RI boy who made banned toy soldier hat gets medal

^ A link!

Just had a thought: If a rubber ducky used a condom he'd use ducky rubbers.

New website looks to tout all that's good about NJ


Not much content on there - more of a petition and links to Facebook. Where's the list of "all that's good about NJ"?

Wow, what's wrong with Jersey??? Geez, nearly everyone interviewed in the video hated it. It doesn't look bad. Plus Tony Soprano is from Jersey. Heck, don't they even know that Jersey has Geoff??????? That alone says a lot.


Btw, what is a "roundabout" that the one guy was complaining about? I'm guessing something to do with traffic??


TIS

I think the roundabouts are more common in the eastern US than in the Midwest but we have a few in Michigan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundabout

We call them "traffic circles" (or simply "circles") here...

Over the past couple of years they've taken root here in town. They facilitate traffic accidents waiting to happen.

We had a roundabout put in a few years ago. People are still bitching about it. If they could figure out how to drive they'd realize it's a lot better than what it used to be. It's not difficult to use at all, if you have a shred of (un)common sense, I like it.

Oli, roundabouts decrease accidents.

Only when people know how to drive through them, I suppose. They've had to add Yield signs to teach people not used to circles. But the real benefit is to keep traffic moving, rather than having huge intersections with backed-up traffic at stop lights.

I see. It's a circle then? It does look very dangerous and I don't quite understand "why" there would be such a road. I'd hate to be new to the area and driving drunk (not that I would).




TIS

Okay, apparently "roundabouts" are different than "traffic circles" and the person in the video used the wrong term.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_circle

The third photo down is of a typical NJ circle from a bit of a distance.

NEW YORK – Calling himself a "Muslim soldier," a defiant Pakistan-born U.S. citizen pleaded guilty Monday to carrying out the failed Times Square car bombing, saying his attack was the answer to "the U.S. terrorizing ... Muslim people."

Wearing a white skull cap, Faisal Shahzad entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan just days after a federal grand jury indicted him on 10 terrorism and weapons counts, some of which carried mandatory life prison sentences. He pleaded guilty to them all.

"One has to understand where I'm coming from," Shahzad calmly told U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum, who challenged him repeatedly with questions such as whether he worried about killing children in Times Square. "I consider myself ... a Muslim soldier."

The 30-year-old described his effort to set off a bomb in an SUV he parked in Times Square on May 1, saying he chose the warm Saturday night because it would be crowded with people who he could injure or kill.

He revealed that he actually packed his vehicle with three separate bombs, hoping to set off a fertilizer-fueled bomb packed in a gun cabinet, a set of propane tanks and gas canisters rigged with fireworks to explode into a fireball.

Shahzad said he expected the bombs to begin going off after he lighted a fuse and waited between 2 1/2 minutes and five minutes for them to erupt.

"I was waiting to hear a sound but I didn't hear a sound. So I walked to Grand Central and went home," he said.

Shahzad dismissed the judge's question about the children by saying the U.S. didn't care when children were killed in Muslim countries.

"It's a war. I am part of the answer to the U.S. terrorizing the Muslim nations and the Muslim people," he said. "On behalf of that, I'm revenging the attack. Living in the United States, Americans only care about their people but they don't care about the people elsewhere in the world when they die."

Shahzad made the plea and an accompanying statement as Cedarbaum began asking him a lengthy series of questions to ensure he understood his rights.

Cedarbaum asked Shahzad if he understood some charges carried mandatory life sentences and that he might spend the rest of his life in prison. He said he did.

At one point, she asked him if he was sure he wanted to plead guilty.

He said he wanted "to plead guilty and 100 times more" to let the U.S. know that if it did not get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, halt drone attacks and stop meddling in Muslim lands, "we will be attacking U.S."

APB: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has gone missing AGAIN! He may have gone hiking or boinking a reporter in Argentine.

http://www.thestatecolumn.com/blog/2010/06/governor-mark-sanford-gone-missing-again/

Ha ha ha...That guy gave a whole new meaning to "hiking in the Appalachians.



TIS

"Tiger, honey, are you going to go golfing today?"

"No, Elin. I thought I would go hike the Appalachins."

"Okay, dear. Have fun and be careful."

That should have been a dead giveaway to Elin.

No Charges for Gore

A Portland, Oregon massage therapist's claim of "unwanted sexual contact" against former Vice President Al Gore has been dismissed by local authorities.

Multnomah County District Attorney Schrunk said Wednesday there was insufficient evidence to support the masseuse's accusations. She has since refused to be interviewed by police and did not want the investigation to continue.

According to the police report, Gore went under the alias "Mr. Stone" at the upscale Hotel Lucia. On the day of the alleged incident, Oct. 24, 2006, Gore was in Portland to give a speech on climate change.

The massage therapist said Gore asked for an abdominal massage, according to a transcript of the interview released by police. The masseuse said Gore began to moan during his appointment, insisted that she go lower and..

It doesn't seem like it, but it's been one year already since Michael Jackson died. I guess they are having some kind of tribute here in L.A. Also, they are having an auction at Planet Hollywood in Vegas in which they are selling various MJ items, like the shirt he wore in the Beat-it video. They say they expect at least 16,000 for it.

TIS

also too MTV is showing jacksons best music videos today (4-5:30 central time). its sad that this is the only way they show music videos now.

I was at the rehab facility with my wife & daughter having dinner with my mother (she just had knee replacement surgery) when one of my daughter's friend texted her that Michael Jackson just died.

They are having something in L.A. (or wherever the cemetary is)and mentioned a lot of guidelines and dos/don'ts to anyone planning to attend. I haven't heard any updates, but I do know that they banned any kind of signs/banners or you'd be turned away.

If Joe Jackson could sell tickets to this memorial, I'm sure he would.



TIS

GOP: Schwarzenegger 'a great disappointment' updated 6/26/2010 7:49:26 AM ET

ANAHEIM, CALIF. — When Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, the Dream Team of the California GOP, joined hands at a rally celebrating their primary victories this month, there was one broad-shouldered Republican conspicuously missing from the scene: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Organizers said the actor-turned-politician declined an invitation to the event. The truth is, he would not have been welcome. After nearly six years in office, Schwarzenegger has few friends left in either party. The state budget deficit hovers around $20 billion; his approval rating has sunk below 25 percent.

"We thought he was going to be a great governor, but he has been a great disappointment," said Geneviève M. Clavreul, a Republican activist.

As candidates in races across the country try to position themselves as the politician with the least political experience, Schwarzenegger's troubles in California illustrate some of the possible downsides of outsiderdom. Like Whitman, the GOP's candidate for governor, and Fiorina, the party's Senate nominee, Schwarzenegger came to office as a non-politician who would solve problems with unconventional ideas.

Police arrest more than 600 at Toronto summit


I'm sorry, but I don't care if people are protesting against the devil himself; there's absolutely NO reason to ever resort to vandalism! BUT at the same time, these latest arrests were in a university building, before the fact (and before anything happened), to prevent such further actions. That's a slippery slope perhaps....

Molly is walking and climbing stairs.

Geoff, I have to say that I'm as surprised as the Toronto police seemingly were. I've been to Toronto several times. I've even been there during a garbage strike, and have always been impressed by the orderliness and friendliness of that beautiful city.

LN, those first steps are a thrill, but you'll soon long for the days when she was immobile. I was always amazed at how quickly they learn to RUN - and usually in the opposite direction of you!

That is fun. Like SB says, they sure move quickly. You'll do a lot of running. I always thought of it as my daily workout. Enjoy LN. These milestones only happen once and they're wonderful.


TIS

WASHINGTON, June 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday extended gun rights to every state and city in the nation in a ruling involving Chicago's 28-year-old handgun ban.

By a 5-4 vote and splitting along conservative and liberal lines, the nation's highest court extended its landmark 2008 ruling that individual Americans have a constitutional right to own guns to all the cities and states for the first time.

The right to bear arms, under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, previously applied to just federal laws and federal enclaves, like Washington D.C., where the court struck down a similar handgun ban in its 2008 ruling.

Gun rights have been one of the country's most divisive social, political and legal issues. Some 90 million people in the United States have an estimated 200 million guns.

The United States is estimated to have the world's highest civilian gun ownership rate. Gun deaths average about 80 a day, 34 of them homicides, according to U.S. government statistics.

The ruling, issued on the last day of the Supreme Court's term, was a victory for four Chicago-area residents, two gun rights groups and the politically powerful National Rifle Association.

It was a defeat for Chicago, which defended its law as a reasonable exercise of local power to protect public safety. The law and a similar handgun ban in suburban Oak Park, Illinois, were the nation's most restrictive gun control measures.

"We hold that the Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the states," Justice Samuel Alito concluded for the court majority in the 45-page ruling. (Reporting by James Vicini, Editing by Vicki Allen)

Geoff,

I have kind of been following that story too. That I recall, I don't remember ever hearing of anything like this happening in Canada before. From what I heard reported, it started as a peaceful demonstration with a segment of the peaceful group breaking away becoming violent, but yes, it is inexcusable to become violent.

Lilo,

I didn't know about this Chicago gun law and never having a gun, I don't know much about the laws, yet of course am reminded (news wise) constantly how it is a constitutional right. However, I would ask are there any rules as to whom owns a gun? Should there be? I've always been unclear as to what exactly the NRA and "gun owners" want. I am for guidelines and background checks.

TIS

There are state and federal mandated rules on who is legally allowed to purchase and own a handgun. Without getting bogged down in excessive detail, usually it boils down to you must be a non-felon, you can not be legally insane or under domestic violence restraints and you must pass a background check to prove the first listed conditions and a few others. I'm not sure about other states but in Michigan if you wish to have a concealed carry license, you also must take a gun safety/gun rights class to demonstrate your knowledge of the workings of the gun and the law.

I don't think this ruling will really make that much difference in the day to day reality of Chicago. The people that were violent before this ruling will be violent after the ruling. The issue was that Chicago outright banned ownership of handguns-which according to the SC, they didn't have the right to do. Chicago could still be within the law to make legal ownership of handguns extremely onerous and difficult. And I'm betting that will be their response.

Edit:

Monday's decision did not explicitly strike down the Chicago area laws, ordering a federal appeals court to reconsider its ruling. But it left little doubt that they would eventually fall.

Still, Alito noted that the declaration that the Second Amendment is fully binding on states and cities "limits (but by no means eliminates) their ability to devise solutions to social problems that suit local needs and values."

(Reuters) - A university can legally deny recognition to a Christian student group that bars gays and nonbelievers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a case that pitted anti-discrimination principles against religious freedom.

Such official recognition qualifies campus groups for funding and other benefits.

By a 5-4 vote, the justices upheld a U.S. appeals court ruling in favor of the University of California's Hastings College of the Law. It denied recognition to the group because of a school policy that membership should be open to all.

The high court's ruling was a defeat for the Christian Legal Society. It argued the U.S. Constitution does not allow a school to deny recognition to a religious student group which insists its members agree with its core views.

Regarding these two Supreme Court rulings today, it is really exciting for a political science instructor such as myself. I'll post more on these rulings later, but for now suffice it to say that it creates quite a conundrum for Strict Constructionsists and other fans of judicial restraint. You have the same members of the same Court ruling with identical 5-4 votes what conservatives would consider on one hand on the basis of "original intent" (guns) while on the other hand engaging in judicial activisim (religion). It's interesting if not downright exciting.