mayor, I've got an idea. How about encouraging your officers to keep the citizens safe, rather than whitewashing your little burg's image.

And this whole deal about punishing people for speaking the truth? You must be a democrat, a union boss, or both...

FOD 2011.07.04

I wasn't going to have a FOD post today because it seemed inappropriate to do so on the 4th of July.

Then I ran across the image below and just couldn't resist.