Giving the world a hand since February 3rd, 2002. "If you're gonna dine with them cannibals, sooner or later, darling, you're gonna get eaten."




Comments by YACCS

 
Still more Padilla-detainee debate goodness going on over at InstaPundit. I don't know about y'all, but I'm getting a huge kick out of it!
so wrote Leper around about 10:36 PM

 
AW-YEAH! Red Wings win the Stanley Cup! Woo-hoo! Nick Lidstrom wins the Conn Smythe (MVP of playoffs)! Woo-hoo! Scotty Bowman retires! Woo-...uh...um....huh.

You know what this means: the team gets to go meet Dubya at the White House. I wonder if anyone will tell him that there's only one American on the whole team?
so wrote Leper around about 10:47 PM

 
InstaPundit is currently having a fascinating debate about Padilla (the alleged "dirty bomber"). The debate there seems to be divided between those who say "fuck him, he forfeited his Constitutional rights when he conspired against the United States" and those who say "yeah, but he is still an American citizen, and as such is deserving of the same consideration as all other citizens, regardless of his alleged crimes". Here was my contribution:

The War Powers Resolution is actually referring to the War Powers Act
of 1973, NOT a congressional declaration of war. Look it up. Just
because it has the word "war" in it does not make it a "declaration of war".

Which brings me to my first point: the US is not constitutionally at war.
The President does not have the power to declare war, that power resides
solely in the hands of congress. We may be in a de facto war, but no
resolution has been passed by congress declaring war on any nation. In
fact, the US hasn't been in an official war since 1945. All conflicts since
WW2 have been the results of congress giving the President free reign to
use troops as he sees fit. The Civil War is called the Civil War because the
north won. The remaining US states were in action against states that had
seceded from the Union & formed their own country, which was
recognized by others in the international community.

Next, the writ of habeas corpus has not been suspended. This, by
definition, means that all American citizens are under the protection of the
Constitution and all amendments attached to such document, no matter
what they have done. The Constitution is not an impediment to so-called
"justice", it is the foundation on which is built the American way of life.
Hell, Tim McVeigh did much worse than Padilla is alleged to have done,
the only difference is that McVeigh wasn't part of a group. Manuel
Noriega, the former president of Panama, was tried in an American court,
under the auspices of the Constitution. The 1993 WTC bombers, who
also committed worse actions than Padilla, were tried in an American
court. Padilla was apprehended in Chicago's O'Hare airport, not a dusty
cave in Afghanistan. Padilla was carrying a suitcase, not an AK-47.
Padilla had just disembarked from an airliner, not crawled out of a muddy
trench. He is an American citizen and has the right--not the privilege--of
the full protection of the Constitution of the United States. I'm not
advocating the release of Padilla, I'm simply saying that, as an American
citizen, he has the right to a fair trial. Charges should be filed & a case
made against him in a court of law, or a legal means of stripping his
citizenship should be found, providing enough evidence exists to do so.

The reason a "slippery slope" is called a slippery slope is because of how
slick it can be. Once any kind of precedent has been set for any kind of
exception to the Constitution, a door has been opened for future additional
exceptions. Today, citizens conspiring with foreign nationals are not
protected under the Constitution. Tomorrow, citizens conspiring against
the government are exempt from protection. The day after, citizens
committing federal crimes are exempt. Now, this is a gross
oversimplification, but it illustrates my point. The United States is a society
based in the Rule of Law. Everyone is protected by the law, just as
everyone is accountable to the law.

Yeah, I stole some of that post from my previous rant, but I thought it would be ok. You can't plagarize yourself, can you? Anyway, check it out & add your $.02.

so wrote Leper around about 9:44 PM

 
A quickie from SatireWire:

REMAINING U.S. CEO's MAKE A BREAK FOR IT

San Antonio, Texas (SatireWire.com) — Unwilling to wait for their eventual indictments, the 10,000 remaining CEOs of public U.S. companies made a break for it yesterday, heading for the Mexican border, plundering towns and villages along the way, and writing the entire rampage off as a marketing expense.

"They came into my home, made me pay for my own TV, then double-booked the revenues," said Rachel Sanchez of Las Cruces, just north of El Paso. "Right in front of my daughters."

Heh.
so wrote Leper around about 7:30 PM

 
Leper Messiah's Quick Movie Reviews:

• Planet of the Apes - Crap. There was only one good thing about this movie, and that was the makeup. And Estella Warren. OK, make that "two good things about this movie"...
• Jurassic Park III - Cool dinosaurs. And no Jeff Goldblum. That's about it.
• Joe Dirt - Finally, a movie that has both Dennis Miller and Kid Rock! This is a movie to be watched once. Alone. Late at night. When you have nothing else to do. And it's on one of those free HBO weekends.
• Swordfish - The only reason anyone would want to watch this movie would be for Halle Berry's first topless scene. John Travolta phones in another performance as the psychopathic criminal mastermind. *yawn* Seen it, been there, done that, got the t-shirt.....

Gotta run, Game 5 of the Stanley Cup is on. Gotta watch the Red Wings hoist the cup!
so wrote Leper around about 7:10 PM

 
USS Clueless has a facinating bit of mathematics on Russell's Paradox and shows how it can be used to prove that there are limits on the capability of God. Even better: I understood it!
so wrote Leper around about 5:42 PM

 
"If you aid and abet the enemy, whether you are a citizen or not, you're not entitled to the right of due process," [Sen. Charles] Schumer [D - NY] said.

Sorry, Charlie, but you're wrong. Check the Constitution.

Padilla was apprehended at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, not in some dusty cave in Afghanistan. He was carrying a suitcase instead of an AK-47. He had just disembarked from an airliner, not crawled out of a muddy trench. He is also an American citizen that has the right--not the privilege--of the full protection of the Constitution of the United States and all Amendments attached to such document.

Later on, the article says the following:

Attorney General John Ashcroft said in the Padilla case that authorities were acting under a 1942 Supreme Court precedent ``which establishes that the military may detain a United States citizen who has joined the enemy or has entered our country to carry out hostile acts.''

The 1942 precedent was also made while the US was in an actual war as declared by Congress. There is a huge legal & constitutional difference between a Congressionally-declared state of war and the President waving his arms & simply saying that we're in a de facto war.

Now, to be fair, I'm sure that some of the people in the Dubya administration mean well, but we should also remember that almost all of the most heinous events in human history were perpetrated by persons with the "best of intentions"....
so wrote Leper around about 11:02 PM

 
Ahhhhhhh, sweet insomnia......you're like an old friend to me now.....

Anyway, found a cool (and very amusing) song :

My backpack's got jets
I'm Boba the Fett
I bounty hunt for Jabba Hutt
To finance my 'vette
I chill in deep space
A mask is over my face
I deliver the prize
But I still narrow my eyes
'Cause my time I don't like to waste
GET DOWN!

"Fett's 'Vette" by MC Chris

Now I don't usually like techno/rap, but this one is catchy with a nice beat for dancin'. I gave it a 79. (where's Deney Terrio when you need him?)

so wrote Leper around about 3:32 AM

 
Eric Raymond over at Armed & Dangerous has a Top 10 List of why he's not a (Left-)Liberal/Top 10 List of why he's not a Conservative. Very interesting. I'd have to say I agree with five of his anti-Liberal points and nine of his anti-Conservative points (your guess as to which ones).
so wrote Leper around about 11:26 PM

 
Dawn over at Up Yours had an interesting little pseudo-contest for people to try to describe an orgasm. Yours truly made the cut with my stunning wit & charm...

I only stumbled on her site a couple weeks ago, but I find her playful & sensual musings very enjoyable. Check her out.
so wrote Leper around about 10:40 PM

 
From SatireWire:

FBI AGENT ACCUSED OF PASSING SECRETS TO U.S.

[...]As for a motive, Mueller speculated it was financial. "Our initial investigation shows that an agent in the field was being paid to gather information, which he was then passing on to his superiors," he said. "In return for this subterfuge, the agent was furnished with a car and an annual salary."

"We believe the FBI was the source of this funding," he added.

Or:

NEW HMO STRATEGY: PAY HEALTH CLAIMS

[...]"In the past, what consumers really have been paying for is hope, as in, 'I sure hope my insurance covers this,'" said Pastore. "Now, consumers will be paying for health, as in, 'I'm glad I have my health because my insurance company has all my money.'"

Heh.
so wrote Leper around about 11:01 AM

 
Funny article here, but not for the reasons you think.

U.S.Coast Guard Warns of Maritime Terror Threat

The funny part? The last line: "An FBI official did not immediately return calls." I can see it now....""Hi, you've reached the FBI. We're not in right now, so if you could leave your name, number, and the act of terrorism you see being committed, we'll get back to you as soon as possible....*beep*"

Yeah, I'm funny like that....
so wrote Leper around about 7:58 AM

 
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Yes, I've finally decided to get offa my butt & move to Des Moines. The big move date is tentatively scheduled for July 6th. What does this mean? Well, updates to this site will slow down considerably, as lack of internet access will be a problem. I'll still post once or twice a week for sure, though. Same semi-literate, self-indulgent commentary, just in smaller doses.

For my friends: my other (private) e-mail address will go away in mid-July, so the only e-mail address I will have will be for this site. I'll also send out an announcement via that address, for all of those losers that don't read my site.
so wrote Leper around about 5:36 PM

 
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WILL YOU PEOPLE PLEASE STOP GETTING PREGNANT? You're making Holly & I look like underachievers....
so wrote Leper around about 3:47 PM