Crosblog

IAEA: Iran had documents whose sole purpose was to assist in making nuclear weapons.

Iran: Actually, we had those documents to make sure we didn't accidentally make nuclear weapons. You know, while we were peacefully refining uranium and stuff.

Saddam's lawyers to judge: You have to recuse yourself, because in 1988 our client tried to kill everyone in your hometown. We feel this biases you against our client.

Judge's response: Guys, why you bringing up old stuff? You know for a fact that in 2002 I voted for your client for President. If anyone should object, it's the other side.

Prosecution: Nah, we're cool.

So far, at least, I've never had a case that called for putting on a bondage mask during closing arguments:



And, for the record - it didn't work - the defendant was found not guilty.

"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours." - Sir Charles James Napier.

Reality appears to be setting up to hit the Palestinians - as donor nations break the news that they will not fund a government dedicated to Israel's destruction.

Mohammed Nazzal, a Hamas leader in Damascus, told Al Arabiya television "the Americans and the European Union are dreaming if they think they can force us to change our positions."

Wouldn't dream of it, buddy. Simply explaining a few realities. You can have a charter that vows to push the Jews into the sea, or you can have some money from the West. Which of these things you choose - totally your call. Hey, if you guys have a plan to build a functional society that can pay for itself - you won't need donor money to survive. Why don't you guys get on that?

There are realities in the Palestinian territories - fine, there are realities here, too. It's a reality that giving our tax dollars to Hamas is electoral death, which means no one right of Cindy Sheehan is going to sign off on doing it.

This doesn't mean we don't recognize you as the legitimately elected representatives of the Palestinian people. We do - y'all won the election. Congratulations. We totally recognize that it may be your custom to make territorial demands in exchange for vague promises that don't have to be kept, so you don't have to back down from your promise to eventually eliminate Israel completely. It's Israel's custom to build a big honking wall to keep people out. And it's our custom not to give violent anti-Semitic bastards any money.

You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.

Museum patron trips over shoelace, shatters the Qing Dynasty Chinese vases.

You go, take pictures, show them to me. The pictures won't break when I drop them.

...I've got radioactive blood.

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man 85% Superman 70% Robin 60% Catwoman 60% Green Lantern 55% Hulk 50% Supergirl 40% The Flash 35% Iron Man 35% Wonder Woman 30% Batman 20%

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...


There's actually a question on the quiz about how you feel about redheads. That probably cinched it for me right then.

Tip - Green Lantern.

Rey Misterio in main event of Wrestlemania.

I got most of it wrong - the women's match, Edge-Cena, JBL-Boogeyman, and the Rumble itself. But I did correctly make the tough call that they weren't putting the belt on Mark Henry.

...to offer advice to people trying to get away with committing crimes. That said, if a judge puts you on probation, and you intend to violate said probation by doing something the judge expressly told you not to do, maybe, just maybe, you don't want to put photos of the act on the web that the judge can find by Googling his own name.

Just saying, is all.

Tip - CrimLaw

Continuing with a grand tradition (by which I mean something I did once before), I hereby present my predictions for my favorite wrestling event, the 2006 WWE Royal Rumble.

Mickie James vs. Ashley (Special referee Trish Stratus)
Who Should Win: Ashley - to get Mickie pissed at Trish and set up Mickie vs. Trish for Wrestlemania
Who Will Win: Ashley - WWE knows that.
Will It Suck? Yes. Ashley can't wrestle. She's hot, but she can't wrestle.

What really should happen though is they should arrange to have Trish turn heel and beat up Tony Dovolani to set up Trish vs. Stacy Keibler at Wrestlemania. Stacy's quite possibly even worse in the ring than Ashley is, but Stacy's getting a lot of attention right now, and the WWE should get while the getting's good on that one.

The Boogeyman vs. JBL
Who Should Win: JBL - end this, please.
Who Will Win: Boogeyman - somebody important finds him amusing, I'm afraid.
Will It Suck? Like a Hoover with a jet engine installed.

World Title - Kurt Angle vs. Mark Henry
Who Should Win: Angle
Who Will Win: Angle
Will It Suck? It'll be bad for an Angle match, but good for a Henry match. Nothing to write home about compared to what Angle's capable of, but it won't suck.

WWE Title - Edge vs. John Cena
Who Should Win: Edge - time for Cena to leave the spotlight for a while and re-tool.
Who Will Win: Edge - although this one's a tough call.
Will It Suck? It will not suck.

30 Man Royal Rumble Match
Who Should Win: Rey Misterio - Misterio making an underdog run at the World Title would be a great story that fans would get behind.
Who Will Win: Triple H - Triple H making an inevitable run at yet another World Title reign would be a tiresome story that fans have seen time and again. But if they wanted something else to happen, they should find the boss' daughter a new husband.
Will It Suck? The Royal Rumble never sucks, although it will be depressing watching Triple H win it.

Bonus prediction - The Diesel Award - in 1994 Kevin "Diesel" Nash went from a midcard big guy to huge star when he went on an early rampage, tossing seven people in quick succession - giving him a huge rep it took him years to piss away. Every so often the WWE tries to give another guy that impact - one bet to go nuts this year is Kane, who is probably about to move up the card in anticipation of his movie coming out. Safer bet is Kane coming in at the end and threatening to win before getting kicked out - the Diesel Award will go to someone new - almost certainly Bobby Lashley.

The Backlund Award - in 1993, Bob Backlund got everyone's attention by lasting over an hour in the Rumble, despite being in his 40's. The other trick the WWE has to get over a wrestler who doesn't win is have them wrestle for an impressive length of time. Lot of contenders for this one - Misterio, possibly a nostalgia run for Ric Flair, Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Shelton Benjamin - I think the guy who would best benefit from a long run is Finlay, but for sentimental reasons, I'm hoping they give it to Chavo Guerrero.

As always, please watch wrestling responsibly, and don't try any of the moves at home. Except for the 450 splash. You could totally nail that one.

Sen. Lieberman to vote against Alito. He's even got a rationale - Alito's views are "outside the mainstream." Outside the mainstream? Really?

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means..."

Nah, I like Joe. No award for him. Besides, we all know why he's doing it. Gotta give the wackos something.

Good luck, Joe. Hope it works out for you.

Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas is now a member of the Oakland A's. Due to injuries, it's been a couple years since Thomas has contributed much to the Sox, and with Paul Konerko and Jim Thome on the roster, there's no place for him in Chicago anymore.

Still, 16 seasons, two MVP awards, 448 home runs...he was the only thing worth watching on the White Sox for a long time.

So Hamas is going to be running the Palestinian Authority. Fine. Maybe now the world can quit freaking kidding themselves.

They'll try, of course. No less an authority then Captain Unilateral his damn self has called the vote "a wake up call to the leadership," and numerous commentators have stressed that Hamas' appeal stems from their perceived incorruptibility more than their violent anti-Semitism.

Jimmy Carter has called the election "completely honest, completely fair, completely safe and without violence." I'm inclined to believe the result anyway, because I've always thought that Hamas spoke for a greater percentage of Palestinians than the world at large was comfortable admitting. And not just the hospitals and schools stuff, either, although the social network Hamas has helped. Remember - if voters like Hamas for their honesty, one of the things they're honest about is never stopping the jihad until Israel ceases to exist.

Which is why I think the election is a positive thing. One, Fatah has recognized the result and is voluntarily getting the hell out. Democracy isn't just elections, it's the loser of said election recognizing that they lost and permitting the winner to govern. (I'm just saying, is all.) Two, it means that finally the Palestinian people are represented by someone who truly speaks for them. They want honesty. They want accountability. They was efficient delivery of social services. And can we finally stop kidding ourselves that they want Israel gone, not next door?

Dave Justus thinks Hamas may be forced to moderate their positions, and the Europeans who have been funding the exercise in corruption that is the Palestinian Authority have told Hamas that future assistance will require a change in attitude. To this end, Hamas is pursuing various items of window dressing. One such item is inviting Fatah into a coalition government so they can negotiate with Israel while Hamas stays true to the game. They are also willing to discuss "an extension of a truce," provided Israel makes sufficient concessions. Either result, if accepted, would return to the old game where Israel makes concessions that are pocketed in return for pleasant words that are not backed up by action. To her credit, Condoleeza Rice is trying to make it clear that Hamas needs to recognize Israel if they expect any results.

One of the big concerns among Palestinians is Israel's security fence. Currently, Israel is still building. The onus for providing a reason for Israel to change those plans is now squarely on the shoulders of Hamas. If Hamas remains committed to Israel's destruction as its end goal, regardless of whether or not they're willing to put that goal off for a few years, Israel is fully justified in building the damn thing as high and as strong as they can make it, and over whatever route their internal security and legal system dictates.

And maybe, if Hamas keeps acting like Hamas, the world will finally face the reason the fence is going up in the first place.

You know, look into "root causes" and things of that nature.

I'm a Lamborghini Murcielago!

You're not subtle, but you don't want to be. Fast, loud, and dramatic, you want people to notice you, and then get out of the way. In a world full of sheep, you're a raging bull.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Ralph Reed's campaign for Lt. Governor of Georgia appears to be hitting a snag. Reed's years of ties to convicted felon Jack Abramoff are coming back to bite him in the ass. Even if Reed did nothing criminal, at best he his lobbying efforts against gambling were paid for by casinos, with money raised by the now admittedly corrupt Abramoff, a colleague of Reed's for years. (The casinos were more than happy to fund Reed's efforts to restrict gambling, because it meant less competition for them.) Whether efforts to hide the identity of his donors is something illegal, and something that touches Reed personally - not yet known. Let's say he did nothing illegal - Reed has denied knowing the money came from casinos, apparently taking known casino lobbyist Abramoff's word for it. This would make Ralph Reed, techically speaking, dumb as a board.

Now, don't get Ralph wrong. He's perfectly willing to disclose everything about his organization's finances - just as soon as Congress passes a law mandating it. Until then, the fact that his name is continually linked with a convicted criminal does not give him any reason to reassure the voting public by being exceptionally forthcoming. God told him to be Lt. Governor or something. And he really hates "guilt by association." Yeah, yeah, cry me a river, Eddie Haskell. Watch the media feeding frenzy over pictures of Abramoff standing next to people and shaking their hands, and get some idea of the stench your buddy brings with him. I'm sure Ralph thinks he's such a great candidate that his presence would be worth an election season where every single Republican running, from Governor Sonny Perdue down to county sewer commissioners, has to deal with ads linking them to Ralph and his prison-bound pal, but hopefully he can understand why others might want a little reassurance.

Doesn't seem to be coming, as supporters at a Christian Coalition meeting were pretty evenly split between Reed and his primary opponent, Casey Cagle. Since Reed's one of the guys who made the CC a force to be reckoned with, his mixed reception is kind of like persuading half of Seattle to don Roethlisberger jerseys. And it doesn't bode well for the state as a whole.

But hey, that's Ralph.

Tip - Of the Mind.

Instapundit:

IF KANYE WEST HAD BALLS, he'd pose as Mohammed, instead of Jesus.

Google agrees, as a cost of doing business in China, to help the government filter out websites that discuss the Tiananmen Square massacre, Falun Gong, laogai, or generally suggest the Chinese government may have ever done anything inappropriate.

In Google's defense, it is noted that they will at least tell Chinese researchers that results are being filtered, and they are trying (for the moment) to base their servers out of Chinese territory to prevent being used to finger users, the way Yahoo did.

There are people in China working to bring about a truly free and Democratic China. The Chinese government is trying to stop them. Google is helping the government. Just something to consider when deciding what advertisers to patronize.

Tip - Winds of Change.

Joel Stein does not matter. It is error to pretend that he does.

What can I say? I approve. Case in point, the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba has posted an electronic billboard that sends out information not approved by Cuban censors. Castro, who is totally not afraid of debate, "suggests" there be a massive protest. Sure enough, there is. Message from the U.S. to the protestors?

"To those who may want to be here, we respect your protest. To those who don't want to be here, excuse the bother," the sign declared in a subtle reference to the strong government pressures that ensure attendance at such protests is high.

If Castro were funny like that, his revolution might have fared better. Good thing he's not funny.

Apparently I'm a graduate of the 115th whitest law school in America.

Related question concerning #114. There's a Barry University? Is that an actual school, or a guy named Barry who will tell you about the law if you buy him a drink?

Tip - Volokh.

The African Union has come to the conclusion that Sudan is maybe not the best choice to serve as the organization's president for 2006. You know, the whole mass killing thing had the potential to be a P.R. nightmare.

The substitute choice? Congo. Which is better, I guess.

Not good. Just better.

Obviously, 2008's a long way off as far as deciding who to support for President. Any preference is certainly going to be premature until we see who the options are, and they start developing platforms. My early favorite is Sen. Sam Brownback, who's saying the right things about the wrong dictators. While I wasn't a fan initially, I will admit recent events have improved my views on Haley Barbour. And, I'll say it just to say it, because we all know it ain't gonna happen - if the Democrats gave me the opportunity to vote for Joe Lieberman for President, I'd probably take it. (Since they won't, I'll say as prospective candidates go, Mark Warner doesn't suck.)

And, while I loathe the campaign finance reform bill that bears his name, if John McCain promises to keep getting Hugo Chavez right, he'll at least stay on the list.

Iraqis, Afghanis optimistic about future.

OK, let's be fair. They have more faith the future will get better than the French do, which is sort of like having better Super Bowl prospects than the Houston Texans.

Woman receives 30 days in jail for leaving her kids at home alone to attend a taping of Jerry Springer. The kids were all under the age of 4.

The crime of Jerry Springer having a TV show was not addressed.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has set up a blog about the Bill Campbell trial. Here are reports on the opening statements of the prosecution and the defense.

Amy Fisher, Joey Buttafuoco, and Mary Jo Buttafuoco planning televised reunion.

Former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell's federal corruption trial starts today. Campbell stands accused of pocketing $160,000 in bribes and $137,000 in illegal campaign contributions, as well as various other perks of power. Campbell is, of course, an innocent victim of racist prosecutors:

"This can be an O.J. Simpson trial," said civil rights legend and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young. "No one who's white thinks he's innocent. No one who's black thinks he's guilty."

Or, for another way of putting it:

"It is a tale of two cities," said Democratic state Rep. Bob Holmes, who is writing a book on Maynard Jackson, Atlanta's first black mayor. "White people think he was an awful, corrupt mayor. African Americans see him as a champion of the poor."

Why Campbell was picked out, in a city that's had an African-American mayor since 1973, has yet to be explained. He's just that dangerous to the white power structure, perhaps. Or, perhaps he managed to preside over an office where a lot of people went to jail.

Atlanta looked good during Campbell's terms of office, although it should be noted that current Mayor Shirley Franklin is more popular than Campbell ever dreamed of being, and she actually had to find a way to foot the bill for all the stuff Campbell should have done, but somehow never got around to doing. (And, as far as that threat to the white power structure stuff, if I were a member of said power structure, say Mr. Sax Machine, the prospect of Mayor Franklin challenging me would worry me a great deal. Let's see if her office sinks into scandal the way Campbell's did, when he went from having a future in the Clinton Administration to being a member of a wacky morning D.J. show.)

Opening arguments have begun. The trial is expected to last a couple of months.

Today marks, more or less, the second anniversary of this little corner of cyberspace. Thanks to everyone who's stopped by in the last couple years, looking for the answer to that all important question - "No, really, how did this bozo marry that much out of his league? She lose a bet or something?"

Last year, for my first blogiversary, I posted the best picture ever taken of Mishka. (Photo taken by the spouse. If taken by me, it'd be the best photo ever taken of the inside of a lens cap, or my thumb, or something.)

This year, to commemorate the occasion, I'll post the best picture ever taken of Koshka.

Every so often, an attorney will ask me how I feel about leaving prosecution and entering private practice. Sometimes it's a friendly conversation about how my life is going. Sometimes it's a discreet inquiry into my availability for future employment. And sometimes it's just an attempt to cover up an uncomfortable silence before the judge takes the bench.

Every so often, I actually even consider it. While I love my job, private practice is not without its high points. The chance to work in different areas of the law, to interact with a greater variety of people, clients, judges, to practice in different parts of the state, and let's not forget the small matter of the chance to make more money. But then I hear about something that pushes back the date I'd make the switch - some hassle about billing, a divorce case where the parties drag each other into court over every little thing, a client who complains about paying his bill for a good result because "that result should have always happened - the lawyer didn't do anything!" Each story moves my entry into private practice back a few months.

This one's good for another six months.

#1 (and undefeated) Duke loses to Georgetown.

#2 (and undefeated) Florida loses to Tennessee.

#9 (and also undefeated) Pittsburgh loses to St. John's.

Throw in #15 Wisconsin losing to not yet a full Division I school North Dakota State, and you get why college basketball rules.

Even if your alma mater sucks.

Four of five local Democratic activists enter no contest pleas in tire slashing case.

Just saying, is all.

Dawn Summers has all you need to know about how stupid the American Taliban's dad is being in his campaign to free his idiot kid.

It's easy to be hacked off at the State of Massachusetts for fighting hard for the right to end the life of an abused child, who although seriously hurt, doesn't appear to be done fighting just yet. Plans to let her die are now "suspended," while doctors reasses her condition. She's in bad shape, almost certainly won't recover fully, and may not recover at all, but it does appear that the state jumped the gun in declaring her life not worth living.

That said, I find it hard to question the Supreme Judicial Court decision giving the state the right to shut off life support. The girl's biological mother had given her up for adoption. Her legal guardian, an aunt who adopted her, was dead following an apparent murder-suicide after being charged with causing the girl's injuries. The girl became a ward of the state, and when they made the decision to cut off life support, her aunt's husband filed a petition to intervene in the process. That man is also facing charges for assault related to her condition, and will likely be charged with murder should she die. The court case was about his right to stick his nose in to decisions relating to her treatment, and the decision that he had no such right was absolutely correct. That decision may be read here.

The state was properly assigned as her guardian, because there was nobody else. Whether the decision to take her off life support was rushed or not is a separate question, and one that should definitely be asked. But when trying to make decisions about how to treat a child in a coma, the last person to be consulted should be the man who put her there.

Tip - Karol.

Kelly Clarkson deigns to let American Idol contestants sing her songs. OK, I'll admit, if I had written "Because of You," I might feel a little put off watching that Ukranian chick butcher the song. That said, if Aretha Franklin had copped an attitude about letting Idol contestants sing her songs, Kelly Clarkson would be the most talented waitress at T.G.I. Friday's.

In other Idol news, the Brittenum twins are facing charges in Georgia for theft, forgery and identity fraud. One of them has been in jail for the past couple weeks.

Sex offender deal gets green light from Pataki.

My lovely, intelligent, and not at all crazy spouse left this afternoon on a business trip to Washington, D.C. Around the time she was scheduled to board her plane, I get a phone call.

"Um, honey? I may have accidentally left my keys in the truck. Could you stop by the airport parking lot and make sure the truck is secure?"

Grumble grumble grumble. Oh, well, the things we do for love, right?

Stop by the airport parking lot. Spouse is all the way in our nation's capital by now. How will I know which of these vehicles, in this vast Atlanta parking lot, is hers?

It's the one that's unlocked, with the headlights on and the engine running.

So neener neener, Atlanta theives. You missed out on a chance to get a 2004 Chevy Silverado for the cost of a day's parking.

As for the spouse, she's still lovely, and intelligent, and not at all crazy.

Oh, yeah, and if she doesn't learn what that "vroom" noise coming from the front of the car is all about, her next ride is a Schwinn.

Okay, so Iran's Chief Nutball, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, wants to hold a conference on the Holocaust to determine whether it happened, cause hey, anti-Semitic wackjobs think maybe it didn't, and who are we to dismiss their views out of hand?

The answer to that question would seem to be "sane people, grounded in reality," but unfortunately, such people are not let anywhere near the levers of power in Iran.

It's certainly proper to dismiss cretins like Ahmadinejad out of hand, but the man has his own country, and it taken seriously by a lot of people. So, how about Oxblog's suggestion that the West call his bluff, and send a team of prominent historians to this conference and show the Holocaust deniers for the frauds and racists they are?

It's a pleasant thought, but it won't happen. Concrete evidence will be claimed to be a Zionist forgery or some such nonsense, and the leading lights of the Middle East will act like Heather Locklear in that famous SNL skit and state in rational sounding voices that reasonable minds can differ about whether the Holocaust happened.

My hometown's village idiot was the way too famous Matt Hale. Every once in a while, Hale would give a rally somewhere, and a small band of malcontents would gather round to hear tales of how their own personal failings were actually the result of a conspiracy of gay Jews of African descent or something. (I tried to avoid paying too much attention to the fool, so I may not be quoting him exactly.) A couple friends of mine enjoyed counterprotesting Hale, and far more people would show up to mock him than support him. But the confrontation between Hale's bunch and the normal people always made for better TV then Hale's bunch of losers alone, so the result was always a media event. It didn't lend them credibility necessarily (they always came off like idiots to me), but there's no such thing as bad publicity.

Promise to improve the economy so people don't need to sneak across the border, and bash the U.S. for trying to prevent people from sneaking across the border.

It's not that we want people breaking U.S. law by sneaking in illegally, it's just that...well, you never know, so we need the option.

The reason being - if you're cheating on your partner, the little feathered narc may just bust you by repeating your lover's name over and over.

And then, to add insult to injury, after you and the parrot get turfed (you for obvious reasons, the parrot because he won't stop repeating your pillow talk), we find out who mattered more:

"I wasn't sorry to see the back of Suzy after what she did, but it really broke my heart to let Ziggy go," he said.

Today, I will commemorate Martin Luther King Day by thinking about his struggles and achievements, and contemplating what I can do to help achieve his dream of a truly equal society.

Tomorrow, I will commemorate Dexter King Day by selling my dad's stuff and keeping the money.

Look, I don't have kids, so I can't pretend to understand the challenges facing young parents. I'm sure the demands a young child places upon you make it hard to spend time together as a couple, and I'm sure there's a strong desire to get out and do the things you used to do before the child came along. I don't doubt that parents need to do that from time to time, to preserve their bonds as a couple, as well as just generally being beneficial to their sanity. And, I'm sure it's hard to find babysitters every time the urge comes to spend time doing grown up things.

That said, being a parent requires you sacrifice on behalf of your child. You may think it isn't fair, that those of us without kids have the freedom to go places and do things, and you can't, because your regular sitter wasn't available. And maybe it isn't. But there are just times and places that aren't appropriate for a child, and if you were looking forward to going to one of those places, at one of those times, and circumstances force you to choose between taking a small child (maybe 3 years old, tops), and not going, the responsible thing to do is not go. I'm sorry about that, but that's just the way it is.

I also submit that the 11:00 p.m. showing of Hostel is such a time, and such a place.

For anyone considering going (adults only, please) - it's as graphic and disturbing as you've heard. But it is very well made.

A satanic vampire is running for governor of Minnesota.

He's tough on crime, as his platform includes mandatory 3 month jail sentences for drunk drivers and impaling terrorists on a pike outside the state capitol. And he has something for the left as well, as he promises to resist any efforts to deploy state national guard units to Iraq.

If he needs a motto, let me suggest "We can do crazier then Jesse Ventura."

Tip - Ace, whose campaign contribution is probably already on its way.

Fantasy Football God Carson Palmer's injury may be career-threatening.

Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellwegger seen having dinner together.

Note to Kenny and Renee: It's date first, then get married. Not the other way around.

Michael Skakel's conviction for the murder of 15 year old Martha Moxley is upheld.

The decision is here. (More entertaining than the Martha Stewart ruling, but probably not by much.)

Iran threatens to suspend cooperation with IAEA if referred to the Security Council.

They're cooperating now?

You're walking towards your office, and you hear a phone ring at the end of the hall where your office is. As you get closer, you realize, it's not your phone ringing.

That, my friends, is a good feeling.

Innocent, but executed.

Or not.

"An innocent man is going to be murdered tonight," the 33-year-old said moments before he was electrocuted on May 20, 1992. "When my innocence is proven, I hope America will realize the injustice of the death penalty as all other civilized countries have."

Roger Coleman raped and murdered Wanda McCoy, his wife's sister. She was 19.

Here's a statement from Coleman's most dedicated backers. A few words towards the victim's family might have been nice, but you take what you can get, I suppose.

It appears the final obstacles have been removed to the upcoming Palestinian election with Israel okaying the participation of voters in East Jerusalem.

Pretty much everyone expects Hamas to do well, with even Fatah candidates acknowledging Hamas has the most appeal.

While I understand Israel's unease at letting Hamas participate, I've always preferred letting Hamas participate. Worst case scenario - they win the damn thing. At this point - Hamas' credibility with the Palestinians hinges on their ability to make life better for the Palestinians, not the furor with which they bitch about Israel. And, of course, since really making life better for the Palestinians requires Israel's assistance, that would provide as good a chance as there is to get them off this "push the Jews into the sea" nonsense. The alternative - they're as nuts as ever, and the Palestinians don't mind - may finally put an end to the idea that it's Israel that's not willing to do what it takes for peace.

To that end, Hamas' campaigning is concentrating more on cleaning up the Palestinian territories than bringing down the wrath of God on Israel. Of course, you talk to Hamas directly, and it's clear they haven't given up on the idea yet. Letting them try to be statesmen, rather then just troublemakers, won't increase the hatred and anti-Semitism running through the Palestinian territories - it'll just reveal the true level, whatever it is.

After child rapist Mark Hulett received a sentence that will incarcerate him for only 60 days, provided he complies with the other terms of his sentence, all hell broke loose. In defending his sentence, the judge pointed out that under the state correctional system's method of classifying sex offenders, Hulett would not be eligible for treatment in prison, and the judge elected to impose a light sentence of incarceration in order to speed up Hulett's entry into treatment. He also stated he no longer believes in punishment.

The Vermont Department of Corrections (which really should have taken the hint at Hulett's sentencing hearing), has now announced they have changed their rules, which means Hulett will get treatment in prison, should Judge Cashman see fit to reconsider his order, which the prosecution intends to file a request for on Friday. (Resolving the issue would probably take a couple of weeks, allowing the defendant time to reply, and schedule oral arguments and/or evidence if necessary.)

While I agree there is more to the judge's sentence than just 60 days in jail, I do take issue with the claim coming out that it really is a tough sentence that shows consideration for the degree of harm Hulett inflicted on the victim. I'll quote from a modest defense of the judge:

Beyond that, Cashman's critics argued that the judge had ignored the need to punish Hulett for his crimes. We are not unsympathetic to that argument. The sexual assault of a child is a profoundly vicious and damaging act. The victims typically live with the consequences for the rest of their lives. Thus there must be grave consequences for those responsible for their pain and suffering.

Yet Cashman is not insensitive to that point, as some of his outraged critics contend. Although all but 60 days was suspended, Cashman fashioned a sentence that consigned Hulett to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison. Thus Hulett could be put away for decades if he violates the conditions of his probation.

My response is this - according to the judge's order, if Hulett gets treatment and manages to avoid raping any more kids, then 60 days was apparently all the incarceration his repeated assaults on this victim merited. It's only when he compounds this by not doing what the judge tells him that he faces any real prison time. I think the victim's family is on solid ground when they consider Cashman's sentence insensitive to their suffering.

I've been looking online for Judge Cashman's memorandum affirming his sentence. I've seen it discussed in media reports, but to my knowledge, it hasn't been posted online. If anyone knows where to find it, I'd appreciate a chance to read it.

Five Milwaukee Democratic activists, including the son of a Congresswoman and the son of a former Mayor, are on trial for slashing tires of vans Republicans planned to use for get out the vote efforts on Election Day 2004. The official Democratic Party line on this is a few knuckleheads jumped way over the line of their own volition, and certainly no higher ups have been charged.

The defense argument - actually, it was a Democratic conspiracy, and when the cops came sniffing around, the big guns pointed the finger at the locals. Also blamed: AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

Should be fun to watch, but never forget - the only swing state that suffered any actual illegal attempts to suppress the vote was Ohio.

Evo Morales was elected President of Bolivia promising to be "a nightmare for the United States."

And yet, after election, before the U.S. could even get used to the idea of waking up in a cold sweat, comes word that President Morales has forgiven us.

God bless his little nightmarish heart.

I've always been a fan of Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Unfortunately, running an opposition political party is a tough enough job here, you can imagine what it's like in a country where opposing the big guy isn't really permitted.

Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, has now officially split, with one faction supporting Tsvangirai, and another supporting Gibson Sabanda, a former deputy head of the organization. Tsvangirai's recent calls (including his call for his group to boycott the most recent set of elections) were not supported by the majority of his party's members, resulting in the appearance of a lack of serious opposition to Mugabe.

Still, it's a rough job, whoever has to do it. Best of luck to Mr. Sabanda as he tries to make the world give a damn about Zimbabwe.

Lileks:

In the 90s these people were marginal cranks, and no one listened to them. Today they’re on Air America.

So nothing’s changed, in other words.

It's not enough for people to know that you're crazy. They also want to know how you're crazy, which makes sense, since it probably let's them know when it's safe to talk to you and when they need to break out the Taser. I know this because I have been tagged with the "list five weird quirks you have meme" not once, but twice, courtesy of JWookie and Dawn Summers. Because his version has fewer rules, I deem Wookie's version of this meme to be the correct one.

1. I talk to myself - to the point you can see my lips move, and occasionally even hear me speak, if you're the type who listens in on other people's conversations. My reasons for doing this are twofold - one, it gives me the chance to listen to a witty, entertaining speaker, and two, it assures me an intelligent and engaged audience.

2. I don't think the weirdness is on my end, but my co-workers have assured me that my constantly cluttered desk is a quirk. (And I have a similar filing system at home, so at least I'm consistent.) I do want to note that it works for me, however - every so often, someone will ask me about a file, and I will tell them exactly where it is on my desk. ("There are several files under a statute book next to my monitor. The file you're looking for is the third or fourth one down.") I'm convinced they ask about the stuff in my office to try and trip me up, and they'll make me clean up if I ever actually don't know where something is. Hasn't happened yet.

3. I fidget. Keeping still - never a strong suit, a priority, or even usually a good idea with me. Having a pen in hand to flip around usually helps.

4. Short attention span. Usually, how I deal with this is

5. Most of the time - not terribly compulsive about stuff. But at seemingly random intervals, an overwhelming need to finish whatever the hell it is I'm doing at the time will set in, and nothing else matters. There is usually little apparent connection to approaching deadlines or any critical level of spousal nagging, because if there was, it would sort of make sense.

Tagging people - let's see, Jessica and PetiteDov are just back from what sound like good trips - welcome back, tag, you're it. I think it's been awhile since I tagged Dave Justus with something, and you can never go wrong tagging COB and David (whose post on a vintage Superman cartoon is something you should read).

Atlanta courthouse shooter Brian Nichols' trial is scheduled to start October 3, pending the resolution of one serious issue - where to hold it.

If the case is heard in Fulton County, the obvious locale would be the Fulton County Courthouse. Trouble is, that's where three of the four victims were killed. Judge Rowland Barnes and court reporter Julie Brandau were killed in their courtroom, and Deputy Hoyt Teasley was shot chasing Nichols in the parking lot. The fourth victim, customs agent David Wilhelm, was killed after Nichols had fled the scene. The defense believes, not unreasonably so, that jurors could be rattled by having to hold a murder trial in the same building where the killings happened.

The obvious solution is a change of venue, which the judge would be very likely to grant. Trouble is, the defense wants a Fulton County jury to hear the issue, as historically, Fulton County juries have been among the most reluctant in Georgia to return a death sentence. Nearby DeKalb County and the federal courthouse (also in Atlanta) have declined to serve as alternate hosts, and finding a courthouse willing to host the trial without an order changing venue (which would result in the jury being drawn from the new county) would require the consent of the new location, which seems unlikely to happen. The third option is simply holding the trial in the Fulton County Courthouse, but setting up procedures to ensure jurors in Nichols' case are kept away from the specific locations where the crimes occurred.

Sheriff's Maj. Antonio Johnson, who now oversees courthouse security, said the trial doesn't have to be moved because deputies could guard the crime scenes to keep jurors away from those areas.

"Physically, I think it would be possible to seperate those two," the judge said. "Emotionally, it may be a different issue."

Hill, the defense lawyer brought in from Charlotte to lead the team, said residents would still be affected if the trial isn't moved.

"Coming to the Fulton County Courthouse would trigger certain reactions from the Fulton County community," he said. "We believe this cuts to the heart of Mr. Nichols' being able to have a fair trial."

But it doesn't cut so much that they want to move the trial, and have a different jury pool. Discussions are ongoing.

The Belief-O-Matic (really, that's what they call it) is here to help with your questions of faith.

1. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (100%)
2. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (91%)
3. Orthodox Quaker (81%)
4. Eastern Orthodox (80%)
5. Roman Catholic (80%)
6. Seventh Day Adventist (72%)
7. Liberal Quakers (66%)
8. Unitarian Universalism (65%)
9. Reform Judaism (54%)
10. Hinduism (54%)
11. Islam (54%)
12. Orthodox Judaism (54%)
13. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (53%)
14. Bahá'í Faith (53%)
15. Sikhism (47%)
16. Mahayana Buddhism (39%)
17. Neo-Pagan (39%)
18. Jehovah's Witness (38%)
19. Theravada Buddhism (38%)
20. Scientology (37%)
21. New Thought (36%)
22. New Age (35%)
23. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (34%)
24. Jainism (34%)
25. Secular Humanism (31%)
26. Nontheist (27%)
27. Taoism (23%)

Tip - Dave Justus

Since things didn't exactly happen the way I foresaw...

Look to Bob, and the Mighty Bastard for wisdom on the Road to Super Bowl XL.

...Israel is always wrong.

Rule #2 - If Israel appears to be doing something right, see Rule #1.

Case in point - this Guardian article suggesting the protests over the Gaza evacuations were staged.

Karol takes on the article here. (My somewhat more snide take on the article is in the comments.)

North Korea files complaint demanding compensation for torture victims.

They intend to spend the money on thumbscrews.

What Is Your Animal Personality?
brought to you by Quizilla

Tip - The Bear, and The Otter.

Martha Stewart's conviction upheld.

Actual Court of Appeals opinion here. As thrilling to read as her version of "The Apprentice" was to watch.

Child-rapist gets 60 days in jail. And not a one-time thing, either. Repeatedly. Over four years. Getting the same amount of time in jail as a guy whose habit was driving drunk, instead of molesting a child.

Judge Edward Cashman's sentence, which he handed down after a two-hour hearing in Vermont District Court in Burlington, could incarcerate Hulett for the rest of his life if he fails to obtain counseling or otherwise follow instructions once he is freed in 60 days.

That first incident of child molestation being something of a gimme. But if it happens again, though...

Words of wisdom from the judge:

"The one message I want to get through is that anger doesn't solve anything. It just corrodes your soul," said Judge Edward Cashman speaking to a packed Burlington courtroom.

Immediately after saying this, he proceded to make a lot of people very very angry.

Judge Cashman also also revealed that he once handed down stiff sentences when he first got on the bench 25 years ago, but he no longer believes in punishment.

"I discovered it accomplishes nothing of value;it doesn't make anything better;it costs us a lot of money; we create a lot of expectation, and we feed on anger,"Cashman explained to the people in the court.

What punishment would have done was sent a strong message about the unacceptability of this conduct, and, oh yeah, provided a measure of relief and a sense of justice being done to the family of a little girl who will pay for what Mark Hulett did for the rest of her life.

Or, as Judge Cashman would put it - "nothing of value."

Inigo Montoya says hello.

The judge said he was taking the long view in trading prison for treament. I'll take the long view too, and point out that the judge's actions have probably ensured that Vermont will now have mandatory minimum sentences for sexual offenders to prevent stuff like this from happening again.

The judge's rationale was his desire to get Hulett into treatment, which the state Dept. of Corrections said they wouldn't give him in prison - a worthy motive, although it still resulted in a sentence that was completely dismissive of the suffering he already caused. (And it may have been possible to make treatment a condition of parole or probation after serving a worthy term of imprisonment. The prosecution asked for eight years. Even that sounds like a gift.) The state Department of Corrections has been getting their share of crap, especially since their officials testified at Hulett's sentencing, and failed to take the hint that not putting this guy in a treatment program would turn out the way it did.

Tip - Ace.

Further discussion at the Volokh Conspiracy.

Mexican consulate encourages Mexican nationals accused of crimes to flee to Mexico. And, apparently, victims as well.

You Are Somewhat Machiavellian

You're not going to mow over everyone to get ahead... But you're also powerful enough to make things happen for yourself. You understand how the world works, even when it's an ugly place. You just don't get ugly yourself - unless you have to!

Tip - Dave Justus

Lobbyist/weasel Jack Abramoff is starting to sing, and given that how long he spends in prison is going to directly correlate to how many high notes he hits, look for him to sing a lot.

The actual plea bargain can be read here. (Link obtained via Malkin) Congressfolk are already moving to cover their bases, especially Bob Ney.

Ney denies wrongdoing, saying that "at the time I dealt with Jack Abramoff, I obviously did not know, and had no way of knowing, the self-serving and fraudulent nature of Abramoff's activities."

It is not possible for Abramoff to be the only guilty one. He is pleading guilty to, among other things, having bribed a public official. The plea bargain expressly states he bought and paid for various activities from an unnamed U.S. Congressman, who others have stated is Ney. (They also name staffers for Ney and Cong. Tom DeLay as people ID'ed in the plea bargain.)

People are starting to unload money that came to them from Abramoff, although it should be noted that just accepting a contribution is not, in and of itself, illegal. He raised about $100,000 for George Bush, and $6,000 of that is being donated to charity. Whether or not you think the crook bought the President based on his portion of the $258 million Bush raised for the 2004 campaign is probably pretty closely correlated to how you viewed Capt. Unilateral prior to the announcement.

Since Abramoff's aria should lead to the indictment and probable resignation of multiple members of Congress and high-ranking staff members, this should be one of the bigger stories of 2004. The other rival would be Iraq. In Iraq, there could be a unity government forming, and troops could begin coming home. With Abramoff, high-level Republicans could be branded as criminals. I trust the media to make the right call.

Corrections a go-go: Apparently this will be a story in 2006, not 2004. It is also the biggest story in the history of the world. This could reach all the way from Bob Ney to people who work for Bob Ney. And what does that tell us?

It's fun to say "Bob Ney."

Cause what are blogs for if not to spout off wild-ass guesses about stuff? Reasoned, informed civil discourse about the great issues of the day?

Wild Card Week
Washington at Tampa Bay - File Washington under "beats me how they made the playoffs." - Tampa Bay

Jacksonville at New England - First rule of playoffs: You do not beat Tom Brady at home. Second rule of playoffs: You do not beat Tom Brady at home. New England.

Carolina at New York Giants - Welcome to the show, Eli. See you next year. Carolina.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati - Best matchup of the first round. Carson Palmer did my fantasy team more good then Hines Ward. Good enough for me. Cincinnati.

When it happens this way, the second round will shake out as follows:

Carolina at Chicago - Normally, I'd say the same thing about Rex Grossman I said about Eli Manning, but Chicago's defense will more than compensate. Plus, I grew up in Illinois. Chicago.

Tampa Bay at Seattle - Tampa's good, but they ain't this good. Seattle.

Cincinnati at Denver - You don't tug on Superman's cape. You don't spit into the wind. You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger, and you don't bet the ranch on Jake Plummer in a do or die game. Cincinnati.

New England at Indianapolis - It would be really funny if after the killer season they had, Indy still choked against the Pats. In New England, it would happen. In the dome, it won't. Indianapolis.

NFC Championship Game
Chicago at Seattle - There's no good reason Chicago should win this game. But what the hell. Chicago.

AFC Championship Game
Cincinnati at Indianapolis - With a final score of something like 648-635, Peyton finally gets to go to a Super Bowl. Indianapolis.

Super Bowl
Chicago's excellent defense restrains the Colts high-powered offense somewhat. Indy's pretty good defense, however, overmatches the Bears completely. Final Score Indianapolis 21, Chicago 6.

Sonny Perdue has nothing to fear from me. Awhile back, I torpedoed any shot I had at the Governor's mansion by dissing the HOPE Scholarship, a beacon of light to all those who believe their kids' college tuition is Georgia's problem, regardless of mom and dad's ability to afford same. Now, to make the whole concept an even better idea, comes word that HOPE eligibility explicitly refuses to take into account weighted grading for honors courses. In short, for purposes to getting someone else to foot the bill for Junior's higher education, an "A" in Advanced Calculus carries just as much weight as an "A" in "Our Friend, the Plus Sign."

When the Legislature approved the change, state officials were concerned that the popular HOPE scholarship program was running out of money. But state Rep. Bob Holmes (D-Atlanta), a co-sponsor of the bill, said the intention was not to reduce honors class participation by dropping weights for such classes.

Instead, he said, the goal was fairness. "A grade doesn't mean the same thing across the state," Holmes said. "The whole idea is they're going to use a uniform grading standard."...

Chantai Meadows, 16, a junior at Creekside High, also in south Fulton, said that with a GPA of 3.7, she isn't in danger of losing HOPE eligibility. But without the extra weight, she said she doubts that many students on the bubble would risk their eligibility by taking an honors class.

"Most honors kids, they can just take a regular class and get a super high grade and a GPA, and that will impress the admissions offices," Chantai said.

Ms. Meadows has grasped the real-world consequences of the law. Rep. Holmes ignores those consequences in favor of his good intentions.

Ms. Meadows sounds like she's still taking the honors classes. The elected official sounds very proud of his certificate of achievement for going an entire week without eating paste.

Abramoff pleads guilty. First one to talk gets the deal.

I continually forget how far away the idiots who designed this country put Illinois. I also forget that no matter how much I stress to my wife that we need to leave by, say, 4:00, she will always hear that as "sometime today, if feasible."

Spent a pleasant New Year's Eve with friends from the church I grew up in, before dashing out after midnight to hit the riverboat. You see, here in Georgia, gambling is considered immoral and destructive, so when we find ourselves in a state less encumbered by morality, we have to take advantage. Spouse goes off to the roulette wheel, where she slowly loses about $150. I'm on a blackjack table, where in the same amount of time, I win about $350. We have to leave, however, because we have to be at church the next day, because my dad is preaching. (He went to divinity school after retiring) And while I wish my father the best in his new vocation, I want him to know that while I understand the elevated expecations of above-board and moral behavior that go with being a preacher's kid, it ain't happening here. Talk to my sister.

Trip home is broken up into two segments - the segment where I try to get my wife to wake her up long enough to get out of my parents' house, and the segment where I try to wake her up enough to get her out of the Metropolis, IL Best Western. The dogs, by contrast, are far more amenable to a schedule.

Nevertheless, we made it, which bodes well for the new year. May your new year be prosperous, healthy, and free of Steven Seagal movies.