-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Kelly Thomas, a 37-year-old homeless schizophrenic, is shown on the left, after his confrontation with Fullerton California police officers, and on the right before his brutalization. He was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange County in critical condition on life-support and died five days later. Kelly was unarmed, had a slight build, and of medium height.
Continue reading “Five Fullerton Cops Beat Homeless Man To Death”
Continue reading “A Jewel in Gascony: Domaine Chiroulet”
Submitted by Mike Appleton (Guest Blogger)
The debate raging in Congress over increasing the so-called “debt ceiling” makes for wonderfully frenetic headlines. It allows Republicans to play pin the blame on the donkey and Democrats to respond with accusations of irresponsible brinkmanship. In the end it is likely that a bill in some form will be passed because the government must pay its bills.
But lost in the frenzy is a fundamental question. The budget is determined by Congress through the appropriations process. Therefore, Congress essentially determines the amount of the nation’s debt. The borrowing authority granted by Congress to the Treasury provides flexibility in financing that debt. The executive branch cannot spend more than is appropriated, nor borrow more than is needed to service debt.
So, since Congress controls the purse strings, and the power of the President is limited to implementing the fiscal will of Congress, why is it necessary to periodically debate Treasury’s borrowing authority? More specifically, is there any logical reason for the imposition of the misnamed “debt ceiling”? Continue reading “Do We Really Need A Debt Ceiling?”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
It’s a common claim from the Right, but it’s not true. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), in a Senate floor speech, claimed “Fifty-one percent — that is, a majority of American households — paid no income tax in 2009. Zero. Zip. Nada.” At least he used the often omitted “income” adjective. However, those individuals still pay payroll taxes, like Social Security and Medicare, sales taxes, and often property taxes.
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Coin seigniorage (CS) is the net revenue derived from the issuing of coins. It cost less than one dollar to mint a dollar coin and the difference between the manufacturing costs and face value (one dollar) is pure profit for the Treasury. The United States could just print more paper money, however, there is a statutory limit to the amount of paper currency in circulation at any one time.
There is not, ironically, a similar statutory requirement on the amount of coinage. The idea of using CS to solve the debt crisis is garnering a lot of serious attention.
Continue reading “Coin Seigniorage – Legal Response To Debt Ceiling Crisis”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
If someone knows how to embed videos from The Daily Show, let me know.
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
The battle over raising the debt ceiling has made some interesting bedfellows and even more intriguing and perplexing moments. At this instant, we are awaiting the vote on Speaker Boehner’s Plan which has been delayed to allow the mainline Republicans to scurry about coaxing tea partiers off their high horses named “No Taxes,” and “Cut Government.” For his part, Boehner has the distinct look of the bridegroom anxiously waiting at the legislative altar while the cavorting bride finishes up at the ‘No, no Nanette” (you’ll recall that ditty, “Tea For Two.’) themed bachelorette party over at Michele Bachmann’s encounter group/ chapel/ballroom.
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
Among the ongoing battles in anthropology and paleontology since the mid-Nineteenth Century to now, is the distinction between the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon Man. Specifically this devolves down to what happened to the Neanderthals, since the fossil record appears to show their extinction about 20,000 years ago. My assumption is that most readers are familiar with a lot of this material. It is easily attainable through Google or Wiki. What I find most interesting in this ongoing debate is the impact that Social Darwinism might have played in the original depiction of Neanderthals and in the assumptions made by some scientists about this species.
“Social Darwinism is a term used for various late nineteenth century ideologies predicated on the idea of survival of the fittest.[1] It especially refers to notions of struggle for existence being used to justify social policies which make no distinction between those able to support themselves and those unable to support themselves. The most prominent form of such views stressed competition between individuals in laissez-faire capitalism but it is also connected to the ideas of eugenics, scientific racism, imperialism,[2], Fascism, Nazism and struggle between national or racial groups.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism
The first skull of the Neanderthal had been discovered in 1926, but it was the discovery in 1856, in the Neanderthal Valley, in Germany that gave the species a name. We all know that the publication of Darwin’s “Origin of the Species” in 1859 set off a firestorm of both intellectual excitement and angry social resistance. By the end of the Nineteenth Century scientists, sociologists, physicians, philosophers, and politicians had misused Darwin’s phrase “survival of the fittest” to justify a host of theories that boiled down to two intertwined propositions. The first was that White People represented the apogee of human civilization and the second that among white people the Anglo-Saxon Teutonic strain represented the elite. This justified Eugenics, Imperialism and even the attempted genocide of the Native Americans. In politics, it also represented a definite anti-democratic strain, articulated prominently by Theodore Roosevelt, who believed that those of Anglo-Saxon/Teutonic origin should rule the Nation since the “rabble” was incapable of civilized behavior without their strong leadership. Continue reading “Neanderthal’s and Social Darwinism: Perverting Science?”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Back in February, Professor Turley wrote a blog post titled Teacher Suspended for Writing Critical Comments on Her Personal Blog. Many people who commented on the post sided with Natalie Munroe, the teacher who had been suspended. I did not. I thought the school administration did the right thing after I read some of the critical comments Munroe made about her students and comments she said she’d like to be able to note on her students’ report cards.
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
A Durham, North Carolina, man has been charged with killing a 4-year-old boy and a 28-year-old woman. Peter Lucas Moses, 27, and six others face murder charges in the deaths of Jadon Higganbothan, 4, and Antoinetta Yvonne McKoy, 28.
Continue reading “Man Kills 4-Year-Old Boy He Thought Was Gay”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
While Jonathan is off gallivanting around in France for a few weeks, he’s left us guest bloggers to do the majority of postings here at the Turley blog. While I’ve remained stateside, I did have an opportunity earlier today to travel to a beautiful otherworld–one created in the imagination of glass artist Dale Chihuly. Chihuly’s “Through the Looking Glass” exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is breathtaking! Fortunately, I was able to take pictures without a flash. Maybe you’d like to come along on a tour of his glass art exhibit.
Continue reading “A Wonderland Through the Looking Glass: The Art of Dale Chihuly”
Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty-Guest Blogger
Following up on the continuing saga of the debt default crisis and our earlier articles, I had a few more thoughts on how the crisis should be handled. The first suggested solution came from President Clinton who argued for it in a recent interview. Continue reading “Can The Default “Crisis” Be Solved Unilaterally?”
Today was a misty day in Gascony with light rain all day. While our falconry demonstration was cancelled at Larressingle, we were still able to have a great time. We went to the picturesque Chateau de Lavardens. Note: We are having difficulties with internet connections (which are hit and miss in Gascony) so there may be continued delays in upholding pictures and blogs from France.
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
Perhaps the real original sin of humanity is the concept of sin itself. There is of course evil in the world and there is good. To me there is little equivocation about some evils and I am hardly a moral relativist. Although these terms become subjective when viewed from the perspective of an individual, there is a wide general acceptance among diverse cultures as to general definitions. We consider murder in all cultures evil, as is robbery, assault, rape, and a host of familiar others. For at least five thousand years, cultures established legal systems to deal with bad behavior and with those systems came the need for punishment. The history of punishment has always been rather draconian and bloody throughout history. While today punishment is perhaps more humane in many places, it still caries with it significant cruelty in its application throughout humanity.
“A woman and her three children had just gotten off the bus at a stop across from their apartment building (in Marietta, Georgia) in October 2010 when her 4-year-old son, A.J., broke away from her and ran into the street. A car struck the boy, causing fatal injuries. Nelson (the woman) and one of her two daughters also suffered minor injuries. Nelson was charged with three misdemeanors: second-degree vehicular homicide, failing to cross at a cross walk and reckless conduct, according to court records. A jury convicted her this month. Although prosecutors did not recommend jail time, each count carried a potential sentence of one year in jail”. What is behind this prosecution? Who among us who has raised young children wouldn’t be chilled with the vision of this happening to them? Why do we see such prosecutorial zeal in our society to find someone to punish when accidents occur? Continue reading “The Eternal Cluelessness of the Avenging Mind”
