Lies and Videotape?

Brown is arguing that the measure should be overturned on the basis that one voters may not deprive another group of fundamental liberties. Prop 8 advocates say that's hogwash, because it would put the judiciary above the constitution.

We're seeing a hint of the strategy at large - Christian evangelicals/fundamentalists are looking to modify our laws and then claim they are beyond the reach of the courts (or rather, 'activist judges'). That's the reason for idiocy like H.R. 847 (passed in 2007), recognizing the importance of Christmas and Christianity, and leading to suggestions that we should be teaching Christianity in our public schools.

Don't get me wrong - I have clearly benefitted from a Christian education. But the Jesuits taught me to value intellectual honesty as well as Christ's teachings.

And blithering banality such as the argument that a majority vote is sufficient to strip away civil rights should frighten even Christians.

So Roland Burris was told he would not be sworn in with the freshman class of the Senate. Burris, because he's Not Going To Showboat, is siccing his lawyers on the matter.

As for Burris' grandstanding at church, insisting that this is the Lord's way of calling him to service, I'm asking the same question I have in regards to George W. Bush's magical sobriety - what does the Lord gain from this little deal? A promise of service? A claim of having already fulfilled that service?

What's lacking here is a sense of humility. This is all about Roland Burris, because God strikes me as being more patient than a guy trying to get appointed before his sponsor gets indicted.

And let's not forget that for all his claims of not being connected to Blagojevich, Burris and his wife have contributed over $15,000 to Blagojevich's election fund since 2002.

Senator Dianne Feinstein says Burris should be seated, because that's what the law says, and we should do what the law says, because it's right.

The law also defines waterboarding as torture and holds it to be illegal. Where was your moral indignation on that count, Dianne?

Speaking of torture, it's Bill O'Reilly's opinion that picking Leon Panetta to head up the CIA would result in another attack on American soil ... because we wouldn't be able to torture prisoners for information.

So the argument isn't that waterboarding isn't torture, it's now that we MUST torture our enemies to gather actionable and accurate intelligence.

And the guy throwing rocks at Panetta's credentials is himself without any experience in intelligence gathering or operational discipline. He's a hack journalist who is also a sexual pervert who harassed a female staffer.

(O'Reilly's claim to being an award-winning journalist is hogwash. The 1996 Polk Award was given to two reporters on Inside Edition, and not O'Reilly, the bulk of whose tenure on the show was as its anchor, and not in any editorial capacity. That'd be like me claiming credit for Edward R. Murrow's Polk Award because he also worked for CBS.)

Not that the idiots making threatening phone calls to BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle are among my readers, but you guys aren't helping anyone. Be upset, by all means; call for accountability. But don't make yourselves the bad guys by issuing death threats against the officer involved.

Whether by accident or deliberate intent, resolution can only be achieved by emphasizing that Officer Mehserle needs to come forward and make an official statement (even if it's only to his superiors) about the incident. No more excuses about the birth of his girlfriend's baby, or 'maybe-he-was-reaching-for-his-taser'.

I'm not sure what the BART Police regulations are about carrying a taser, but a search on the web shows that the Las Vegas Police Department specifically requires officers to carry their taser on the opposite side of their duty belt from their standard firearm.

I'd find it much more believeable that Officer Mehserle had a round chambered, safety off, and managed to snag his weapon on his holster or belt, causing the slide to rack a second time and discharge a bullet.

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