Category Archives: Clippings

* Eggsactly right; and other news

Bookmarks:
The flap over eggs  •  Amanda Knox   •  Another child star meltdown
Child porn is not so simple   •   Promise for Parkinson’s   •  Bail is for the birds
Birth injury fund sought

———— ♦ ————

Missouri AG challenges California egg law

This came up in Yahoo!’s “Trending Now,” and the search results included pages at newsmax.com and examiner.com.  I had to search a bit to find an article at a REPUTABLE site.  For everyone’s information, in general henceforth I will avoid clicking anything leading to newsmax OR examiner: the former is disreputable, and the latter generates too many ads … too many for me to cause y’all to have to deal with.

The new law, in short, seems to me to be good for everyone (read: humanity), and IMO though it’ll cost ’em money, Missouri has no reason to cluck.

Continue reading * Eggsactly right; and other news

* The Kimberly Leto murder; and other news

Bookmarks:
The Kimberly Leto murder
Controversial books
Governor candidate Mizeur’s crime plan

———— ♦ ————

The Kimberly Leto murder

February 3 – Police arrest two teenagers in killing of Highlandtown woman
February 4 – Woman’s death in burglary leaves Southeast Baltimore reeling

Random comments:
(1) We must get past the twin scandals of race and class.
(2) My greatest concern is to find out where these two young men “come from.”
(3) Had she had a gun, could that have saved her?
(4) Gorham-Ramos, at age 14, has a daughter?
(5) What was the sentence from the August 19 crime?  N.B., police identified Gorham-Ramos through fingerprints.
(6) Was Gorham-Ramos’ involvement with the August 19 crime sufficient basis to bring him in for questioning concerning the January 31 crime?
(7) I know from my own time in jail why, if at all possible, children should not be incarcerated with adults.
(8) Pinkney appears to have a mental illness, and was off his medications.  The treatment-resistant patient is always problematic.
(9) Does this neighborhood deserve a greater police presence than, say, Barclay?  Actually, during my time there, the police presence was pretty darn high; its visibility heightened by the inexplicable consistent police use of white unmarked cars and white officers.

———— ♦ ————

Controversial books

These have been on display in the main hall at EP, and I get to browse them while waiting for a computer. I have not read either one.

American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass (Harvard University Press, 1998)

“This powerful and disturbing book clearly links persistent poverty among blacks in the United States to the unparalleled degree of deliberate segregation they experience in American cities.”

Not to short-sell the book, this is wholly consistent with the politically correct proposition I questioned in “My Homeless Self.” I wonder how the authors account for that portion of the underclass which are white, and how they got there.

Erasing Racism: The Survival of the American Nation

This was originally published in 2002. Author Molefi Kete Asante (born Arthur Lee Smith Jr. on August 14, 1942) has an impressive page at Wikipedia and appears to be a leader in all things Afro-centric.

He demands reparations.

This fits squarely within the definition of ideology I set forth in “The Gospel vs. George F. Will.” As I said there, it says, “‘We’ cannot be happy unless ‘they’ change their ways.”

———— ♦ ————

Mizeur’s crime plan calls for shift from ‘mass incarceration’ to prevention in Maryland

I have no desire to ally myself with anything liberal; and my first, personal, gut response to Heather Mizeur is to dislike her. And most critically, I have no idea what she means by “prevention.” Aside from all that, I find her proposals exciting.

  1. Incarceration — From what I saw in my own time in jail, in general incarceration accomplishes nothing, and does so only at a tremendous financial cost to the taxpayers.  My estimate is that as many of 60% of those in prison have no good reason to be there.  Be aware:  these are not nice people.  But there’s no need for them to be incarcerated.  And without having the exact figures, my guess is that my own 40 days in jail may have cost the taxpayers $10,000.
  2. Juvenile detention — I am without an opinion as to her plan.  The one individual whose advice I look forward to on this question is the Hon. Martin P. Welch, who may or may not publicly opine.
  3. Backgrounds — Click the link to see my previous remarks on this subject.
  4. Gun laws — OK, maybe she’s tossed a bone to the anti-gun lobby.  The proposal seems reasonable enough to me.  I hope to hear pro-gun folks’ opinions.

(Reblogged 2018-01-11.)

* A living hell

‘Case of sudden death’ in violence-torn C. Africa

The only hell of concern to me is the living hell, in this life, here and now, that people create for themselves and one another.

Today, the Central African Republic is a prime example.

There is a history to this conflict that goes back to 1960, but as far as I can tell this land has never known peace at any time.

It’s a matter of what the people there choose to want from day to day.
Continue reading * A living hell

* Polar bears aren’t teddy bears; etc.

Bookmarks:
To get bail, money talks
Polar bears aren’t all warm fuzzies.
Private planes are nice, but won’t make you happy
A Jewish view of charity

———— ♦ ————

To get bail, money talks

Bottom line: all across the country, tens of thousands of men and women are behind bars who are not guilty of any crime.

They’re there because they couldn’t post bail.
Continue reading * Polar bears aren’t teddy bears; etc.

* Job search update, 02/03/14; and other news

Bookmarks:
Job search update
Crisis for D.C. homeless families

———— ♦ ————

Job search update

(Composed 2014-02-01)

Things are moving full steam ahead on my application for a Secretary II position with the City, as I’ve probably described in previous posts. The hours are 8:30-4:30, which under normal circumstances will let me get to the shelter in time to (1) actually get in and (2) take a shower each day. I will need to phone the office Monday morning 02/03/14 to confirm that all’s in line, and possibly find out a start date.
Continue reading * Job search update, 02/03/14; and other news

* My homeless self: White “resentment” and black power

“Generations of slavery and discrimination make it difficult for blacks to work their way out of the lower classes.”

Do you agree with that statement?  If not, you harbor resentment toward blacks.

That is the premise, not the conclusion, of a recent study by three political scientists.  As reported by James Goodman in the October 6, 2013 Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the study’s conclusions seem indisputable.  I question its premise.  I ask whether “resentment” was the best or right thing to measure; whether this criterion statement was the best or right way to measure it; whether the criterion statement is factual, and if so, whether it matters.
Continue reading * My homeless self: White “resentment” and black power

* The Gospel vs. George F. Will

David Farenthold, “Austerity is a hard nut to crack”
George F. Will, “2013’s lesson for conservatives”

Farenthold asks what’s best for the country.  Will asks what’s best for conservatives.  That difference illustrates what Trojan Horse Productions and The William Tell Show are all about.
Continue reading * The Gospel vs. George F. Will

* The Gospel vs. George Will, and other stories

Links within this post:
The Gospel vs. George Will
Divisions in South Sudan’s liberation movement fuel war
Phil Robertson
Housing update — important, personal

———— ♦ ————

The Gospel vs. George Will

David Farenthold – Attempts to reduce wasteful government spending show austerity is a hard nut to crack – Dec. 28
George F. Will – 2013’s lesson for conservatives – Dec. 28

Farenthold asks what’s best for the country.  Will asks what’s best for conservatives.  That difference illustrates what Trojan Horse Productions and The William Tell Show are all about.

I will develop that at length in a later post.

———— ♦ ————

Continue reading * The Gospel vs. George Will, and other stories

* “Scandal:” The meaning of the word

(Originally posted 2012-07-28 at Trojan Horse Productions. Note that this was after Aurora and prior to Sandy Hook.  Reposted 2017-09-21.)

I don’t have the wherewithal to actually buy and read newspapers; at the convenience store, I merely read the headlines. I found this article by doing a news Google on “Crofton massacre” — which fact illustrates the point I’ll make below.

Police: Md. man made threat, ‘joker’ reference

The English word “scandal” comes from the Greek skandalon, which literally means “stumbling block;” as in Matthew 18:6, where in the King James Version it is translated as “offense,” and Matthew 13:57, which would be translated literally, “They stumbled at him.”

We find that scandals make two different kinds of people “stumble” in two different ways.
Continue reading * “Scandal:” The meaning of the word