Whatever

Am I wrong in posting today, blackout day? I meant to post yesterday in honor of the late not particularly lamented Gary Gilmore, but I did not.  I would assume that I would be in trouble if either SOPA or PIPA were currently in force. 

I am having a problem getting myself into posting for much of anything involving politics right now. Although it looks like Ohio will have a "Heartbeat" Constitutional Amendment on the ballot so there will indeed be something to at least work against.  Or perhaps work with the Electronic Freedom Foundation.  I have actually been wondering just how long it would take the politicians to realize that the Internet can be real irritating and to do something to try to gut it.  I figure this will continue to happen yearly.  Eternal vigilance, etc.

I do slide over and read various blogs about the presidential race sometimes, but mostly I am looking for snark and humor, not information. I have a hard time getting excited about what horrible things Romney, or Gingrich or even Paul might do if elected since they are not going to do a lot that Obama didn't do already and won't do in the future if elected\. With the exception of course on his current position on LGTB issues, which costs no banker any money. 

This is combined with my belief that the people who are ruling us all, all over the world are not very bright sociopaths. Austerity and more austerity and when that doesn't work then more austerity. This is happening in Europe in what are described as democracies. Although technically they are something else, since none of the political parties seem willing to do what the people want them to do. Also, none of the political parties will do what works, just to show, I guess that they can't be accused of scrounging for votes. Iceland as always excepted.

In American the democrats are shocked, just shocked that republicans won't vote for a jobs bill and extended benefits for those who are in the bottom half of society. Ideas the democrats didn't really come up with until they had lost the ability to control things. Mean while we all agree that the military must not be cut at all because if we do we might be invaded by Costa Rica, I guess. Or China, who really doesn't want to invade us they just want to sell us more shit.

Good Bye Larry

So, Larry's funeral was today.

He died on Easter Sunday, the viewing was on Tuesday, his youngest daughter's birthday was Wednesday so they decided to wait until today for the actual funeral. He will be cremated so there was no procession to the cemetery. After the lunch at his wife's church we came home and slept for two hours. We were exhausted.

I think that the reason we were so exhausted was the sheer amount of raw grief that was expressed by so many at the funeral. The intensity was frankly surprising. I did not realize how strongly I would feel, myself.

Larry was sixty-five and he had been sick for several years. However, he rally started to go down hill rapidly just about three months ago. There were the trips to Cleveland for more radiation and chemo and then the very rapid decline which started about three or four weeks ago.

Larry's was the only bicycle shop in town for several decades so anybody who rode seriously, or who had kids who had bikes that needed fixed knew Larry. Also, since Larry was the world's premier procrastinator they would get to see him much more than they had at first expected or for that matter wanted. As one of his friends said today she started to work for him about thirty-five years ago on the restoration of the bike shop and that restoration is still going on today. Three hour lunches were not unusual and if you drove by the shop and saw the sign that said back at 2 you knew that meant 3 and if he wasn't back by 4, that meant that you should come back the next day sometime after 10 when he might be there.

Larry looked like your traditional red neck, but once you started to talk to him you realized that he was a guy who was not easily pigeon holed. He loved blue grass and they played it at the funeral with his brother in law playing a lap dulcimer and another friend playing a banjo, with blue grass recordings playing in the back ground other times. The banjo player told us he wasn't sure he could make it through, but he did.

Larry was a Quaker, but his wife is a more main stream Christian and the service was a combination of the two with people being encouraged to share their memories of Larry. One of the first people was a woman he had hired to work on the restoration at his shop and on the bikes. She was sixteen at the time and had been told that girls were not permitted to take shop in school because. He gave her the keys to his shop and his pick up and tools that were not those one would think of as being, well safe and told her to go to it. One of the last people to share was another girl who has been working at his shop recently, she is African American and does not look at all traditionally feminine in any way, but rather androgynous. When she started working for Larry she had been about to drop out of high school, now in larger part because of Larry's encouragement she is in collage.

I was unable to speak. I have been going to his shop more or less frequently, as I said for almost twenty-five years. When he said he was thinking of closing down last year I told him he couldn't because I would have no where else to hang out. When we first got our St. Bernard we had Larry watch him and the St. loved to go and hang out at the bike shop: "What happens in the bike shop, stays in the bike shop."

I think that people were surprised that he died, he was one of those you just expected to be there. So there was that terrible shock, even though we should have all known what was coming.

I don't know where I'll hang out this summer.

McNamara Dead at Last

So it is true, only the good die young.

You know he is definitely an example of failing up. Screw up Vietnam and go on to screw up the whole world.

Do not rest in peace, please. How many dead on his hands do you think? Not only those he managed to murder in Vietnam and the other countries near by, but all those whose lives he destroyed as head of the World Bank. Always the handmaiden of the wealthy and powerful.

All Terror Time USA

Wow now I guess he showed us/them/whoever. Do you think that this will quiet critics of the government report on right wing violence? hahahahaha

Terrorists Win

So the terrorists have won. Think that there will be a lot of sadness expressed by either the media or politicians (other than the DFHs, of course)?

I certainly understand the decision by Tiller's family, but it still saddens and frustrates me. Women's options just got a whole lot smaller in this county. Boy what does that say about this country when the murder of one doctor can have that kind of effect.

Execution

My god, I did not even realize that this was happening yesterday. I saw nothing, nor did I get any email warnings.

So now they knock the guy out before they give him a lethal injection. I've always wondered why we don't just give they guy an over dose of heroin, it seems to work well on junkies. Or the stuff given, by vets, to animals, except a larger dose? If that is, if we have decided that we do not want the condemned to suffer, and we seem to have. Why all the studies by so called medical people to find the proper amounts to be injected.

Hell I could go out and for $100.00 get all the necessary fixings, although the condemned would probably flop around quite a bit, but he wouldn't feel it. On the other hand it would probably be uncomfortable for the witnesses.

War on Terra, No War on Drugs

Well let's see we first piggy back the war on terror on the war on drugs and then the war on drugs on the war on terror.

On the other hand our Supreme Court decides that police are so much more professional now. So basically cops can kick in your door and shoot your dog and they haven't violated the Fourth Amendment. I mean let's face it if you haven't broken a law what do you have to worry about? Right Mr. Madison?

On the other hand other parts of the original Constitution [3/5ths any one?] Appear to be in full force and effect in Ohio at least. So the question: "Who do you have to lynch to be called a racist?" Is apparently a fair one as it applies to cops when they raid a house where the residents are black. Although, to be fair to the jury poor white trash would probably have gotten the same kind of justice.

Its just us good middle class white old line Americans that get the special deal. Slide along the edge of respectability just a little and you deserve to be punished. On the other hand you are more likely to be considered to have slid if you are poor or of a darker hue. And a a lot more if you are both poor and of a darker hue.

I did not see if the drug raid in Lima was one where a warrant was obtained before the raid or if it was a knock and kick in the door kind, like the one on the Mayor. The shootings would be, I suspect, much more likely if it was a raid without a warrant. I also suspect that there wasn't a lot of dope in the house, since the last story merely states that the cops found crack and marijuana, but doesn't mention the amounts. If there was r a lot you can bet your ass they would have told you to the cent the value.

Russert and Death

Well, de mortuis nil nisi bonum, so.........

Death and Sex

Well. I came into the office today and was told that one of my former clients' had killed himself. Probably by accident. An overdose. He'd done that several times before (overdosed I mean), so it shouldn't have been a real surprise.

I'm currently representing the widow in a custody matter maid even more difficult because of the special needs of one of the kids. So I know or rather knew this guy fairly well. I got the news and then called the widow. Said all the right things, felt nothing at all. Brother this is a strange job. If you are even remotely inclined to be cynical this job will bring out the worst in you. Too bad. So sad.

The second thing that happened was a little weirder. No death involved. This adult was charged with providing obscene pictures to a juvenile. A seventeen year old girl. If he really did it, it's a crime punishable with up to six months in jail.

What makes it so weird is that if he had screwed her instead ---- wait for it ---- that's not a crime. Of course, I would guess that he couldn't have any mirrors up.

Death

Well the Supremes have decided that the three drug cocktail is ok and not really cruel and unusual. Of course no one can come back and let us know for sure, but some of the things I've read seem to indicate that it appears to be unnecessarily painful (if you insist that capital punishment is ok).

What I can't understand is why can't we just use an over dose of heroin, if we gotta do it. It is certainly not painful.

By the way I am not one of those who thinks that we should treat the condemned the same way the victim was treated. I would hope that we are better as a society than that. Of course given our current rulers I guess I should figure that we really aren't any better than the worst of the mass murderers.