I guess I am part of the “faux” media scandal that the GOP is getting all uptight about

That is to say, I have something to say about their choice of Sarah Palin as running mate for John McCain.

I guess that makes me one of the bad guys.

 It’s not that I am knocking their choice, mind you. If anything, it was a pretty gutsy political move to try and attract all those disenfranchised Clinton supporters. I don’t agree with her stance on abortion, or that we should be drilling in her home state to solve our energy problems. I don’t even mind that she lacks experience. It is not like there is a job training program for elected officials.

Can you see the ad’s.

“Give us 16 weeks and we will give you a career leading the Free World. Tuition assistance available”

Let’s face it, whether you have been a mayor, governor, senator or congressman, it is a whole different matter when it comes to running a country. I seriously doubt that heading up a state National Guard is going to prepare anyone for the reality of having to release our nations nuclear arsenal at a potential foe. Nor is negotiating a pork barrel congressional project a litmus test as to whether some one is going to be able to negotiate a trade or piece treaty. Does being a mom qualify Palin to tell every other woman in America how to raise their kids?

I guess what bothers me about Palin nomination is that the GOP just expects us to shut up and only say what a wonderful choice it is. We are not supposed to question the vetting process that failed to uncover that her teenage daughter is pregnant. We are supposed to ignore the scandal surrounding her trying to get her x brother in law fired from his job as an Alaskan State trooper.

All of that is just the other side trying to draw attention from the issues.

Funny, I thought the character of the persons seeking office was one of the issues?

As long as the media is pointing their lens at all the candidates, as they seem to be doing in this case of Obama/ Biden as well as McCain/Palin, I don’t see why the GOP has such a huge problem with it.

But then again, I am just a voter, what do I know?

I love gaming.

Nothing relieves stress better then logging onto a First Person Shooter Multi Player and blasting away at ones enemies for a few hours.

Now, this weekend I found a new game that combines two of my favorite things, Military First Person Shooters and the fact that it is free.  Let me say that again, it is FREE.

The game is called Combat Arms and is available as a free download here.

Depending on your connection speed, the game should only take about 15 minutes to download and then you just create your character, choose your weapons, and off you go.  As you battle your on line opponents, you gain experience points and earn game money that you can then spend on weapons upgrades and uniforms.

I have been playing for two days and have already gone up two ranks and have been able to equip my warrior with a silenced assault rifle, an automatic shotgun, body armor and a cool helmet.

I want to set up an Angry Jew Gaming Clan, so drop me a note if you are interested.

If you think you can take me, look me up on their game server when you log in.  I play under the name of eaglepc.

We here in Oregon have been wrestling with how to pay for health care for our uninsured children and adults for several years now.  The best ideas have usually been for some sort of sin tax, usually aimed at smokers, to pay for the program.  Last year Oregon voters said no to a proposed constitutional amendment that would have done exactly that.

Now, a task force advising the legislature is going to recommend that lawmakers look at a program that will provide health insurance for Oregons estimated 117,000 uninsured children and add 100,000 uninsured adults to the current Oregon Health Plan.

How do they propose paying for it?

By taxing Hospitals and Insurance companies.

The money generated from this new tax would also make the state eligible for Federal matching funds that would make the fund self sustaining.

Great idea, no?

Not that I am a pessimist or anything, but do you honestly think that hospitals, drug companies and insurance companies are going to sit idly by while our state legislature siphons off their profits?  If you think the amount of money spent by the tobacco lobby to defeat last years tobacco tax was obscene, brother, you have not seen anything yet.  I guarantee their lobbyists are already drooling over the billable hours they are going to rake in trying to defeat this measure.

Now, just to show I am not a complete doom sayer here, let us suppose that by some miracle the measure passes in the legislature.  What do you think will happen next?

Let me tell you, companies will either stop offering health care and services in Oregon altogether or they will simply raise their rates to cover their losses.

The end result is that we, the Oregon taxpayer, are going to end up footing the bill.

Which is fine, so long as we all have to pay, instead of just giving the bill to a small segment of our population.

With the nomination of Sarah Palin as VP on the Republican ticket just days old, the scandal machine is already lumbering to life.

It is being reported by all the major news services that Sarah Palin’s 17 year old daughter, Bristol, is 5 months pregnant.

Conservatives can breath a little easier as the McCain/Palin camp has announced that little Bristol intends to marry the father, a young man identified only as Levi.

You have to wonder how the GOP failed to discover that little factoid before offering Palin the nomination.

Not that I care either way, but now that the race has really begun in earnest, it is going to be fun to see what other muck will be raked up by both sides in an effort to distract the American public from the issues.

Just remember guys, save something for October.

Here is a neat way to give your local police force a thrill.  Just walk up to the desk at the station and drop off a box of 32 high explosive devices you just took away from your teenage sons friends.

Thats what 56 year old Leann Wade of Hillsboro, Oregon did.  She dropped the devices off at the after hours records counter at the Washington County Sheriffs office Sunday evening.  She told authorities that she had confiscated the devices from a friend of her son in Seattle.

Officers from the Portland Police Bomb Squad responded and took custody of the Seal Bombs, which are explosive devices used to scare seals away from piers and fishing area.  Federal authorities classify the devices as high explosives and a license is required to possess them.

There was no word on how the young man in Seattle came to be in possession of the devices, but authorities are investigating.

While surfing the web this morning that had me almost spitting my coffee across the room with laughter.

It is called The Friskey and bills itself as ” a romp on the wild side.  It is truely a site for women but there is plenty of content there for us hapless creatures trying in vain to understand them.

The item that caught my eye was a column entitled “What would you do if you had a penis for a day.”

Here is just a small sampling of the answers the author, Amelia, got back.

“I’d check out this whole urinal thing. The etiquette of urinal peeing fascinates me. Can I look down at the dude next to me to compare?  Do I have to stare straight ahead?  How does that WORK, exactly? If I was a dude, I think every single time I’d walk into the bathroom and some guy was peeing in a urinal, I’d feel like I walked in on them! ‘Oops! Sorry, didn’t know someone was in here.’ Awkward.” – Jocelyn

“I would sit on the subway with my legs spread open taking up the entire seat. I hate when men do that.” – Kelly

“Do I get balls too? I think that’s really the part that would be the most fun and fascinating. And part of me would want to be kicked in the balls, just to see why guys act like such wimps about it. Oh and I would definitely tea bag someone and take a picture.” – Julia

Now, I know I have some female readers out there, so I am going to put it to you.

What would you do if you could have a penis for a day?

Obviously drooling at the thought of more no-bid contracts from FEMA, Blackwater Security has posted job openings for Law Enforcement &Security Personnel to serve in areas hit by Gustav.  Only those with the following qualifications need apply.

Security for Hurricane Gustav

Blackwater is compiling a list of qualified security personnel for possible deployment into areas affected by Hurricane Gustav. Applicants must meet all items listed under the respective Officer posting and be US citizens. Contract length is TBD.
Law Enforcement Officers (all criteria must apply)1. Current sworn [may be full time, part time or reserve]
2. With arrest powers
3. Armed status (must indicate Armed and/or Semi Auto. Revolver only not accepted) expiration must be greater than 60 days out
4. Departmental credentials (not just a badge)

Armed Security Officers (all criteria must apply) Only from the following states: OR, WA, CA, NV, NM, AZ, TX, FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, IL, OK

1. Current/active/licensed/registered armed security officer
2. All training verification [unarmed and armed certificates of completion]
3. Current state issued face card indicting armed status [expiration must be greater than 60 days out]
Applicants will be required to provide an electronic copy of the above required credentials/documents, recent photo within the last six months with response to this AD prior to consideration for deployment.

Personnel who meet the above qualifications and are interested, please send resumes and files to: 25505@blackwaterusa2.hrmdirect.co

OK, so here is the situation.  You are the presiding judge of Lane County, Oregon.  You have three major criminal trials coming up within the next few days.  You have a Domestic Violence case, and two cases involving sexual abuse and Sodomy charges.  The plaintiffs are awaiting their constitutional right to a speedy trial by a jury of their peers.

The problem is, you don’t have enough jurists to try the cases.

What do you do?

Well, if you are Lane County Presiding Judge Mary Ann Bearden, you send out your sheriffs deputies to round up the first 12 people on the street.

Judge Beardon used a little known section of The Oregon Revised Statute, 10.235(4), which allows a judge to issue immediate summonses for jury duty.

Jury Supervisor Tana Tracewell, a 25 year employee of the Lane County Courts said it was the first time in 20 years that she could remember a judge having to invoke the statute to seat a jury.  Sgt Doug Osborne of the Lane County Sheriffs Office was not realy sure how to exactly go about vcarrying out the judges orders, so she gave him and his deputies very specific instructions.

“”Walk out that door onto Pearl Street and summon the first 10 or 12 people you see.”

The moral of the story is that the streets of Eugene, Oregon are just a little bit safer to walk thanks to Judge Bearden’s rather unique methods, that is, unless you are looking to skate out of jury duty.

I received an email from Reader Brent this morning regarding Jennie Brown leaving Sherwood Middle School.  I have no way of confirming the information contained within it, and with that being said, I share the contents with you.

Angry,

I’ve become a friend of Jennie and from what she tells me, they made her life so difficult that she left the school in mid May (yeah!), before the school year was even over.  They told her that she couldn’t rehearse in the auditorium, did petty things to her to make her unwelcome, and finally she just fell apart and couldn’t stomach it anymore.  She just disappeared from school without a trace.  Until this news article came out, no-one heard anything about what happened to her.  There was no-one that stood up for her other than some parents like Ria Torricelli, no teachers stood up for her in fear of their jobs.  She cleaned out her room late this summer and is now looking for a job.  All this because the Sherwood School District needed a scapegoat to take the fall for what happened, a monumental case of ass covering by Superintendant Jamison and clueless Principal Pittioni.  She only did what her drama students wanted, and it ended up putting so much egg on the face of Sherwood School District that they decided to make her life a living hell.

She started that drama program, both at Hopkins Elementary School and at Sherwood Middle School.  She did it on her own time after school, I don’t think they paid her a dime extra for it.  She did it out of love of the craft and for the students.  One wonders if the drama program will survive without her, I don’t think it will.

People gotta hear about this.  Thanks!

Brent

This is kind of a sad story for me to write, first because I have been hearing rumors about it for the last month or two and second because it is a story that I became involved in personally.

Jennie Brown, the teacher/playwright who turned the Sherwood School Board on its ear back in the spring with her middle school production of her work, Higher Ground, will not be returning to teach in the fall.  I want to thank sharp eyed reader Brent for sending me the article from The Sherwood Gazette confirming that she is leaving.

I attended a performance of Higher Ground at The Portland Center for The Performing Arts and had the opportunity to met and talk with Jenny.

I was impressed by both the work she had done with the kids and they way she handeled all the attention the play had gathered after school principal Anna Pittoni canceled performances when a few parents objected to the mature subject matter.

The students were given the option of performing a censored version of the play, which dealt with bullying and harassment in schools, but they unanimously voted to not perform.

Now, whether Jenny is leaving voluntarily or being forced out is open to debate, but it is the students of Sherwood Middle School who are going to pay the price.  We keep saying we want our kids to be prepared to deal with the harsh realities of life, yet, when a teacher comes along and shows them a way, and manages to combine it with performing arts, we all of a sudden become a pack of Puritans.

Poor Kids