Day: March 7, 2014

Good That We Have Laws

We are a nation of laws and every American likes to think of themselves as law abiding citizens…for we, as I have said, are a nation of laws.  Some laws are good and others not so.  We Americans want laws that protect the innocent from criminals but do not want laws that protect those innocents from gun violence.  We have laws that protect our right to free speech…..even when the speech is lies.  We have laws that grant us freedom of religion and there are those that would like to make a religious belief mandatory.  We have laws that protect us citizens from cruel and unusual punishment while condone it.  We have laws…….well you get the idea………. laws at times are contradictory.

Moving on.  Okay you guys remember back in the day when there was this idea to put a mirror on your shoe and walk up to a group of girls and try to get a look under their skirts….you probably have to be an old fart to remember……….and this situation brings me to my point….I read an article the other day that made me shake my head…….

Women who ride the Boston subway will not be pleased to hear that the state’s highest court says it’s legal for someone to take “upskirt” photos of their privates. The state Supreme Judicial Court thinks it should be illegal, but the justices say current laws don’t cover it, reports the Springfield Republican. The problem is that the Peeping Tom law in question was written to protect people who are nude or partially nude—someone in a changing room, for instance—not riders on the subway who are fully clothed, reports AP. “A female passenger on a MBTA trolley who is wearing a skirt, dress, or the like covering [private] parts of her body is not a person who is ‘partially nude,’ no matter what is or is not underneath the skirt by way of underwear or other clothing,” says the court ruling. It’s good news for Michael Robertson, who was arrested in a police sting in 2010. He didn’t dispute that he took upskirt photos but argued that it’s not a crime. The justices agreed today, but state lawmakers vowed afterward to quickly close the loophole, reports the Boston Globe.

Yeah you read that right.

Basically, if she is wearing underwear it is not illegal……but if she is going ‘commando’ then you are a pervert………I must be missing something.

Sometimes the lack of logic just amazes me.

And then…after writing this a new report has come out……..I want to be fair……..

If you were outraged by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that deemed “upskirt” photos legal, you can turn that frown upside down. Just a day after the decision, state lawmakers voted yesterday to outlaw the snapped photos of “sexual or intimate parts” in public in an “unusually swift action,” USA Today reports. The bill, which flew through the House and Senate, carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail and a $5,000 fine if the victim is 18 or older, and five years in jail and a $10,000 fine if underage. Gov. Deval Patrick said he would sign the bill into law, the AP notes. “It is sexual harassment,” Senate President Therese Murray said after the bill’s unanimous approval. “Woman and children should be able to go to public places without feeling that they are not protected by the law.” (Though good news, gentlemen: It applies to male victims, too.) The state’s Peeping Tom law only protects people who are nude or partially nude, like someone in a changing room; the new bill applies to anyone who “photographs, videotapes or electronically surveils” a person’s private parts without consent. “Not only did we get it done quickly, but I think there was a feeling that we did it right,” the House speaker said. “We wanted to make sure that this would be a law that would pass all legal questions that could arise.”

Any thoughts?

Did You Hear The One About CIA?

An agent walks into a bar and sez………so on and so forth…….I will dispense with the jocularity…You Are Welcome!

There has been a wealth of criticism of the CIA over the years…..most of it is most likely well deserved.  And even more jokes have been made about them than any other government agency with the sole exception of the US Congress.  But why is it such a joke.  To begin with they have missed so many situations over the years….to be blunt…they have been wrong on many occasions.  And I do not mean moderately wrong….au contrare…….(is that French?)

Let’s look back shall we?  For some 40 years or so the CIA’s only focus was the USSR, all their resources were there to keep one step of the the Russians….then why did they totally miss the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?  They were caught flat footed.

As long as we are in the region of the planet……what about India achieving a nuclear bomb…they missed it.  And with all the problems India was having with Pakistan over the Kashmir region how did they sleep through Pakistan getting the capability for a nuclear bomb?  One would think the logical progression of events once India had the capability was that Pakistan would not be far behind…..but guess what…MISSED IT!

We click right along…minor regional incidents here and there and then the BIG ONE!  9/11….they were in the bathroom masturbating apparently because they missed this one also…….a devastating attack and they apparently had NO idea it was coming…..the fact that an ally of ours in Afghanistan, Masood, was killed the day before the attack….and still nothing new here……..

Move along nothing to see here.  So next they were given the task of Iraq and their “slam dunk” on the Iraqi WMDs….and we are still looking for them to this day…of course some may try and blame the Bush admin for that screw up….but personally, it falls squarely on the shoulders of the CIA.

For the next five years they spent a lot of their time trying to run down Osama…he was here and then he was there but he was never found….but they did do a Helluva job torturing people….and while they waterboarding captives they missed yet another situation……Georgia!  In 2008 Russia invaded Georgia (the country not the state) and the CIA was once again asleep at the wheel….they had NO idea it was coming.

Now let’s fast forward to 2014….the Russian situation in Ukraine.  It seems that while they were once again spending too much time in the restroom events caught them with their pants down……once again they missed a situation that could draw the US into another deadly situation…….

How many CIA agents does it take to change a light bulb?

100 analysts to determine what a light bulb is.

Hey Big Spender!

We all know what some people think about Obama and the Dems….they are all about spending cash….they are Big Spenders….Am I right?

We also know, why because we are beat about the head with it everyday, that the deficit is the highest it has been in centuries….am I right?

I know that the big spender tag and the so-called growing deficit are great campaign slogans and bumper stickers…….but the next time you hear such drivel ask one simple question……

If the prez is such a spender, how can we explain this turn of the screw?

The federal budget deficit for fiscal 2013 has plunged by more than $400 billion, the biggest drop since the end of World War II, the Treasury Department says. It comes in at $680 billion—not exactly pocket change, but a lot better than the trillion-plus deficits of the last five years. The deficit is now at its smallest level since 2008, and while growing tax revenues from the healthier economy account for most of the drops, budget cuts and tax rises also helped, the New York Times reports. Revenue jumped by $324 billion to $2.8 trillion, the Treasury says, while government spending edged up to $3.9 trillion from $3.8 trillion. “Thanks to the tenacity of the American people and the determination of the private sector we are moving in the right direction,” says Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. “The United States has recovered faster than any other advanced economy, and our deficit today is less than half of what it was when President Obama first took office.” The Senate Budget Committee says the outlook for future deficit reduction is good, with an estimated reduction of $3.3 trillion over the next decade because of the cuts and tax rises that came from the fiscal-cliff battles, the Washington Post finds.

I realize the truth hurts….but sometime in history one must let go of BS and return to reality…..but how long will it shrink if we keep giving away billions every time there is a situation that we get nervous about…….throw money at it and it will go away…..just like the surplus we had back in the day……our politicians will find a way to solve that problem…..