Posts from — March 2006

Holden notes This Is Not Good, in reference to the Israeli threat to Hamas members. This on the day after an Israeli mission killed two Palestinian children in a raid.

Both sides need to renounce violence and recognize each other. All aid to both should be cut off until they do.

The Iranians are already using this deal to complain about the double standard in their treatment on the nuclear issue, and you have to know this will come up in the talks with North Korea.

It’s worse than people think. What the idiot has agreed to with the Indians is to supply the nuclear power plants in India with fuel, which means the total output of the Indian breeder reactors can now be used for weapons, rather than being shared between weapons production and power generation.

The only way he could have made life more difficult for Pakistan’s Pervez Musharraf would have been to insist on a Pat Robertson crusade meeting in Islamabad.

I feel certain the government of the state knew that the men of the state were willing to forego their boat and pick-up payments to cover the costs of child support for all of the extra children. Surely they understood that with “welfare reform” and DNA testing that the government is going to get child support, even if the woman doesn’t have the resources to go to court. This won’t be necessary because the good Christian men of South Dakota are all prepared to step up and accept their responsibilities for the next 18 years.

As Robert C. reminds us, batten down your wallet: the Florida Legislature is in session for the next 60 days.

Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs

One of the most annoying blindspots of some commentators is the belief that if you make a good faith effort to reach out to the other side, common ground can be found and a compromise can be reached. This desire for a “win-win” solution is unrealistic and shows an amazing lack of understanding about the people who support the Shrubbery.

The diagram represents a reality in groups. Any individual may be at variance with the model, and some who were have received honors and medals, but in general the model explains the behavior of a majority of people.

The bottom layer is essentially air, water, and food – basic essentials of life. For those that haven’t been paying attention: Rove and the Shrubbery operate on the second level, Safety, with their warnings of explosives in every Reebok and anthrax in every envelope. Resorting to fear to shake the feeling of safety and claiming to be the only answer is a very effective plan, and people will respond.

Katrina broke the spell for many people and offered an opportunity, but not if it isn’t exploited. This is why Dean was attacked when he said he didn’t think we were safer after the capture of Saddam: they couldn’t let people doubt.

The Religious Reich use Safety, Belonging, and Esteem. Welcome to our group; we are the “Elect”; you are going to Heaven if you follow our rules. The essential difference between these people and other religions is their aggression and lack of tolerance. They are extremely binary in thinking. Their way is the only possible way, and any deviation is heresy.

There is no compromise; there is only surrender. They ignore facts and reality. Their rules say the only purpose for sex is procreation, so there’s no justification for birth control or abortion.

These people don’t have a problem casting aside their basic rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, so I don’t see them as a group to court. They lack the core values of Americans that are guaranteed by the first ten amendments.

The 10,000 planned job cuts are in addition to the 26,000 cuts AT&T has already announced – 13,000 due to SBC’s acquisition of AT&T Corp., which closed in November, and 13,000 due to shifting priorities in the business. The combined SBC-AT&T took the name AT&T Inc.

Three corporations are becoming one and 36,000 people are getting pink slips. If anyone thinks consumers are going to benefit they haven’t been paying attention. Part of the deal when AT&T was first broken up was to eliminate regulation of the industry to promote competition. The company may be re-forming, but the regulations aren’t.

Update: When the corporation was first broken up the long distance division that still called itself AT&T adopted its “DeathStar” logo. I should have probably called this post The Empire Strikes Back

If that’s too cold, The Christian Science Monitor is following Around the Florida coast in 30 days via a diary from one of the participants.

It’s time to rent The President’s Analyst as a reminder.

One of its projects resulted in the Internet, so it isn’t all bad, but they really do fund some strange ideas.

The emergence of the “megaplex” with multiple small theaters, obscenely priced food and drink, characterless design, and general trend to making going to a movie a “factory” rather than entertainment experience has removed it from the list of things I want to do.

A natural gas pipeline from Iran to India through Pakistan that has been blocked because of the benefits to Iran, but you can’t let those concerns interfere with multinational corporations. I would presume that Bush recognized some of the corporations involved in this deal and checked with the Carlyle Group for advice.

With Eight Below, a movie about sled dogs doing well in theaters, you would think that ABC News would cover it to slip in a Disney ad, but nothing.

This is a real test of the partnership of an individual and a pack of dogs. The dogs get more rest, more food, and more care than the mushers, if they don’t, the team could lose more than a race.

Mike from Orlando, Florida was told that Fox Security would take care of him, and Mike apparently received a call from a guy who identified himself as Fox Security and implied that Mike was in trouble.

As I former law enforcement type I thought I check to see what the law said.

Mike is in Florida, so he has to abide by the Florida Statutes:

Title XLVI – CRIMES

Chapter 784 – ASSAULT; BATTERY; CULPABLE NEGLIGENCE

784.048 Stalking; definitions; penalties.–

(1) As used in this section, the term:

(a) “Harass” means to engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress in such person and serves no legitimate purpose.

(b) “Course of conduct” means a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time, however short, evidencing a continuity of purpose. Constitutionally protected activity is not included within the meaning of “course of conduct.” Such constitutionally protected activity includes picketing or other organized protests.

(c) “Credible threat” means a threat made with the intent to cause the person who is the target of the threat to reasonably fear for his or her safety. The threat must be against the life of, or a threat to cause bodily injury to, a person.

(d) “Cyberstalk” means to engage in a course of conduct to communicate, or to cause to be communicated, words, images, or language by or through the use of electronic mail or electronic communication, directed at a specific person, causing substantial emotional distress to that person and serving no legitimate purpose.

(2) Any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows, harasses, or cyberstalks another person commits the offense of stalking, a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

Mike made one call to a program that solicited calls, so there’s no way to establish this as a “pattern” or to argue it occurred “repeatedly”. The case for “substantial emotional distress” is based on a the test for a “reasonable man”. I don’t see it.

On the other hand, Mr. O’Reilly is in New York, and his decision to have a representative of Fox Security to call someone about something that occurred on Westwood is odd and not a great idea under New York Penal Law.

Chapter 40 Of The Consolidated Laws
Part Three–Specific Offenses
Title N–Offenses Against Public Order, Public Sensibilities And The Right To Privacy

Article 240–Offenses Against Public Order

Section 240.30 Aggravated harassment in the second degree.

A person is guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree when, with intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person, he or she:

1. Either (a) communicates with a person, anonymously or otherwise by telephone, or by telegraph, mail or any other form of written communication, in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm; or (b) causes a communication to be initiated by mechanical or electronic means or otherwise, with a person, anonymously or otherwise, by telephone, or by telegraph, mail or any other form of written communication, in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm.

Aggravated harassment in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.

I see a case for Mr. O’Reilly having the call made with the intent to “threaten” and “annoy” Mike. It’s only a year in jail and/or a $1000 fine, but if Mike wanted to go to New York and file charges the Penal Law says he has a case. I’d probably just file a complaint to the telephone company that Westwood One uses.