News of Day

[DeadPoolX]

Oh no dude - not a problem. I certainly didn't take any offense. I enjoy a lively debate

There was a time when I would have described myself much the same as you just did: economically conservative but socially liberal. In recent years I've started to see a pseudo-religious bent begin to take over the "socially liberal" movement that reminds me a lot of the American puritan movement. Politically correct has become an almost religious devotion to certain "right thinking" concepts and in that time I've found myself moving more and more toward the conservatives - if only because they tolerate a little freedom of people having different opinions.

I think it's safe to say that neither side truly tolerates anyone or any concept that doesn't agree with their ideology.

[Jules]

News of the day. THIS was in our local newspaper...

DPX, don't you miss the south? ^_^

[Rath Darkblade]

I don't quite understand what this man is trying to say, if anything, but... *laughs*

Then there's also this: http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/090129/K012906AU.html

Wyoming man accused of drunken horse riding in snowstorm
CODY, Wyo. - A man has been cited for public intoxication while riding a white horse during a snowstorm in the northern Wyoming town Cody.

Police say they cited 28-year-old Benjamin Daniels after they received a call Sunday afternoon from a motorist concerned that a man was creating a road hazard by riding his horse on a street in conditions with poor visibility.

Cody assistant police chief George Menig says officers noticed Daniels was intoxicated after they stopped him to explain drivers were having difficulty spotting his slow-moving white horse.

Menig said Thursday that Daniels was detained Sunday and released the following day.

He will go before a municipal judge later.

A friend of Daniels picked up the horse.

[DeadPoolX]

I don't quite understand what this man is trying to say, if anything, but... *laughs*

I think the point was that the man quoted in the article assumes life will take a dramatic turn with Obama in the White House. He expects more jobs and higher pay.

Something I've always found weird about wanting to raise the minimum wage is that it'll only hurt those who it's intended to help. The minimum wage is usually paid to people in low-end jobs. The businesses who employ these individuals rarely require much in the way of "job experience" or "education requirements."

If the minimum wage is raised, employers will fire many employees to save a buck. In addition, they'll increase the standards for hiring new people, thereby shutting out those who would've normally had a job.

A decision like this would ultimately send a lot of people into the unemployment line and probably increase the welfare count.

[Jules]

Rath, there are some people here in south Louisiana who actually think Obama will solve their money problems by sending them a check.

This youtube video is an example of what I mean. This lady believes that she won't have to worry about her gas money and mortgage because of Obama.

[Rath Darkblade]

Rath, there are some people here in south Louisiana who actually think Obama will solve their money problems by sending them a check.

This youtube video is an example of what I mean. This lady believes that she won't have to worry about her gas money and mortgage because of Obama.

Hmm. Well, I'm not really sure what to say about that, except that I'm surprised that anyone thought that any government could do things that quickly.

[therogue]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7850323.stm

Its been over a week, every time I see a new bit of coverage on it flash up in the news, I'm sicked all over again. I'm also sickened by the fact that the families of the dead can't bury their loved ones without massive security because of the press trying to get into the funerals to get pictures.

[DeadPoolX]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7850323.stm

Its been over a week, every time I see a new bit of coverage on it flash up in the news, I'm sicked all over again. I'm also sickened by the fact that the families of the dead can't bury their loved ones without massive security because of the press trying to get into the funerals to get pictures.

The press is way too intrusive nowadays. Although I know more about the media in the U.S. and Canada, I get the impression that it's not much different in Europe.

To be fair, the media has been overly nosy for a long time. During the American Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman was quoted as saying: "I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast."

[Jules]

To be fair, the media has been overly nosy for a long time. During the American Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman was quoted as saying: "I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast."

Funny. An interesting side note... I am related to Gen. Sherman, in which my great grandmother's maiden name was Sherman.

But, I can't speak that fact out loud here in the south.

[DeadPoolX]

To be fair, the media has been overly nosy for a long time. During the American Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman was quoted as saying: "I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast."

Funny. An interesting side note... I am related to Gen. Sherman, in which my great grandmother's maiden name was Sherman.

But, I can't speak that fact out loud here in the south.

I'd love to see you say that in Atlanta.

[therogue]

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europ ... pstoryview

WTF. WTF. I nearly choked on my lunch hearing that bit of news on the radio. Geez, sadly enough contrary to earlier reports there are a number of fatalities to be mourned. I suppose we can be grateful that the plane didn't come down on the dozens of very busy highways surrounding the airport or in the middle of the city like what happened in 1992 when a plane crashed in the middle of Amsterdam into a highrise building.

[Rudy]

This morning there was an earthquake in Italy, magnitude 6.3 on Richter scale with epicenter near Abruzzo, east of Rome. 16 people have been confirmed dead and thousands are homeless.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30061140

Andrea and Santi, since you both live in the north, did you guys feel anything?

[Jules]

This news article irked me to some extent this morning:

Students Kicked Off Campus for Wearing American Flag Tees

Freedom of expression or cultural disrespect on Cinco de Mayo?
By GEORGE KIRIYAMA
Updated 7:58 AM PDT, Thu, May 6, 2010

On any other day at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Daniel Galli and his four friends would not even be noticed for wearing T-shirts with the American flag. But Cinco de Mayo is not any typical day especially on a campus with a large Mexican American student population.

Galli says he and his friends were sitting at a table during brunch break when the vice principal asked two of the boys to remove American flag bandannas that they wearing on their heads and for the others to turn their American flag T-shirts inside out. When they refused, the boys were ordered to go to the principal's office.

"They said we could wear it on any other day," Daniel Galli said, "but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it's supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it today."

The boys said the administrators called their T-shirts "incendiary" that would lead to fights on campus.

"They said if we tried to go back to class with our shirts not taken off, they said it was defiance and we would get suspended," Dominic Maciel, Galli's friend, said.

The boys really had no choice, and went home to avoid suspension. They say they're angry they were not allowed to express their American pride. Their parents are just as upset, calling what happened to their children, "total nonsense."

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous," Julie Fagerstrom, Maciel's mom, said. "All they were doing was displaying their patriotic nature. They're expressing their individuality."

But to many Mexican-American students at Live Oak, this was a big deal. They say they were offended by the five boys and others for wearing American colors on a Mexican holiday.

"I think they should apologize cause it is a Mexican Heritage Day," Annicia Nunez, a Live Oak High student, said. "We don't deserve to be get disrespected like that. We wouldn't do that on Fourth of July."

As for an apology, the boys and their families say, "fat chance."

"I'm not going to apologize. I did nothing wrong," Galli said. "I went along with my normal day. I might have worn an American flag, but I'm an American and I'm proud to be an American."

The five boys and their families met with a Morgan Hill Unified School District official Wednesday night. The district released a statement saying it does not agree with how Live Oak High School administrators handled this incident.

The boys will not be suspended and they were told they can go back to school Thursday. They may even wear their red, white, and blue colors again, but this time, the day after Cinco de Mayo, there will be no controversy.

[Rudy]

Yes, i read that. Did you know that Cinco de Mayo is not even a national holiday in Mexico? It's some regional thing which is hardly celebrated there. Not to mention how this issue violates the first amendment. Wonder if they'll ban American flags on American soil on Saint-Patricks Day now as well...

[Jules]

I was digging around a bit more and it turns out that the Vice Principal is of Mexican heritage. He was the one who told the students to turn their shirts inside out. Can we please remove the word "offended" from the face of this earth please?