Jack is 8 months old today and he becomming a fine young fellow. His daddy is very proud. The Patriot has been thinking of retiring for a while. Kick up his heels and leaving the angry blogging to those with more time and energy. I can’t quite bring myself to pull the plug though. Especially when Bush is still up to his old capitalist running dog tricks. Last week he came out against the State Children's Health Insurance program which would essentially double -- from 4 million to 8 million -- the number of children covered because it was “too expensive”. Now no one likes to beat up on the Democrats more than yours truly, but even I had to hand it to Sen. Robert Byrd who aptly pointed out that the president has freely spent over $378 billion of our treasury in Iraq, so his protestation that $8 billion needed to fund the Children’s Health Insurance is too expensive rings a little hollow.
The Senate voted 67-29 Thursday night to expand the program, although for some reason Democrats Joseph Biden and Barack Obama did not vote. Maybe they were busy.
In local news, the trial of William Talen, a/k/a Reverend Billy got under way in New York Supreme Court his week. Mr. Talen, leader of the “ Church of Stop Shopping” was arrested June 29 during a protest against the city’s new permit requirements for the monthly Critical Mass bicycle rally and proposed restrictions on photographers and filmmakers in public places. He was charged with two counts of second-degree harassment, and stands accused of following a group of police officers while repeatedly reciting the 40-odd words of the First Amendment through a megaphone, which, as the Times described it, was “the kind commonly used by cheerleaders”.
In her opening statement he prosecutor told Judge Tanya Kennedy that Mr. Talen’s offense had been to shout the familiar lines beginning with “Congress shall make no law” while standing three feet from the officers, and ignoring their requests to stop. The prosecutor said his behavior was “obnoxious” by any standard. (The Patriot thinks that if obnoxious behavior is elevated to the status of a crime most New Yorkers would run afoul of the law on a regular basis.) His lawyers, Norman Siegel and Earl Ward, told Judge Kennedy that the law defined harassment as engaging in a course of conduct that is not only “alarming” and “annoying” but “which serves no legitimate purpose. Mr. Siegel argued that there could hardly be a more legitimate place than a protest rally to recite the First Amendment, with its lines barring Congress from “abridging the freedom of speech” and guaranteeing the rights “of the people peaceably to assemble.” Way to go Norm.
I feel kind of bad for the ADA who was told by her superiors to take this piece of shit to trial. If any case cries out for an outright dismissal it’s this one. Unfortunately the Manhattan prosecutor’s office has been charged with the responsibility of protecting the people from dangerous liberals reciting parts of the Constitution in public. Might start people thinking about their rights, and we can’t have that now can we?
The Senate voted 67-29 Thursday night to expand the program, although for some reason Democrats Joseph Biden and Barack Obama did not vote. Maybe they were busy.
In local news, the trial of William Talen, a/k/a Reverend Billy got under way in New York Supreme Court his week. Mr. Talen, leader of the “ Church of Stop Shopping” was arrested June 29 during a protest against the city’s new permit requirements for the monthly Critical Mass bicycle rally and proposed restrictions on photographers and filmmakers in public places. He was charged with two counts of second-degree harassment, and stands accused of following a group of police officers while repeatedly reciting the 40-odd words of the First Amendment through a megaphone, which, as the Times described it, was “the kind commonly used by cheerleaders”.
In her opening statement he prosecutor told Judge Tanya Kennedy that Mr. Talen’s offense had been to shout the familiar lines beginning with “Congress shall make no law” while standing three feet from the officers, and ignoring their requests to stop. The prosecutor said his behavior was “obnoxious” by any standard. (The Patriot thinks that if obnoxious behavior is elevated to the status of a crime most New Yorkers would run afoul of the law on a regular basis.) His lawyers, Norman Siegel and Earl Ward, told Judge Kennedy that the law defined harassment as engaging in a course of conduct that is not only “alarming” and “annoying” but “which serves no legitimate purpose. Mr. Siegel argued that there could hardly be a more legitimate place than a protest rally to recite the First Amendment, with its lines barring Congress from “abridging the freedom of speech” and guaranteeing the rights “of the people peaceably to assemble.” Way to go Norm.
I feel kind of bad for the ADA who was told by her superiors to take this piece of shit to trial. If any case cries out for an outright dismissal it’s this one. Unfortunately the Manhattan prosecutor’s office has been charged with the responsibility of protecting the people from dangerous liberals reciting parts of the Constitution in public. Might start people thinking about their rights, and we can’t have that now can we?
5 comments:
Mark, hope you will continue to blog as time and energy permit--I can relate--because I always look forward to reading the patriot. did you get my message about vallejo being literally down the road about 10-15 mins? we would love to see you. typing all in lower case means i have a toddler on my lap.....
Hey Christine. I got the message but I'm still trying to work out my schedule. The mediation I have is on the 3rd; not sure how long its going to take. I could be done 1st thing in the morning or be there all day. E-mail me your tele and I'll ring you when I'm in town.
I removed your home phone numbers from your posting. There are some real freaks out in internet land!!!
a sabbatical is acceptable from at least one patriot devotee, but i will not abide any talk of retiring!
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