Can He Appeal for Reason of Inadequate Defense?

Yesterday, I served (endured) Jury Duty. I was called to a Justice of the Peace court to be a part of a jury panel. My great misfortune is that I was selected to be one of the 6 member jury that actually heard the case. The case was a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the truancy of a minor. The father of a 4th grader was charged because he had allowed his daughter to miss school repeatedly. He was one of these fundamentalist Christians that doesn't believe the schools are fit for his children. That's really no problem, because he has the choice of putting them in private schools or doing what's called home schooling. Of course, he didn't want to do that either. He wanted to be able to dictate to the school system what and how it would teach. He represented himself. There's an old saying that goes: "A man who represents himself in court has a fool for a lawyer." This guy certainly met that description. The jury endured around 7 hours of this guy repeating the same shit over and over. He successfully insulted everyone in the court room (including the jury) more than once. We found him guilty and fined him $250. If we had been able to put him in jail, I would have voted for that. In fact, I wanted to "max him out," ($500 fine) but the rest of the jury decided on fining him half of the max. Too bad! Anyway, yesterday's experience makes me wonder what the penalty would be for not reporting to jury duty. I really don't think it could be any worse.

If It Had Said, "Kill 'Em All," You Could Come In

Another one of those nasty T-shirts for peace shows up at the mall! Peace be upon you.

She Was Playing Both Sides Twice

Retired FBI agent, James Smith, has been charged with having an affair with a double agent for the People's Republic of China. Now, this gets complicated...but I guess all double agent stories are complicated. Okay, she was working for the FBI spying on China while she was spying on the US for China. Her "cover" was that she was a Republican Party activist. Her lover, Mr. Smith, worked in the office that investigated allegations of suspicious campaign contributions to the Clinton White House from China. She was working for the FBI, the Chinese, the Republicans, and investigating the Democrats. Wow!

Don't Mess with This Jewish Mother

In Jerusalem a 49 year old woman killed her 26 year old son for not putting his computer game up and making up his bed. She asked him to do that and returning to his room saw him lying on his bed without having done it. She asked him why he hadn't dont anything, and he chewed her out. She went to the kitchen, got a knife, came back, and stabbed him to death.

Generalisimo Francisco Franco Sigue con Vida

Many years ago Saturday Night Live had a running joke about Francisco Franco staying alive for years after he really died. It was because the Franco government kept announcing that Franco was sick, but still alive. I think we're running into the same thing with Saddam. We keep killing him, and he keeps turning up alive!

Of Course It Has Industrial Uses

The town of Novozybkovo has been ridiculed for putting a cannabis emblem on its town flag. The government has ordered all towns to adopt a flag. Let's see, if we had to do that in Austin, it would be a young man in sloppy clothes lying on the grass with a backpack for a pillow.

Get Back to Work!

Okay, okay, vacation is over, but does that mean I have start working right away? I opened my email this morning and had 147 emails waiting for me. Out of those I answered two, I think. Getting that many emails might make one think he's important, but only answering two puts the lie to that! By the way, both of those I answered were personal. Like I've said before: They pretend to pay us, and we pretend to work.

Texarkana In The Spotlight

Texarkana is hosting the National Narcotic Detector Dog Association conference for 2003. I learned this not from the local news, but from a website in Spain. Texarkana on the world stage!

Texas Fight, Texas Fight...

It turns out that the woman in charge of Saddam's chemical and biological weapons program, Houda Salih Mahdi Ammash, attended the University of Texas back in the '70s. US General Tommy Franks, who is in charge of the whole Operation Iraqi Freedom, is also a UT graduate. We're No. 1!

Americans Are from Mars, Europeans Are from Venus

Americans are like adolescents infatuated with their power and unilateral, while Europeans are more subtle, indirect, and multilateral. At least that's the way Robert Kagan sees it. Interesting way to look at the latest dispute. W as the hyperactive, prideful teenager, and Chirac as the smarter more nuanced adult. Let's bring in a marriage counselor!

Just Who's In Charge Here?

Who wrote this play in which we have to laugh, cry, and exit according to the script? No
god can write it, nor can Buddha. Only your own mind can write it.

-Jae Woong, "Polishing the Diamond"

They Got the Idea from Geraldo

It has come to light that the government owned radio station in Swaziland has been airing reports from a special "envoy" named, Phesheya Dube, in Iraq. The on air personalities have been admonishing him to stay safe and out of the way of bombs. Only one problem, there is no Swazi correspondent in Iraq. It's all theater! Makes ya wonder about ours, huh? Maybe all those fuzzy looking pictures on the videophone are really coming from the desert in New Mexico.

Vacation Time

Since I work for the government, I earn lots of vacation time. It's supposed to make up for the low salaries they pay us. Anyway, I'm taking this week off from work. After I do that, I'll only have 5 1/2 weeks of vacation left available. Since, I'll be off, I'll have lots of free time, so I should be posting a lot. No money to go on trips, but a whole lot of time!

I Want My MTV (Sanitized)
Believe it or not, MTV is imposing self-censorship. That's a little hypocritical in my book. Why, all of a sudden, is it important to "clean up" what viewers can see? After all, they're only censoring anything related to war or protests against it. I think if we could see some of the blood and guts, we might not be so gung ho about it.

I Feel Better Already

At last I can exhale! NFL Europe is going ahead with its season in spite of the War on Iraq.

Otherwise Occupied

Well, the past few days I've been very occupied with the war. Of course, not that I'm going to be able to affect it. Anyway, I'll be trying to make posts a little more regularly. Allahu Akhbar! Allahu Akhbar! Allahu Akhbar!

Pneumonia Psychosis

What may be worse that the actual SARS disease is the
fear that the disease is causing. At the Prince of Wales hospital in Hong Kong everyone is wearing protective masks, and "people are paralyzed with fear." In Singapore thousands of masks have been sold in the last three days. If the cruise missle and the suicide bomber don't getcha the paramyxovirus will.

We Are Rolling

As of about 5 minutes ago we are flying over Iraq with bombers. The Hard Rain's Begun To Fall.
Allahu Akhbar! Allahu Akhbar! Allahu Akhbar!

Remnant Who Will Return

David Mitchell aka Emmanuel has told his lawyer that he considers Elizabeth Smart his wife, and he wants to rename her Remnant Who Will Return. Great name, but where did he get it? From God?

Busybody Mother-in-Law Official Reason for Divorce

The Italian Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court's decision that an interfering mother-in-law is sufficient reason for awarding a divorce.