Steve

This guy robbed a bank just to get medical care in jail. http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110621/ts_yblog_thelookout/man-robs-bank-to-get-medical-care-in-jail Some people who need medical care but can't afford it go to the emergency room. Others just hope they'll get better. James Richard Verone robbed a bank. Earlier this month, Verone (pictured), a 59-year-old convenience store clerk, walked into a Gaston, N.C., bank and handed the cashier a note demanding $1 and medical attention. Then he waited calmly for police to show up. He's now in jail and has an appointment with a doctor this week. Verone's problems started when he lost the job he'd held for 17 years as a Coca Cola deliveryman, amid the economic downturn. He found new work driving a truck, but it didn't last. Eventually, he took a part-time position at the convenience store. But Verone's body wasn't up to it. The bending and lifting made his back ache. He had problems with his left foot, making him limp. He also suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis. Then he noticed a protrusion on his chest. "The pain was beyond the tolerance that I could accept," Verone told the Gaston Gazette. "I kind of hit a brick wall with everything." Verone knew he needed help--and he didn't want to be a burden on his sister and brothers. He applied for food stamps, but they weren't enough either. So he hatched a plan. On June 9, he woke up, showered, ironed his shirt. He mailed a letter to the Gazette, listing the return address as the Gaston County Jail. I can understand the fight against ObamaCare. I get that. I really do. Especially from a quasi libertarian such as myself. However, it has to be said that medical costs in America is astronomical. I did some research and 60% of bankruptcies are medical bill related. These are bankruptcies from all strata of society. God forbid if you get sick in America. So, conservatives, talk me into why I shouldn't give Obama care a shot? What is the Republican alternative? Medical savings plans? Can this honestly seriously cut into medical costs? Especially major surgery. Medical tourism is now a thriving industry. Americans are having to leave America for major medical issues. I started picking jobs based almost on how good the benefits were. I would gladly take a 5k or even 10k a year lower salary for Job 1 against Job 2 if their medical and dental plans were far superior. Its gotten that bad and this is from a very healthy guy who works out regularly and never (knock on wood) had call in sick from work a day in his life (inherited those genes from my dad who had one sick day in almost 25 years at his job). HOwever, I have seen friends and family go into serious debt, unrecoverable holes because of some major medical issue. Its insane.

LP maybe your super angry young moslems just need a hug. Don't we all? :content:

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/06/19/248151/clarence-thomas-resign/ Justice Clarence Thomas is an ethics problem in a black robe. Just eight months after ThinkProgress broke the story of Thomas’ attendance at a Koch-sponsored political fundraiser, we learn that Thomas doesn’t just do unethical favors for wealthy right-wing donors — they also do expensive favors for him. Leading conservative donor Harlan Crow, whose company often litigates in federal court, provided $500,000 to allow Thomas’s wife to start a Tea Party group and he once gave Thomas a $19,000 Bible that belonged to Frederick Douglass. The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank which frequently files briefs in Thomas’ Court, also gave Thomas a $15,000 gift. If this sounds familiar, it’s because America has seen this movie before. Indeed, the Thomas scandal is little more than a remake of the forty year-old gifting scandal that brought down Justice Abe Fortas. Like Thomas, Fortas liked to associate with wealthy individuals with potential business before his Court. And like Thomas, Fortas took inappropriate gifts from his wealthy benefactors. Fortas’ questionable gifts first came out when President Johnson nominated him for a promotion to Chief Justice of the United States in 1968. Fortas had accepted $15,000 to lead seminars at American University — far more than the university normally paid for such services — and the payments were bankrolled by the leaders of frequent corporate litigants including the vice president of Phillip Morris. Fortas survived this revelation, although his nomination for the Chief Justiceship was filibustered into oblivion. Just a year later, the country learned that Fortas took another highly questionable gift. In 1966, one year after Fortas joined the Court, stock speculator Louis E. Wolfson’s foundation began paying Fortas an annual retainer of $20,000 per year for consulting services. Fortas’ actions were legal, and he eventually returned the money after Wolfson was convicted of securities violations and recused himself from Wolfson’s case, but the damage to Fortas — and the potential harm to the Supreme Court’s reputation — were too great. Fortas resigned in disgrace. It is difficult to distinguish Fortas’ scandal from Thomas’. Like Fortas, Thomas accepted several very valuable gifts from parties who are frequently interested in the outcome of federal court cases. One of Thomas’ benefactors has even filed briefs in his Court since giving Thomas a $15,000 gift, and Thomas has not recused himself from each of these cases. Of course, Thomas is also the least likely Justice to actually follow the command of precedent. Thomas embraces a discredited theory of the Constitution which would return America to a time when federal child labor laws were considered unconstitutional. His fellow justices criticize him for showing “utter disregard for our precedent and Congress’ intent.†Even ultra-conservative Justice Antonin Scalia finds Thomas’ approach to the law too extreme — in Scalia’s words “I am a textualist. I am an originalist. I am not a nut.†But Thomas’ disregard for what has come before him changes nothing about the precedent he faces. If Abe Fortas had to resign his seat, so too should Clarence Thomas.

The war on terror is getting results. http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100007185&docId=l:1440170891&start=13 As the Obama administration nears a crucial decision on how rapidly to withdraw combat forces from Afghanistan, high-ranking officials say that Al Qaeda's original network in the region has been crippled, providing a rationale for an accelerated reduction of troops. The officials said that the intense campaign of drone strikes and other covert operations in Pakistan - most dramatically the raid that killed Osama bin Laden - had left Al Qaeda paralyzed, with its leaders either dead or pinned down in the frontier area near Afghanistan. Of 30 prominent members of the terrorist organization in the region identified by intelligence agencies as targets, 20 have been killed in the last year and a half, they said, reducing the threat they pose. Their confidence, these officials said, was buttressed by information found in Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan. They said the trove revealed disarray within Al Qaeda's leadership, with a frustrated Bin Laden indicating that he could no longer direct terrorist attacks by lieutenants who feared for their own lives.

Some good news.... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13799616 For 20 years, crime in the US has been falling and new figures from the FBI show a sharp drop in the last two years, despite the recession. Why?

...and anyone in a Tottenham shirt.

I completely understand that people hate seeing those sagging jeans. I get that. My dad would've not allowed us to do it if it had been popular when I was a kid. I'm sure of it (said my jheri curl looked like I was tyring to be a girl...lol...my Mom thought it was cute that saved it). However, my issue is that the airline folks have their own subjective standard. Some of you may applaud not having to see this guy's boxers but what's next? Too many piercings or piercings in the wrong areas (lips, nose, eyebrows, tongue, etc.) or tattoos. The amounts of tattoos, the type of tattoos. You may not be able to wear that 'Good boys go to Heaven but bad boys go to Pattaya' t shirt because its offensive to some chick (you know it would have to be a chick). See where I'm going with this? All too often we want someone elses personal style that we don't like to be against the law or against regulations in some public place. Part of the freedom in America is having to put up with bad taste (a NY Yankees, Boston Celtics, Manchester United or Tottenham shirt is excluded though, THOSE really do need to be banned....I'm serious).

Most men become their fathers…lol. Obama’s election was an indicator of just how f*cked up people thought the country had become. There is no way on God’s green earth he could have gotten elected otherwise. Even in your run of the mill recession. He was the farthest thing away from George Bush. Hillary touting her ‘experience’ hurt her because a lot of the voting public viewed that as she is going to do some of the things we have been doing. The ‘change’ motto stuck because people genuinely wanted a change from politics as usual…from both sides. However, Obama has governed far closer to the center than people expected. If you use his roots as a community organizer in inner city Chicago as an indicator of how he may govern he seems vastly different. I didn’t want that guy either. That’s a bit too far ‘left’ but I did want the ‘type’ of person that guy is. Mainly someone of integrity. He is to some extent but there are too many issues he’s nuanced to suggest to me he's firmly in the status quo of the existing powers that be. What scares me about the Dems is that they will do what they say and in things like spending and some social issues, I don't agree on. It’s a given. The plus is I already know what they’ll do so I can prepare for it. What scares me about the Republicans is that recently they don’t walk what they talk. What makes them scarier to me than the Democrats is that they are a complete wild card. I don’t know what may happen. They will beat the Dems with a stick about an issue and justify it when they do it and say you’re unpatriotic for not going along. I’ve lost complete faith in the Republican party on the national level and most state level. Local is about the only way I’ll vote Republican and local elections are Democrat dominated any. The ones in the Republican party who do have integrity aren’t liked by the party powers. The reasons I think they aren’t are partially their electability and partially because they DON’T want them elected because they would piss off the special interest groups that indirectly run the party. The gravy train would stop. For me the Republicans only redeemable purpose nowadays is to keep the Democrats close to the center. Sometimes its not a good thing, but most times it is.

Here's my problem HH. All those guys you named will still be owned by the special interest. There isn't in independent soul amongst them. Sadly, Obama is beholden to special interest it seems as well. So, for me, its not about Obama but having some integrity in the oval office as well as in Congress. Also, as far as the GOP, the religious faction has way too much power in that party. The Dems have issues, big issues. I don't see the GOP as a great alternative. Economically, the Dems scare me more. Civil liberties wise the Republicans scare me more. Both parties scare me.

Why did the restaurant call the cops? Rediculous. Obviously an oversight. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Raheem-Brock-skips-out-on-27-bar-tab-arrested?urn=nfl-wp2718 Raheem Brock skips out on $27 bar tab, arrested I believe we have a new winner of the category of "Most Bizarre Arrest of the Offseason." Free-agent defensive end Raheem Brock was arrested on Thursday night for skipping out on a $27 bar tab at the Copacabana in Philadelphia. It's weirder than just that, though, and the main culprit in the story appears to be Brock's ladyfriend, who might not be the most fun date in the world. I'm going to have to quote extensively from NFL.com to relay the story accurately. Here we go. A female server at the Copacabana told NFL.com that it was the behavior of a woman accompanying Brock that led the defensive end to leave without paying his bill. "It wasn't even (Brock) that was the issue," the server said. "It was the female he was with, getting angry and wanting to leave. "The female was mad (because) she wanted something that wasn't on the menu. So she went across the street and got something from another restaurant." When a manager told her she couldn't bring food from another restaurant inside the Copacabana, the woman became further enraged and Brock and his friends were ultimately asked to leave. "She got a little colorful and a little angry with me," the server said. "I told my manager that she refuses to wrap it up and refuses to (stop) eating." Charming! She sounds like a keeper. As for the bill, Brock and Miss Congeniality eventually agreed to leave the restaurant, but they did so before paying a $27 bar tab. That's when the restaurant called the police. Brock was arrested outside for theft of services and resisting arrest. NFL.com makes no mention of the woman being arrested or charged with anything, and isn't that just the way things always seem to go? Brock spent last year with the Seahawks after spending the previous eight with the Colts. He'll be a free agent when we have football again, and it sounds like he might want to consider embracing free agency on the dating scene, too.

Justices: Kids' sex was not a crime Intercourse between boys ages 11 and 12 was consensual The Ohio Supreme Court yesterday overturned the rape conviction of a 12-year-old Licking County boy who had sex with an 11-year-old friend. There was no crime, the justices decided, because both children were younger than 13 and the sex was consensual. http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/06/09/justices-kids-sex-was-not-a-crime.html In a unanimous ruling, the court found that Ohio's statutory rape law is unconstitutionally vague and violated the right to equal protection of the law when one boy was charged but not the other despite both being underage and agreeable. The law prohibits sexual relations with anyone younger than 13. "When an adult engages in sexual conduct with a child under the age of 13, it is clear which party is the offender and which is the victim. But when two children under the age of 13 engage in sexual conduct with each other, each child is both an offender and a victim, and the distinction between those two terms breaks down," Justice Judith Lanzinger wrote.

http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/E-YORKS-Man-jailed-abusing-kids-12/story-12135840-detail/story.html Man jailed for abusing kids when he was 12FOUR victims of child abuse have seen the man responsible jailed 45 years after he committed the offences. John Hall was just 12 when he indecently assaulted his victims, who were all under the age of 11 at the time.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/high-school-recalls-yearbook-over-photo-showing-sex-003652528.html High school recalls yearbook over photo showing sex act A Southern California high school has ordered students to return their yearbooks after discovering a picture that showed two students possibly engaged in a sex act in the background of a school dance photo. Police said they were investigating a 17-year-old boy seen in the Big Bear High School yearbook photo with his hand under the clothing of a 15-year-old girl during a school dance. Detectives were trying to determine if the boy, who was not identified, had committed the crime of sexual penetration of a minor, said Cynthia Bachman, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. The school, in the mountain resort community of Big Bear Lake, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles, had recovered most of the yearbooks, Bachman said. Sheriff's deputies were contacting any students who had not turned in their copies "to facilitate editing of the yearbooks to comply with federal and state laws concerning child pornography," according to a department statement. Bachman said investigators did not believe school officials were complicit in knowingly distributing the photo. "Because it was an unintentional act, I don't think anybody had any intent to offend anyone, including the juveniles pictured," Bachman said. The yearbook went out last week and the school issued its recall soon afterward, when the picture was first noticed. Officials at the school did not return calls. For students who return the yearbook, the school has offered the option of editing out the photo and giving the yearbook back, or issuing a refund, Bachman said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110616/wl_time/08599207769300 China's "Born in the USA" Frenzy When Liu Li boarded a plane for the United States, she had a little bit of makeup on, was wearing a loose dress, and had her hair up. She tried to hold her handbag in front of her belly in a natural way, just as the middleman had taught her. She was trying to look as calm as any wealthy Chinese lady would look when travelling abroad. But Liu Li couldn't help feeling terribly nervous: she was six months pregnant when she left for the United States, where she wanted to give birth to an American citizen. (See: "On the Cutting Edge [EM] China's Extraordinary Buildings") Liu Li knew that going through customs would be a lot easier than obtaining a U.S. visa. In order to obtain the tourist visa that enabled her to go to America for the delivery, she had to carefully choose her clothes, and spend a lot of time practicing her walking and interview techniques. She memorized a host of details about her hotel booking and about famous sight-seeing spots so as to convince the Embassy officer that she was just another Chinese woman going shopping in the States. The temptation of a 'born in the USA' child Giving birth to a child abroad is not a privilege reserved to the stars and the very wealthy. An increasing number of expectant middle-class parents also fancy giving their children passports that they can feel proud of. "The return on investment is higher than robbing a bank," the consultancy agent tells women such as Liu. When Chinese children are born in America, they automatically become U.S. citizens. Once they reach 21, their parents will be able to apply for green cards and emigrate.

Why a person wants to become a cop may provide some clues as to potential bad apples. Kinda hard to figure out as everyone tries to say the right thing. I would assume a psychological test is given. When we were all kids those of us that wanted to be cops (I wasn't one of them though...lol) did so out of a genuine desire to help people and catch bad guys. Too often people become cops to compensate for one, the prestige and it gives them a legal way of bullying their fellow man. People are nervous and defer to cops and some guys love that. They like walking into a place in uniform and having people nervous and scared around them. Some guys get off on that. I do know from talking to cops that domestic disputes is one of the calls they dread. I went to a church that had a few cops once and they said that domestic dispute calls are the types that you are the good guy when you arrive and often leave the bad guy. The woman cals you to help her and then changes allegiences. The guy may be drunk and hits her or whatever and if you see evidence of it you have to arrest him. Then she gets angry you're doing your job. She'll yell and cry that she only wanted you to calm him down and if he goes to jail he may loes his job. Well, they argued, the law says they gotta arrest someone if their is evidence they abused someone. One growing stat though is that its the woman doing the hitting first. I was dating this girl in the 'hood who had a baby with someone and they were arguing and she slugged him and he called he cops. She was outside yelling at him that he was a p*ssy and called the cops on a girl. Publicly questioned his manhood to the neighbors as she was being led away. She recalled the story to me. It happened before we were dating. She was a tough girl, truth be told.

HH! How ya doing?! You know what I really think is that truth about Obama is he's a centrist. I think he's been disappointing to some on the left because he's not been as liberal as they've hoped. I really do think they (we) thought they (we) were getting an outsider and almost immediately became an insider. Major cabinet posts are Bush holdovers or connected people to the existing power structure. As far as Republicans, the party hates ANYONE who is a Democrat. Find a centrist or even just right of center Democrat and he'd still be roasted by the right. Frankly, I think McCain would have spent slightly less. Just my guess. In fact, if McCain was elected I think it may have evened out because we'd still be spending far more money in Iraq and wouldn't have downsized there nearly as quickly. Who ever won the election was gonna spend money. No question in my mind. Its time for a legit 3rd party or a maverick from either party with some integrity. One of the Pauls maybe.

I am not permitted to comment on this. :content: I'm not a comedy writer. Not by any stretch but a coworker of mine a few years ago who was a budding comedian, black guy, and liked my sense of humor, wanted me to brainstorm some ideas. The movie Oceon's 12 was out at the time and based on a convo I had with my brother who saw the movie with me I wrote this joke for him. "If they find some 12 million dollar relic missing from the NY Museum of Art we know one thing. They won't be looking for a brotha or a latino. We don't do Oceon's 12. We don't do The Italian Job. 2 guys robbed the liquor store on 52nd and Crenshaw? Us. We're ski mask and a hoodie. Intricate robberies? Needing schematics. Floor plans. Blueprints. Infared technology? Not us. Not Joe Trailer Park either for that matter. They're honorary brothas in crime." He liked it. Never saw the delivery though. He did it in Boise, ID while visiting his wife's family (she's white obviously..lol) and booked himself at a comedy night thingy there.

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/democrats-call-condemnation-offensive-ca36-ad-featuring-stripper-134318388.html Democrats call for condemnation of offensive CA36 web ad featuring stripper and ‘gangbangers’ Democrats are expressing outrage over a web ad launched yesterday targeting Democrat Janice Hahn in California's upcoming 36th District special election. (Warning: the ad contains extremely offensive images and language.) The web commercial, which claims to be paid for by a new group called "Turn Right USA," accuses Hahn of giving gang members money so they can "rape and kill again." The ad features a faceless blonde, white woman (Hahn is blonde and white) grinding on a stripper poll and getting bills stuffed into her shorts, as two black men portraying gangsters sing: "Give me your cash, b*tch, so we can shoot up the street. Give me your cash, b*tch, so we can buy some more heat." For some balance. BOTH parties do this. I was also against the use of a Dem ad a while back against George Bush and it was the family of the black guy that got dragged by whites and the sentences were lower than expected. How was Bush to blame?

Howdy HH. Really, you think there may be an ideological aspect to it all? Frankly, I don't know. Its a head scratcher for a lot of social scientists.

That distinction (freedom) is being slowly (and lately not so slow) being eroded. We may end up less free and more violent. So, would we say a higher crime rate is the price of freedom?

If something that is being taped looked incriminating against the cops or the perp, an investigation should reveal the whole truth. Witnesses, facts, evidence should tell what happened from the onset. The Rodney King tape was first seen looked one way but the whole tape revealed Rodney King's actions prior. Not saying the cops were right but it shed some light. I didn't think he had to be beatenn to the extent he had. Interesting thing about race and crime in America is that a study was done by a professor at Stanford. Blacks have committed a large disproportion of crime compared to the overall population in America but if you factored out all black crime, America would still lead the industrialized world in crime rate...by a significant portion. It appears that for what ever reason culturally, Americans of all hues, committ more crime than its industrialized counterpart. Another interesting thing is the group on the lowest socio-economic scale in American history often From about 1840 - 1880, Irish Americans committed 70% of the crime in NYC. They were no where near the pluarity in numbers. In fact so many were being arrested the police wagons were caled 'Paddy wagons' and that term has stuck in American language lexicon. The Irish were the last hired and first fired in those days. They were bottom of the social heirarchy. I've read simiar criminal accounts about Liverpool, England decades ago as well. The black crime rate skyrocketed post civil rights and sociologists are not sure why. However, its interesting to note that ince the 1980s as a race, more blacks have moved into the middle and upper classes as a percentage than any other racial or ethnic groups. Strange stat. Blacks have committed more crime and more progression. Strange.

First, I think the police have one of if not the hardest job. I wouldn't want to do it. I also think the police force should be the very last department to face cuts. No matter what your issue is: education, environment, etc. none of it is possible without law and order. I have had my run ins with cops. I've posted about. I've never lost respect for the job though. Any time a cop fires his gun he must file a report. So, this incident would have been investigated. I won't say the cops are wrong until we hear the whole story. Oftentimes we are quick to blame them without hearing all the facts. I'll give these cops the same respect. Not gonna play the race card as well. We don't know why. The sad fact is a lot of suspects are black and if the alleged crime was a violent one and I was a cop, I'm going in cautious and gun unholstered. The car windows looked tinted so who knows if the commands were not adhered to and the guy did some sort of action that precipitated it. Anything could have happened. What I will judge is the reaction to the video taping. Its not illegal to video tape the incident as far as I know. If they were helping a cat out of the tree, those cops wouldn't have minded having that taped. Someone who feels they may be guilty of something would do that type of thing.

http://www.naturalnews.com/032655_police_brutality_citizen_journalism.html#ixzz1OssOdJcN Police gun down man in street, threaten to shoot witnesses for filming incident When Narces Benoit decided to use his cell phone to film Miami Beach police officers gunning down a man sitting in a parked car early Monday morning, he had no idea the same cops would eventually target him as well. According to video evidence and witness testimony, officers pointed a gun at Narces and his girlfriend, threw them to the ground, destroyed his camera and what they thought was the footage he captured, and handcuffed and arrested the couple, all because Narces happened to capture indicting video evidence..

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110609/us_yblog_thelookout/fake-foreclosure-notices-panic-some-detroit-residents Fake foreclosure notices panic some Detroit residentsSome residents were panicked, though it's unclear how many actually believed the flyer. "I thought they were trying to kick us all out for nothing," resident Juan Ybarra told Fox Detroit. Republican donor Manuel (Matty) Moroun is lobbying against the proposed bridge because it would siphon traffic and tolls from his privately owned Ambassador bridge that traverses the same span between Detroit and Ontario. Moroun would like a second bridge--but one that he would own. Moroun's company told the Free Press that it had nothing to do with the fake eviction notices, though Americans for Prosperity's Hagerstrom would not reveal if the group has received money from the bridge company to help fund its anti-public bridge campaign. It's true that "several" residents of Detroit would lose their homes under eminent domain if the bridge does get built, according to MLive. They would be compensated 125 percent of the homes' value. Democratic State Senator Coleman Young II told Fox Detroit that the people whose homes would be seized if the proposal passes have been told already.

My understanding was that the warrant was looking for evidence of fraud. Apparantly the loan people had reason to believe she defrauded them for the money. Doesn't excuse the SWAT though. I assume that they do some background on whomever they serve warrants on. No criminal history. No evidence of prior violent acts. It all appears to be your atypical working family. Lets go in guns blazing anyway. Where is the common sense in all this? Is the SWAT team that bored? Is this anything a couple officers can't do visiting the home, at a reasonable time, like a Saturday afternoon, explaining the warrant. Give them some time to either go for a walk in the park, visit the zoo, send the to visit relatives, so the kids aren't traumatized.