Now for something humorous (goodness knows we could use it!)

Stuff White People Like is very funny. It is not racist or mean (except to white people).

For example:

#6 - Organic Food
#7 - Diversity
#8 - Barack Obama -Because white people are afraid that if they don’t like him that they will be called racist.
#10 - Wes Anderson Movies
#23 Microbreweries
#27 Marathons
#32 Vegan/Vegetarianism (ouch!)
#37 Renovations
#50 Irony
#53 Dogs
#62 Knowing what’s best for poor people (a must read)
#82 Hating Corporations

Anyway, you get the idea. Here is the full list (Although, the descriptions are *priceless*.)

Which is your favorite?

Slate Magazine has posted an interesting article from the summer of 1990 showing an earnest looking Barack Obama (much younger of course), musing about getting jobs after law school:

The last thing that Barack Obama will have to worry about next year when he graduates is job offers. Obama finished his second year at Harvard Law School this spring and has been elected to lead the Harvard Law Review, a prestigious position traditionally reserved for a top student.

“It’s a great time to be a young black law school graduate - if you’re from Harvard and in the top quarter of your class,” said Obama. But the point is that there are a lot of talented young minorities who may not have been able to go to the top schools. For example, a lot of minorities go to state schools due to financial constraints.

I suggest there are a lot of people, of all races and creeds with this “problem”. The reason people are willing to go into $250,000 debt before they even start a job is because the possibility of getting a lucrative position jumps off the “job” Richter scale. A Harvard Law School Diploma is almost a guarantee of a “good” life for you.

The article continues, I suggest reading the whole thing (it is not very long), but I love this ending:

It has been said, Obama noted, that it may be time to ask if minorities are getting the same right to be “mediocre” as white males. 

I’m going to say what my Mom used to tell me (I can’t believe I’m going to quote my Mom!): Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing; worry about yourself. What does it matter if a bunch of white males are slackers? Take advantage of it and outperform them! I know what he is trying to say, that a lot of these slackers have family contacts that will get them great positions at the expense of other minorities. Well welcome to the club. A lot of high performing white guys don’t have those contacts and will not get those positions either.

It is the way of the world and has been around for as long as humanity has been going on big bear hunts and leaving some of the guys at home because they weren’t related to the Chief or something.

The problem with these arguments on racial equality is understanding basic human behavior and acknowledging that all people have pretty much the same set-backs and not blaming it on something it is not.

Yup.

Assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian plans to run for Congress, complicating a Michigan race that is expected to be among the most competitive in the nation.The so-called “Dr. Death,” who was released from prison last year and remains on parole, will run as a candidate with no party affiliation for a congressional seat representing Detroit’s suburbs, an associate said.

Why? This guy has a theory.

Oakland County Prosecutor Dave Gorcyca, whose office was responsible for sending Kevorkian to prison, said it was “probably more of a publicity stunt.”

“To call attention to himself is standard protocol for Jack when he doesn’t have the limelight focused on him. I would not consider his candidacy to be a legitimate one,” said Gorcyca.

Perhaps his campaign slogan should be, “Vote for me, I’ll kill the Congress”. Surefire winner.

I heard Pat Lykos‘ radio ad today for the first time.

She continues her strategy of offering nothing appealing about herself, but just taking potshots at the clearly more qualified Kelly Siegler.

Lykos has another voice doing the talking for the majority of the commercial, so I guess, technically, it isn’t actually Lykos misleading the public this time.

The ad yammers on about the Rosenthal Administration, and refers to Kelly as Rosenthal’s “Top Lieutenant”.

Um, that’s not true. Bert Graham, as First Assistant, would have been Chuck’s “Top Lieutenant”, but I think we’ve clearly established by now that Lykos isn’t really all that big on acknowledging the facts.

For those of you interested in the truth, Kelly has been the Bureau Chief of Special Crimes for a couple of years now. She handles things like Cold Cases, Major Fraud, and the extremely violent offenders. It’s the elite branch of trial lawyers within the Office, kind of like the legal equivalent of the Navy SEALS.

Lykos (through her spokesman) then states that Kelly admitted “tainted” evidence that got a murder case reversed.

That’s about as disingenuous of a statement that a desperate candidate can make, because Lykos is relying on the general voting community being unfamiliar with legal procedure to make it sound as if Kelly engaged in some sort of misconduct, which she clearly didn’t.

For those unfamiliar with criminal procedure, in almost every criminal case where a Defendant’s statement (commonly referred to as a “confession”) is intended to be admitted as evidence, there will be a hearing to determine the admissibility of that statement. The State of Texas (in this case, Kelly) has to put on evidence outside the presence of the jury to a judge, and show that procedure was followed. The defense will then argue that the statement is inadmissible.

Ultimately, it is the trial judge who decides whether or not that statement is admissible.

In the case that Lykos is attempting to mislead the public about, the trial court ruled that the statement was admissible. The jury heard it. The jury convicted.

Upon appellate review, the Higher Courts decided that the trial court had erred, and they reversed the case. That’s not entirely unusual, because, as I’ve pointed out before, the Appellate Courts change their rulings and modify the shape of laws on a daily basis. It doesn’t mean that anybody did anything wrong. Courts just overrule each other on occasion.

When the trial court admitted the Defendant’s confession, the Judge did so based on her findings on the facts and the law.

The judge wasn’t stupid.

Lykos is just hoping that the voters are.

[Cross-posted from my personal blog]

This is a good idea.

I’ll admit to having been in exactly the types of situations portrayed in the video above; wanting to say something, but not wanting to bother someone… and then the moment is gone.

Spread the word.

 Close encounters.

 

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