Wile, Wit, Wisdom & Weaponry

Ruminations, Opinions & Debate about the world as I see it and the toys that make it bearable!

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Location: TEXAS, United States

-Defender of the Second Amendment, the "little guy", free market system, liberty and freedom from government!

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Things that make you go..."Hmmm"

Recent headlines spotted in the news:

“Some gay couples are having trouble obtaining divorces”

Oil nearly reaches $114 a barrel, gasoline hits record high

“France takes up body image law”

“Train Death Victim Identified”

“Scientists: Big quake likely in California”

“Thief deposits loot with victim”

Pelosi asks Bush to stop stockpiling oil as gas prices surge

Fed poised to cut rates; may take a break after that

“Bible reading results in arrests”

Countrywide loses $893 million due to increased loss reserve

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Florida Now Safe!


The State of Florida just passed a law allowing most employees with concealed handgun permits the ability to protect themselves while at work. Lawmakers in this state have been working on this bill for some time. The NRA and some labor unions (of all people) were the primary backers of this legislation. Makes PERFECT sense to me...wish Texas would get on board. It's pretty sad when the likes of Mississippi is at the front of the line ahead of Texas...

(Attention Floridian thugs- watch out for gun-toting grannies on their way to the bingo parlor!)

;-)

-TMS

Friday, April 04, 2008

Holy Cannoli!

What a last few weeks it has been!

On the Science front: We hear that European scientists have successfully created a hybrid embryo made up of human skin cells and bovine DNA. Some of these embryos are considered viable for harvesting stem cells!

In the UK, Britain's Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority has cleared the way for embryonic scientists to use human DNA within animal egg embryos. Once a certain growth stage is reached, they can ‘kill’ the embryo (after harvesting the all important stem cells for research projects) all without feelings of guilt associated with ending actual human life. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23921668/

Today I learned about a transgendered “man” living in Oregon who has retained his (original) female organs but sports XY anatomy. He is married. His spouse is a woman. HE IS PREGNANT. Not just a little pregnant- he’s almost made it to the third trimester. This is his/her third attempt. Oprah made a push about his/her story on her show recently. Oprah calls this “diversity” and “recognition…should be acceptable to us all.” (What is the appropriate pronoun to refer to this condition? ) http://www.kval.com/news/local/17036046.html


On the Political front: John McCain continues to ease his way to Potomac posterity with a long easy slide leading to the White House. He credits his opponents’ mud-slinging and protracted rivalry for his recent care-free attitude and lifestyle. He can now easily afford to sit back and down a few free beers- thanks to wife, Cindy. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/03/mccains.money.politics.ap/index.html

Hillary Clinton continues her downward spiral into historical oblivion- where this writer believes she will thrive well and alongside other great political pretenders, Al Gore and John Kerry. Clinton has been lambasted for telling lies about a reported trip to Bosnia during her husband’s presidency in which they landed “under enemy sniper fire”. When the media rolled tape of her exiting the plane (upright, and in a completely wrinkle-free pantsuit from Versace), she was called upon to address her story once more. After several days, her campaign (not her) issued a press release and said “she misspoke”. Appearing on Jay Leno’s show last night, the former first lady quipped to the audience that she was late getting to the set because she was ‘under sniper fire’ in the parking lot. Hmmm…perhaps it’s Geritol time, Hill? http://www.startribune.com/politics/17291639.html

Meanwhile, the Kennedy-esque Obama has been pouring on the charm at every opportunity as he looks to distance himself from his earlier media storm - faux pas over his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. (Somehow, it just isn’t polite to refer to someone as ‘reverend’ when they are so clearly not.) Barack seems to have shaken that media junkyard dog and has done some amazing fundraising at the same time. He has outraised Clinton 2 to 1 in cash. (At one point her campaign acknowledged she had $8.7M in debt!) It is very interesting to me to see this kind of national interest in a black man in this day and age. It’s refreshing- of that there is no doubt. And I’m wonderfully surprised by his huge following and his superstar-like treatment afforded by the media and political pundits alike. I’m waiting for former Reagan speech-writer, Peggy Noonan, to join the commentary on his behalf. Noonan can write circles around even the most seasoned of journalists- and her writing is so balanced you could stand a new razor blade upright and it would stay without fail. http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/index.asp?cycle=2008


On the Economic front: Markets continue to swing erratically. Depending on where you jump on the monetary merry-go-round, it’s hard to discern which market truly affects the others. One week, the American markets are doing well and the European and Asian markets escalate in sync. The next week, the Asian markets start to slide and Wall Street starts the week digging itself out of a weekend sell-off hole the size of Rhode Island. At least one trusted financial advisor tells this armchair pundit to expect the unexpected through this election run-up. (Which means returns for ’08 are going to be less than par.) He says, “You can expect these wild swings until November/December. The markets feed on political boredom, not political upheaval.” Makes perfect sense to me. I work the same way…unless I’m blogging.

-TMS

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Got Ritalin?

This just in (from CNN.com) news fans...


WAYCROSS, Georgia (AP) -- A group of third-graders plotted to attack their teacher, bringing a broken steak knife, handcuffs, duct tape and other items for the job and assigning children tasks including covering the windows and cleaning up afterward, police said Tuesday.

art.knife.jpg

The third-graders' alleged crime kit included this steak knife, which was confiscated by officials.

The plot involving as many as nine boys and girls at Center Elementary School in south Georgia was a serious threat, Waycross Police Chief Tony Tanner said.

School officials alerted police Friday after a pupil tipped off a teacher that a girl had brought a weapon to school.

Tanner said the students apparently planned to knock the teacher unconscious with a crystal paperweight, bind her with the handcuffs and tape and then stab her with the knife.

"We did not hear anybody say they intended to kill her, but could they have accidentally killed her? Absolutely," Tanner said. "We feel like if they weren't interrupted, there would have been an attempt. Would they have been successful? We don't know."

The children, ages 8 to 10, were apparently mad at the teacher because she had scolded one of them for standing on a chair, Tanner said. <--------- (emphasis added)

Two of the students were arrested on juvenile charges Tuesday and a third arrest was expected. District Attorney Rick Currie said other students told investigators they didn't take the plot seriously or insisted they had decided not to participate.

"Some of the kids said, `We thought they were just kidding,"' Currie said. "Another child was supposed to bring a toy pistol, and he told a detective he didn't bring it because he thought he would get in trouble."

Currie said the children are too young to be charged as adults, and probably too young to be sentenced to a youth detention center.

Police seized a steak knife, steel handcuffs, duct tape, electrical and transparent tape, ribbons and the paperweight from the students, Tanner said.

Currie said he decided to seek juvenile charges against two girls, ages 9 and 10, who brought the knife and paperweight and an 8-year-old boy who brought tape. He said all three students faced charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and both girls were being charged with bringing weapons to school.

Nine children have been given discipline up to and including long-term suspension, said Theresa Martin, spokeswoman for the Ware County school system. She would not be more specific but said none of the children had been back to school since the case came to light.

The purported target is a veteran educator who teaches third-grade students with learning disabilities, including attention deficit disorder, delayed development and hyperactivity, friends and parents said.

The scheme involved a division of roles, Tanner said. One child's job was to cover windows so no one could see outside, he said. Another was supposed to clean up after the attack.

"We're not sure at this point in the investigation how many of the students actually knew the intent was to hurt the teacher," Tanner said.

He said the teacher told detectives the children involved weren't known as troublemakers.

"You can't dismiss it," Tanner said. "But because they are kids, they may have thought this was like a cartoon -- we do whatever and then she stands up and she's OK. That's a hard call."

The parents of the students have cooperated with investigators, who aren't allowed to question the children without their parents' or guardians' consent, he said. Authorities have withheld the children's names.

Martin told The Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville, Fla., that administrators would follow school system policy and state law in disciplining the students.

"From what I understand, they were considered pretty good kids," Martin said. "But we have to take this seriously, whether they were serious or not about carrying this through, and that's what we did."

Four mothers of other third-grade students at Center Elementary called for the immediate expulsion of the suspected plotters.

Stacy Carter and Deana Hiott both cited school system policy stating that any student who brings "anything reasonably considered to be a weapon" is to be expelled for at least the remainder of the school year.

"We don't want our children around them," Carter told the Times-Union. "The one with the knife could have stabbed my child or someone else's child at lunch or out on the playground."

"This is an isolated incident, an aberration. ... We have good kids," Center Principal Angie Coleman told the newspaper.

Yet another reminder not to drug your kids- just for being kids. Sometimes, the side effects are not worth the risks.